Ascent / descent: 859m (5036m) / 864m (4879m).
Altitude (start / end / highest): 162m / 157m / 1021m.
Weather: Some sun, mostly cloudy during the day.
This is a special day for me. Today the walk goes to St Jean Pied de Port, the place where I started my fantastic adventure on the Camino Frances two years ago. I walk together with Didier today, while Marie-Agnes takes their car and is driving to St Jean Pied de Port and will meet all the pilgrims before us.
View of the Iparla ridge from the trail up towards Oylarandoy.
It's slightly cloudy overhead when we start the climb towards Oylarandoy (933m), the trail isn't going over the top but passes around the eastern side of it (in contradiction to what is described in Paul Lucia's guide for Cicerone where the trail that is described follows a track on the western side of the top). The route goes for the most part along a track upwards where we walk with our backs to the Iparla ridge. In the valley below we can see several vineyards. The track eventually goes over to become a path by an open cabane used by cattle. On the other side we can look towards Monhoa, which is covered by a solitary cloud.
Monhoa covered by a solitary cloud.
We join the road that is described as the GR10 route in the guide at Col d'Aharza (734m), the last bit of the trail is covered in sheep droppings. It's getting more cloudy overhead at this point. We're passing Col de Leizarze (829m) and Col d'Urdanzia (869m) before we start the ascent up towards Monhoa (1021m). It's a quite pleasant walk. There is no view whatsoever from the summit, we're enshrouded in the solitary cloud that is covering the top. At the summit a small disaster is imminent, the seams of one of the sides of my left shoe has gone loose, not a good sign with about 45 days left of the journey (I use the laces to keep the shoe together).
Dider next to a cabane being used by cattle below Oylarandoy.
We don't have to go far down to get out of the cloud and now I can see St Jean Pied de Port to the east of me. We descent from the top with a herd of cows on our tails. It's quite special to look upon the landscape that I walked through on my first day on my pilgrimage. Further down we walk past a young couple that both carries backpacks that seems to weight way too much, they're walking very slowly up the track.
At Lasse we orders a three course lunch at the hotel, Didier has phoned Marie-Agnés so she is meeting us there after having walked from St Jean Pied de Port. Both Dominique and Emilio are arriving after a short time. Inside the hotel there is a party going on, a lot of noisy Basque noise. Emilio is walking towards Estérençuby; it would be the last we saw of him.
View towards Col de Leizarze and Col d'Urdanzia from the climb up to Monhoa.
I share a room with Didier and Marie-Agnés at Gîte Zazpiak-Bat, but before I go there (the place is located a little bit outside of St Jean along the Camino) I have to buy some glue to fix my trekking shoes with. Later on me and Dider is standing outside the gîte fixing each our own shoe.
View towards the east where the path of the Camino Francis is crossing the Pyrenees to Roncesvalles from St Jean Pied de Port.
It's a strange feeling to be walking into St Jean Pied de Port, the first I notice is that there are a lot of more people here now than when I was here the last time. It's earlier in the year and still the high season of the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. I wonder how many of the pilgrims that I pass that is just as excited that I was when I was walking around here for two years ago. I know that I someday will return here to do the Camino again, being here brings back a lot of good memories from that adventure.
St Jean Pied de Port.
We eat dinner at the gîte which is quite good. In the evening we go for a walk in St Jean before we sit down for a drink. It's dark outside; most of the pilgrims have probably already gone to bed with tomorrows walk to Roncesvalles in their mind. My thoughts are locked upon Iraty-Cize.
<- St Etienne de BaïgorryIraty-Cize ->
No comments:
Post a Comment