Starting to feel the pull towards the Pyrenees and Spain just beyond, we left Aire-sur-l'Adour with lots of momentum. This would be the final section of the "Le Puy- St. Jean Pied-du-Port" walk. As the intense summer heat morphed into mild wet weather, we would negotiate expansive corn plantation lands on the way towards the characteristically green-and-humid Pyrenees foothills in the French Basque country, with their distinctive architecture reflected in both homes and churches. The terrain would evolve into an undulating series of gorgeous hills, with views of the Pyrenees opening up and infusing this last stretch into St. Jean with a hint of the mountain landscapes to come...
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| L'église de Ste. Quitterie d'Aire, dating from the 14th century, which we pass as we climb away from Aire. |
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| Bordering Lac du Broussau, where we would camp lakeside. |
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| Jeff and Bo chilling next to the lake. |
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| Farmhouses like this mark the way. |
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| An excellent example of civic organization, the Friends of the Camino of Pyrénées-Atlantiques have planted loads of fruit trees along the camino, exclusively for pilgrims to eat as they walk! Apple, pear, plum, cherry, fig, etc.. |
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| A young fig planted by them. |
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| Our next stop along the way, Arzacq, where we will take a rest day (even though there's no swimming pool!) |
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| We stayed at the Centre d'Accueil, a pilgrims' hostel where we met a bunch of friendly pilgrims from France, Switzerland, and China. |
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| Sunset as seen from our campsite at the hostel. |
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| Pictured having an afternoon beer with Liu, a Chinese pilgrim from Shanghai living in Astorga, Spain. |
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| The view from Arzacq with the Pyrenees starting to loom in the background. |
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| Breakfast time in camp. |
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| Pilgrims' wayside tree, adorned with mementos. |
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| Mantra flag seen on the tree, saying "Take, love, listen, dream, help, share, give, be amazed, believe, give thanks, live, be patient". |
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| A Dutch pilgrim walking from Le Puy to Santiago. |
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| Nap time in the vestibule of a church. |
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| Liu, Katy and Bo. |
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| The flat cornfields and paved country roads make for easy game for Bodhi, who sets a new personal record of 5 km in a day here. |
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| Dusk skies seen from our campsite. |
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| Smooth-going here. |
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| Bo makes friends. |
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| The Gypsy Prince logically follows after the effort of riding. |
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| Bath time in the public fountain, Arthez-de-Béarn. |
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| Past barns and quiet roads. |
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| Bo digs into his favorite trail foods: couscous, fruit and yogurt. |
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| Twilight scene approaching the Pyrenees foothills. |
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| Our campsite near Notre-Dame de Muret. |
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| Bodhi shows off his bike skills amidst a group of pilgrims at Abbaye de Sauvelade. |
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| Naked hilltop cruising with only the cows looking on. |
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| Great Pyrenees dog, fairly common in the Pyrenees foothills. |
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| The hill country starts to get a little more intense here, as we go from hilltop... |
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| ... with panoramas opening up... |
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| ... down to valley bottoms. A large group of pilgrims pictured here taking a breather and getting some fresh water. |
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| On the trail of several pilgrims in Méritein. |
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| Scallop shell baptismal fount in Navarrenx. |
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| Katy seen with some French pilgrim friends in Navarrenx. |
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| Navarrenx, medieval fortified village on the banks of the Gave d'Oloron. |
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| L'alchimiste, a donativo gite in Navarrenx where we spent the night. |
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| We met up here with another Chinese pilgrim, Lu Yongzhong, a painter who is producing a series of paintings related to The Way Of Le Puy (and eventually the Camino Francés in Spain). Lu was fascinated by Bodhi and the Bo-Cart (our name for the Chariot). |
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| Great ambience as we dig into an amazing vegetarian dinner. |
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| Exceptional, artful food presentation at L'alchimiste. |
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| Our host, Jean-Gaétan, stamping pilgrims' passports in the evening. |
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| A page or two from our passports. The carrying of credentials (or passports) among pilgrims became prevalent in the 16th-17th centuries, when decay set in along the route and bandits and pretenders started frequenting pilgrim hostels and other Camino-related resources. The credentials were a way for attendants to confirm the status of the pilgrim seeking shelter or aid. |
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| We followed a fantastic track through woodlands away from Navarrenx. |
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| Eventually we hit a paved road and Jeff and Bo went side-by-side into early evening. |
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| Bo helps Katy push the Chariot aways! |
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| Twilight skies looking west towards the mountains. |
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| Our campsite at the edge of forest just before the hamlet of Lacorne. |
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| Bo in good spirits! |
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| Fantastic cross seen in the village of Lichos. |
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| Bo and Katy clowning around. |
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| South of Aroue we headed up this great dirt track, feeling properly in the foothills now! Our legs feel it, too. |
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| Great scenery opening up... |
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| ... as we follow this track along the crest... |
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| ... and past sprawling pastures. |
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| We took a lunch break at this chapel in Olhaiby... |
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| ... where Bo got serious about exploring! |
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| Happy to have found a campsite... |
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| ...on top of a bald in the foothills. |
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| It doesn't get much better than this, as long as the weather holds. |
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| We hit rain the following morning... |
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| ... as Bo takes a turn on a Basque handball court, with the church of Uhart-Mixe in the background. Now in proper Basque country. |
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| A pilgrims' boots gave up the ghost along the way to Ostabat. |
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| Basque farmer herding cattle. |
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| Hiking in pouring rain and increasingly-muddy tracks! |
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| Making friends along the way. |
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| Ostabat from a distance. Just before Ostabat the Way of Vezelay and the Way of Tours/Paris (two other prominent French pilgrim routes) join the Way of Le Puy. Classic Pyrenees foothill landscapes. |
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| Leaving Ostabat we ran into Julien, a French pilgrim who has come from Limoges on the Way of Vezelay. He has been walking for 3 weeks and 500km and he has only seen 1-2 other walkers! A far cry from the busy Way of Le Puy. Here he takes a turn at pushing the Chariot. |
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| A glimpse of some distinctive Basque architecture. The whitewalls and red trim are indicative. |
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| We took shelter from a fierce storm and spent the last night before St. Jean in a rustic pilgrims' shelter at Utxiat, with Julien. This building is the restored mill of an ancient pilgrims' hospital at this site, and is the result of remarkable efforts by pilgrims and local residents to preserve this heritage. |
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| Pilgrim traffic seemed to multiply on this final stretch into St. Jean. |
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| Working Basque farm. |
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| We fell in with this lot for awhile... |
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| ... and these guys took a load off of Jeff. |
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| Basque farmhouse. |
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| Although we had a relatively short day into St. Jean (13.5 km), none of it was flat. |
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| The Pyrenees looming larger and more daunting as we draw near. |
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| Bo leads the charge as we near St.-Jean-le-Vieux. |
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| This was by far the most foot traffic we had yet seen. |
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| The church in St.-Jean-le-Vieux, just 5 km before St. Jean-Pied-du-Port. |
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| Besides red trim, green trim is also accepted for Basque houses. |
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| Bo gazes on the Basque flag. |
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| There is a deep charm to the air in these Basque villages. La Magdaleine. |
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| Here we are, arrived in St.-Jean-Pied-du-Port! A singular moment, marking the end of the 740 km Way of Le Puy and the starting point of the 785 km Camino Francés to Santiago. For us, the symbolic halfway point of our walk. |
