St. Jean Pied-de-Port and Pamplona, Spain

 

The last two days have been pretty wonderful.....walking on Friday could not have been more perfect. There was some hill climbing, and the weather was sunny and hot, but nothing could dampen our spirits! We had a couple of close encounters with sheep on the road which was great fun, and also met a few more pilgrims along the way. One of them was a young Dutch fellow who had finished university and was walking to Santiago from Holland, to spend time thinking about his future.

Leaving Ostabat

Russ found me the most perfect fig!!

Sheep on the move

We arrived at SJPDP mid-afternoon, and went to the pilgrim office first, which was across the street from our gite. It wasn't too busy at that time, so we enjoyed chatting with the volunteer, who happened to be from Ontario. She added us to her list of pilgrims arriving in town, and we were the fourth Canadians that day, so were ahead of all the other countries at that point! Some tourists took our photos, which we thought was quite amusing, as we were sweaty and tired, so not looking our best!

Gate into SJPDP on Chemin Le Puy

Beilari, our gite

River in SJPDP

Our gite,"Beilari", was formerly "L'Esprit du Chemin", and we had spent one night there in 2012 before starting our Camino. We found that not much had changed in two years, and it is still being run very efficiently. There were twelve guests, and the countries represented were England, Scotland, Ireland, Spain, Germany and Canada. We had a social time before dinner, with little games to break the ice and get to know each other. Several of us had completed our walks, so we were asked to give tips to the people about to head out. Dinner was vegetarian and very good. Russ and I were in a room with three beds, and our roommate was a young Spanish lady from Pamplona. She was only going to walk for two days....easy to do when you live so close to the Camino! When we got up yesterday morning (Saturday) it was such a great atmosphere in the gite, with people eating their breakfast and preparing to start their Caminos. Soft music was playing, and there was laughter coming from downstairs. We remembered so well how we felt two years ago, excited and also a bit apprehensive. We were thinking of our friends Caroline, Brenda and Brian, who had been our roommates there. Both of us felt envious and quite emotional when we peeked out into the street and saw all the pilgrims heading out. It will always be a special place for us.

Early morning in SJPDP

We had made contact by email with an Aussie couple that we had met in Cahors, and were surprised to hear that they were also in town, as she had pulled a back muscle and they had been forced to stop walking. We felt badly for them, but were happy we had the chance to spend more time together. They had mentioned that they were going to Pamplona by taxi later that morning. To make a long story short, we tagged along and shared the cost of the taxi. We had always regretted not spending time in Pamplona on our Camino, so this was an exciting opportunity!

The drive to Pamplona was along the Valcarlos route, which is the route walkers take on the Camino if the weather is not good enough on the higher Napoleon route. The road was very windy and hilly, and there were a few pilgrims walking right on the side of the road, which had no shoulder. There were many pilgrims on bicycles also. I was thankful that we had been able to do the higher route, as the highway route did not look particularly safe nor enjoyable to me. We were so excited when we drove through Roncesvalles, then Zubiri, and saw the Camino several times where it crosses the highway, until we finally reached Pamplona.

We agreed to meet our friends later on for a tapas bar crawl, and after checking into our hotel we headed out to do some sightseeing, and also deal with the logistics of taking the bus back to France. On a Saturday afternoon Pamplona was buzzing....in the main square we watched some folk dancing by men and women in their ethnic costumes, and the square was packed with families enjoying the nice weather. A bit later we heard music and came across more dancing, but this time it was just anyone doing it, adults and children, and there was a live band accompanying them. It looked a bit like line dancing except they were doing it in a circle, but they had certain steps that they all knew. It was wonderful to see everyone having a good time, and obviously the children were learning the steps too. Apparently they do this dancing in a huge circle in the main plaza during the week, but on weekends it is in a smaller square. I can't explain how happy we were to be back here, and finally spend time seeing this city. It is so vibrant!

Circle dancing

This bar has ham on the menu!

Linda, Margo, Ian

Our tapas later on were so much fun. We went to three different bars and just picked out a variety of items. Tried some red wine from this province, Navarre, as well as some good Rioja. The streets were packed as we headed back to our hotel around 9:30. Their evening was just beginning! We certainly noticed the liveliness of this town, after the sleepy little French villages we have been spending our last month in! We felt like we had been transported to a different universe.

Pamplona street in the evening

Little girls having fun

Town Hall

This morning we met our friends at the famous Cafe Iruna, which has been in the main square since 1888. It is very ornate inside, and we enjoyed our cafe con leches and scrambled egg bocadillas. Russ and I then did some sightseeing, walking the route of the Running of the Bulls, and visiting the museum. It's now siesta time, and I am hoping to get this blog entry posted.

Interior of cafe

The men pray to this saint for their safety before the bulls are released.

Entrance to the bullring, where all the bulls are corralled.

We will leave here tomorrow morning (Monday) and take the bus to San Sebastian where we switch to another bus to Bayonne. From there we take a train to Paris on Tuesday.

Oh, one more thing. Russ's boots are now on their way to Santiago.......the young Dutch fellow needed to replace his boots, and Russ offered them to him. He tried them on and they fit perfectly. The Camino does provide!

 

 

 

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Maslacq to Ostabat

Yesterday was a good day! We only had to walk 15 km, plus there weren't a lot of hills to climb, so we could just enjoy the scenery. A lot of our walking in the morning was in forests, and at one point we met a local couple who were out mushroom hunting, specifically for Cepes. Despite our challenge with speaking French, we managed to have a conversation with them, and they were anxious to show us the two Cepe mushrooms they had found earlier. We have since read up on them, and they are related to the porcini mushrooms in Italy, and are highly valued for cooking. They grow in pine forests, and are very hard to spot as they are usually under the dead pine needles. We have noticed many vehicles parked in the forests we have passed through, and assumed they were hunting animals, but now realize they could have been after the Cepes. Recently we were in a nice restaurant for lunch and had Cepe mushroom omelettes, and they were wonderful.

Cepes mushrooms

We also saw some interesting "treehouses" in the forest, and assume they are for hunters. There were some signs posted on the trees about being silent, but of course we didn't understand the entire message on the signs. We saw a man climbing down the long ladder from one of these treehouses, and he was carrying both a shotgun and a basket.

Long way down

Last night we stayed in a "farm" gite that had been recommended to us, and it was very interesting. It is a "purpose-built" gite, a renovated farmhouse that is now spacious and bright, with all the things that a pilgrim needs. The communal areas included a large dining room, a lounge area with nice leather furniture as well as laundry facilities, bathroom area with multiple shower stalls, toilets and sinks (with soap!!), and about ten dorm rooms with 2-6 beds in each one. The gite was located on a hill that had great views of the countryside, and there were decks and outside areas to sit as well. There was food available to purchase, so Russ and I had a nice little bottle of wine along with some bread and cheese for a late lunch after we arrived. There were ten guests last night, a group of French people, a German couple, and us. Dinner was wonderful....we started with an aperitif, which was cassis wine and a small dish of peanuts. The appetizer was a wonderful smooth mixed vegetable soup, main course was roast pork, green salad and creamed carrots. A huge cheese platter followed, with probably ten different cheeses on it - too bad we were full by then! Following that was dessert, a tiny chocolate cupcake and a slice of fruit tart. The owner is obviously a very good cook, and manages to look after her two small children while working in the kitchen baking goodies or preparing meals. I was impressed!

Today was a more challenging day, longer, with more hills, and warmer (high of 26 degrees). When we left the gite this morning, we followed the regular GR65, and realized sometime later that our distance would have been much shorter if we had taken the alternate route that starts in the town of Aroue, but it would have meant some additional highway walking to get to the town. The scenery and views were beautiful however, so it was worth the extra effort I think. We are definitely in sheep country, so it is already reminding us of the scenery around St. Jean Pied-de-Port, and the beginning of our Camino. Further down the trail we opted to take the Uhart-Mixe route, so that saved us a few kilometres, plus we were able to have lunch there, where we reconnected with our German friends from the night before. We will see them again tomorrow in St. Jean Pied-de-Port.

Sunrise from the gite

Pyrenees getting closer

These two were very friendly and were sporting cowbells!

Spectacular countryside

Entrance to Uhart-Mixe

Interesting clouds just before Ostabat

Tonight we are in the village of Ostabat, in a Chambre d'hôtes called Auberge Ametzanea. So far it seems pretty rustic, but we will see what dinner is like tonight. As far as we know, we are the only guests. Cows are mooing outside, and the church is chiming nearby. Hopefully both will be quiet tonight!

Tomorrow we will enjoy the final day of walking, and perhaps do a bit of celebrating with some of the people we have met recently. Bon nuit from the foothills of the Pyrenees.

 

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Three More Walking Days

Since leaving Arzacq on Sunday, we have enjoyed the walking, especially first thing in the morning when everything is fresh, including us! We've had quite a bit of road walking which can really be tiring for the feet. Yesterday it was also raining off and on, so we were putting the ponchos on, taking them off, putting them back on, etc etc. The weather has now cleared up and it was magnificent today, with highs in the lo-mid 20's. We are getting closer and closer to the Pyrenees, and today was challenging, with lots of hill climbing. The last couple of days we have seen so many pilgrim rest stops, but there was not one to be had today when we really needed it. We finally stopped for lunch and a change of socks in a little shady area near the road, and sat on the ground on our rain ponchos! It was better than nothing, and kept us going until we reached our destination. The only other pilgrims we are seeing on the trail right now are a Swedish couple, and they also ended up sitting by the side of the road for their lunch today!

We have booked our accommodation for the rest of the walk, so we can relax until we reach Saint Jean-Pied-de-Port on Friday, at which time we will decide where to spend the few remaining days of our holiday before heading to Paris on the 21st. We are going to stay at the same gite in SJPDP as we did when we started our Camino in 2012. It has changed ownership, and is now known as Beilari (formerly L'Esprit du Chemin). It seems fitting that we will finish where we started!

Photos speak better than words, so here is what we've seen lately. Tomorrow promises to be easier as according to our information it is relatively flat, and we are only walking 15 km. I am savouring every minute of it :)

Arzacq

Lac d'Arzacq, early morning

Trail beside the lake- nice!

Pilgrim Tree

Rest stop

Cow food

Our hotel in Maslacq

Horse with a view

Rustic rest stop

 

 

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Pork Boobs

Yesterday (Friday) we decided to stay another night at La Bastide, as it was so comfortable. It was a good location for our friends to catch the bus, plus it made a good base for a rest day. After a leisurely breakfast, the four of us walked into Aire-sur-L'Adour, which is 2 km away. We did a short walking tour of the town, had lunch in a very popular restaurant, and by then it was raining, and time to head back to our cosy rooms. While the facilities were wonderful in the house, the two dinners we had were sub par compared to other Chambre d'hôtes we have stayed at. I suspect it may be due to the owner being very tired. We were the last guests of the season, as she is closing for a holiday. The breakfasts were very good, with more variety than we had previously experienced.

We said goodbye to our friends this morning (Saturday), and got a ride with a luggage transport vehicle to the next main town on the walk, Arzacq-Arraziguet. It is a 34 km walk, and since Russ is sporting a new blister, we needed to either break the walk up into two parts or skip it altogether and give our feet another easy day. We were already behind schedule one day, so we opted to skip that section and start walking again from Arzacq. We are staying in a small older hotel, La Vieille Auberge, that is in a very convenient location and better yet, had a room ready for us at 11am! We enjoyed a very tasty omelette for lunch at Cafe-Restaurant des Sports, which was packed with customers. Tonight we will be getting a meal from our hotel restaurant. We have purchased lunch items for the walk tomorrow, since it will be Sunday, and we are not passing through any large towns on the way. We are still booking accommodation ahead of time, and some places are now closed, so it's becoming challenging to find rooms in the smaller towns. On the plus side, there are fewer pilgrims walking also. Tomorrow night in Pomps we are booked into a gite communal, which was the only place with availability.

We wish everyone back home a very Happy Thanksgiving! You will be in our thoughts tomorrow as you celebrate the holiday.

 

Here are a few more photos.....au revoir!

Our home for two nights

Our room - note built in china cabinet

Our bathroom

Linda loved this kitchen!

Russ loved this guy!

Happy pilgrims

Oh, and you were wondering where the title of this blog post came from? That was the reply of our cute, personable waitress when our friend asked her what the word "lardon" meant on the menu. It actually is bacon, so we all had a good laugh, including her!

Pork Boob Salad

 

 

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