Ascent / descent: 1004m (1004m) / 924m (924m).
Altitude (start / end / highest): 0moh / 65moh / 573moh.
Weather : Sunny, clear sky, hot.
There is always a special feeling to be at the start of a walk with your backpack packed and ready at your back (in theory all that you own on a walk), and with all of the walk in front of you. In my case it's the Pyrenees that I stand looking towards, over 900km and about 50000 meters of ascent and descent. A little bit uncertain of what I've really embarked upon. I'm in Hendaye; my plan is to walk the GR10 over the Pyrenees to Banyuls sur Mer. There isn't much to do than to start walking.
Hendaye Plage the evening before the start of my journey.
The GR10 starts at the old casino by the beach in Hendaye with the Atlantic behind, a sign marks the start of the long and varied journey (you shouldn't think too much of the distance yet). It's relatively quiet on the beach at the moment, compared to the crowded yesterday. The weather is nice, clear blue sky and sunny. With the waves rolling onto the beach behind me I start to walk.
At the start of the GR10. The sign displays the trail over the Pyrenees that I will go; it feels a little bit unreal standing looking at what I've got before me for the next 50 days.
The first stage to Olhette is for the most part quite easy, but it still contains a combined ascent of 1000 meters. It's a nice promenade alongside the bay of Chingoudy and through Hendaye in the start, before the route enters more countryside surroundings. At Biriatou, a small and cozy Basque village, I meet the first of other walkers on the GR10, Dominique.
The route goes alongside the bay of Chingoudy in the start, with the mountains in the background.
After Biriatou the trail becomes a nice forest and mountain path with a climb up to Col d'Osin (374m) with a nice view back towards Hendaye and the Atlantic. From Col d'Osin the trail is undulating up and down a green ridge, horses are grazing wild in the hills. I eat lunch in the shade of the trees at the Col des Poiriers (316m).
At Col des Poiriers the alternative route coming from Choldokogagna (what a name) is joining the GR10, in Cicerone's GR10 guide that is described as the main route of the GR10, but the trail over Col d'Osin is marked as the GR10.
The part up to Col d'Osin and over to Col d'Ibardin is the nicest part of todays stage. However, there is nothing nice about Col d'Ibardin, a tourist place on the border between France and Spain, a place to go quickly through. A nicer place to arrive at is Venta d'Inzola in Spain, a quiet and relaxed place in the shade of the forest.
View back towards Hendaye and the Atlantic from the climb up to Col d'Osin.
La Rhune (900m) has been visible in the horizon all through the day and is following me with eagle eyes on the last part of todays stage from Col du Grand Escanga (273m) and down to Olhette (65m). The gîte d'etape in Olhette is a nice place, but since I haven't booked a place I have to eat dinner at the hotel further down the street. There are a couple of other walkers in the gîte walking the GR10 as well, though not all of it, Emilio, Didier and Marie-Agnes, together with Dominique who also has arrived at the gîte.
View from Col d'Osin. La Rhune in the horizon to the left. The GR10 goes over the ridge in the middle of the picture.
Todays walk was a nice start of the trail that didn't contained the steepest of challenges, but yet climbed enough upwards to get a nice view. It got hotter after a while making it heavier to walk. A lot of days left to go.
La Rhune. The GR10 are not going up to the substantial summit but are passing over the ridge to the left of the summit.
Ainhoa ->
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