Our Albergue (called a gite in France) was like a hospital following the walk over the Pyrenees and a further 25 kms. Damaged knees were the main injury and there were 3 in our place alone, being only one amongst 15-20 other refuges. One of our new Australian friends was among the wounded so we shared Corrie’s very successful rehab. solutions - anti-inflammatories, slow right down for a bit, a light massage with good oil [...]
To keep you up to speed, the French route that we were on is called the ‘Chemin du Puy’ and goes from Le Puy en Velay to St Jean Pied de Port at the base of the Pyrenees. The Spanish route that we did last year is called the ‘Camino Frances’ and goes from St Jean to Santiago de Compostela. We are going to Barcelona, need to catch a train, and the nearest station is [...]
We’re 2 hours up the hill, a good start - we’re yearning for a clear day but the Pyrenees doesn’t cater for all and as any mountain climber will know, things work in a different way up there. We were looking forward to gazing at every landform you could imagine ... not to be. Instead we had to settle for fog, rain, strong winds, zero temperatures and no view. I have a saying these days [...]
Back to the good old days - breakfast not included so we caught the sun by surprise even though s/he would have been shrouded anyway. The landscape is starting to change as is the human contribution. The hills are becoming steeper - not the ones we are climbing, and also less productively useful. They are often bare without the usual hilltop trees with sheep hanging to the hillsides like goats, where possible. Behind the hills [...]
The dinner party did not eventuate because the expected couple did not arrive. When you’re off the track in the middle of a paddock this can happen, because a walker may see a gite on the track and stay there. But a young Swiss girl turned up instead after a 40km walk, she wasn’t going to let a walk off the track worry her. We cooked pasta with a homemade tomato mix and ate with [...]
We were joined at Breakfast by 2 middle aged Germans whom we are seeing regularly now. We were waiting for the owner who was buying fresh bread so time to chat with these women and joke about getting into ‘moods’ on the track and how you deal with them. It’s probably the best time to be moody because there is a non conflictual solution - just slow down or speed up until you are sorted. [...]
My apologies to the pig, her name is Raquel named after someone whose closest identity to a pig would be eating a ham sandwich. Raquel did not eat with us, our French friend (who we see a lot), and Glen, but lay asleep in her basket wrapped in a rug. To get into the French ‘system’, ie being able to be free to do what French citizens can do eg. be on the local council [...]
It’s all happening. Other walkers are getting growled at but new measures are in place since the Aussie had complained - the owner now growls at the dog, and a big man follows up if she is ignored. People are washing clothes and themselves - mostly they don’t shower in the morning to keep bathrooms free for essentials, others are looking for wifi positions - the best being near growler, swapping stories about the day [...]
There was a change over of baggage carriers today and a holiday as well so our case was forgotten, so instead of having that obligatory shower, we looked around. We saw a beautifully designed twelfth century church, with an array of superb architectural components, a simple interior and ascetically pleasing to the eye. The village stretched along the top of a long narrow ridge, the houses beautifully restored, their gardens alive with colour, the street [...]
There were so many walkers in the Gite last night that a young French woman had to sleep in the passageway outside our door. The main problem with this was (being highly trained Gite people) that we couldn’t turn the lights on, and going down the hill (very steep and highly polished stairs) in the dark was quite a challenge, but good walking practice. The graceful L'Adour flows into this town in the shade of [...]
