Uhart Mixe - St. Jean Pied de Port 27 kms

Saturday, September 29th

A perfect last day. By far the most scenic since leaving Moissac. A clear, not too hot day with great views of the Pyrenees for the entire etape. Even with painful feet it was a marvellous walk. We stopped en route at a farm to buy freshly made cheese and yogurt. Tres bon...
We arrived at St Jean in the early afternoon, but for the first time without room reservations. We had been told that the city was complet in part because it was a Saturday and it is a major tourist destination. Figuring St Jacques owed me one for 10 days of painful walking we took our chances. The first two places we tried were either complet or closed. I spotted a "chambre a louer" sign on a door and decided to give it a try. An elderly woman answered our knock. Looking into the dark passageway of her home I was amused that we had entered a haunted house....Turned out the woman was a delight and best of all spoke fluent Spanish. She had a room available and took us up 4 flights of stairs to a cute little room with an amazing view of the surrounding countryside. The best part was the little balcony where the toilet and shower were located. "A Toilet With A View".
St Jean is a very pictureque, if touristy town. After the quiet of the past 12 days the number of people walking about came as a bit of a shock.
We ran into many of our walking friends - most of whom were continuing their way to Santiago: "Orange Cap" John, the young American; the two Swiss men that had already been walking for two months; Mado, the energetic French woman whose husband was meeting her on occassion on his bike; and the young french woman who was forced to stop at St Jean because her walking companion - her little dog - would go no further.
We said adieu to all these friends. The Pyrenees awaited them the next day...We were done. 320kms since Moissac. 800 kms since Le Puy. Enough for now....We will be back in the near future to meet up with St Jacques once again.

Navarrenx - Uhart Mixe 29kms

Friday, September 29th

We decided to get to St Jean in two days instead of three. That meant two more long days. Hot again, with very little shade as we struggled through the rolling Basque countryside. Remote walking with no real villages to pass which meant lack of access to water...This became a problem because we actually ran out of water with about 5kms left. Very fortunately we passed an isolated home on the chemin where we spotted an elderly woman moving her car. I asked for some water and she invited us into her home where she filled our container with cold, delicious eau. Thank goodness for St. Jacque's intervention beecause I'm not sure if we could have made it to our destination.
And what a nice destination it was. A walker's gite, but it was more like a roadside Inn - the only place to stay in the tiny village. Again, our own room. But the best part was dinner. Along with 4 other walkers we had met along the Way, we were feasted like royalty. Among other things, my first Piperade - a Basque-like stew made from peppers, onion, tomatoes, and garlic topped with slices of jambon (from black pigs) and sausages. Beyond delicious. Copious amounts of unending bottles of Red and Rose wines, all overseen by an elderly male owner taking care of our every need - a perfect evening after a very difficult day....And Leslie got stinking drunk....The breakfast the next morning was just as nice with fresh squeezed orange juice and sundry goodies.

Arthenz - Navarrenx 28kms

September 28th

Another hard, if rather uneventful day of walking. Pretty countryside, but lots of steep climbs, and worse, steep descents. After 7 hours of heat good to finally arrive at our Hotel....A Hotel is a bit more luxurious than a gite - sheets and towels provided, but honestly, the accomodations at the gites have been quite nice.
Navarrenx is a larger town - very pretty. A good demi-pension dinner with a lovely bottle of Jurancon white...Another day closer to St Jean.

Arzack - Arthenz-les-Bearns 28 kms

September 27th

Today it reached 32 C, about 94 degrees Farenheit. Hot, but at least it was a much prettier walk through rolling hills. Fortunately, there is eau potable at the cementaries next to all the Romanasque churches we pass on route. Staying hydrated is essential in the heat.... Arrived at our gite at 3pm after seven hours of walking. An interesting place - Gite Brousse - owned by the local patisserie owner. Our own large room with en suite facilities... An odd town - essentially one kilometer long street. We were at one end of town, and the owner has bikes to ride into the center - which we used for beer and dinner.

While having our afternoon beer a walker came up wanting to show us his new haircut -not your usual greeting, but the French are diferrent. His name was Jean, and it turned out he is married to an American, lives in Paris and was quite fun to chat with. We sat with him later at dinner and will try to keep in touch.

The highlight of the day was the next morning where the 10 of us staying at the gite had breakfast at the back of the owner's patisserie. Good coffee and warm milk, perfect baguets, and he showered us with croissants and pain-au-chocolats. Fabulous. The entire cost for room and breakfast was 15E per person - unbelievable deal...

Aire-sur L'Adour - Arzacq-Arraziquet 32kms

Tuesday, September 26

We arrived in the second of the three "A" towns. The few "z's" in the name indicates we are close to the Basque region. We had glimpses of the Pyrenees.In fact, on the second day out of Moissac we saw the Pyrenees far in the distance. They are still far away.

A very hot and boring walk mostly through fields of corn. Can't even eat the stuff - they use it as feed. Eight hours of actual walking -too much. Everyone complained about the long day upon the arrival at the communal gite - an enormous place...but once again we had our own room.
Arzack is a non-descript town. The best part was the delicious anchovy covered pizza we had for dinner. Absolutely perfect with the bottle of Rose. My feet are also finally toughening up a bit, which aint saying much

I must mention that Les spends must of her walking time counting to 1000. She claims it helps her pass the time during the boring or hard stretches - but I think it has more to do with the company she keeps and his lack of conversational skills. I make up for it in other ways.

Nogaro - Aire sur L'Adour 22kms

Monday, September 26th

The days are blending into one another. We are meeting the same walkers either on the chemin or at the end of the day. Today seemed like a mini-reunion as many of the walkers we have met on the way are staying in this town and in our rickety little hotel. L'Adour is a pretty big town, but because it is Monday virtually evertyhing is closed. One always has to make proper arrangements for a Sunday or Monday when walking.

The walk today was uninspiring, with the exception of a short stint through vineyards. Upon arrival at our hotel I discover a new juicy blister (picture enclosed). That is not was has bothered me the most....But tommorrow will be better, even if it will be 32kms....Better yet, we found a restaurant that is open ce soir that I am sure wil have a good Red..

Eauze - Nogaro 23kms

Sunday, September 25th


Another nice and warm day of walking. The right foot hurts, but carry on we do. Five and one-half hours with a brief stop for a biere. A highlight was passing the farm Les wanted to buy - foie gras for life! Our gite - L'Arbladoise - turned out to be an amazing place, especially when the owner gave us a private room with shower and toilet, with two french doors leading to the patio - tres luxurious. Best part of the walking is the end, especially if the end is in a nice place. Like other gites, the owner greets you with a choice of cold drinks and engages in conversation till its time to take you to the room. Always a pleasant way to be greeted.

Awaiting us at the gite was a note from our friend Johaness. He is one day ahead of us. It seems he pushed himself too hard and had to be driven to see a doctor because he had infected blisters. Got to keep those feet happy.

Again, another great communal meal to end the day.

Seviac – Eauze 16kms

Saturday, September 24th

Another short day. Only 4 hours walking in a light constant drizzle, much of the time through forest land..…This section of the Le Puy walk has either short or long days. Our long days are ahead of us. On the route someone had changed one of the ubiquitous directional markers and a group of us took the wrong turn. No major problem, but an opportunity to take a good photo of pilgrims losing “The Way”.

We are staying at a gite communal ce soir. There are numerous sleeping options on the Chemin. “Gite communals” are communal sleeping accommodations owned by the local city...Usually four or five beds per room. Simple places with kitchen facilities. ( photo enclosed of our room in Eauze). They currently charge @ 10-12 Euros per bed… Private gites have similar configurations, but often also have private rooms and provide for demi-pension. Total cost @30-35 Euros per person. There are also small Hotels/Logis, sometimes chamber d’Hotes (B&B’s) and occasionally religious hostels. One can spend a little or spend more than a little, but never a lot. Most walkers stay in gites.

Eauze is touted as the capital of Armagnac. Sitting at a local café we were induced to partake of a small tasting. By happenstance (or some sign from St Jacques) the vintages of the three tasted were `1978, 1985 & 1988….the year of my first visit to France and the birth years of my daughters. And yes, they were delicious

Condom – Seviac - 19kms

Friday, September 23rd




Our supposed short day had us arriving at our farm gite just outside of Montreal du Gers at 3pm. The cause was leaving at the unpilgrim like hour of 10am. Most walkers start their day by 8am at the latest. Despite our late start we caught up with everyone. It seems the French remain genetically predisposed to stop for their “picnick” lunch, bless their Gaulic hearts. Les and I just plod along.

Today was a good day to plod. With my very sore toes properly wrapped, we walked through pretty farmland, interspersed with the first signs of vineyards – grapes to make Armagnac. It was quite warm and is expected to reach 90 degrees in the next few days. We arrived quite tired…

Our gite, the Ferme du Soleil, welcomed 14 walkers, all of them French speaking and of a certain age. Most are headed all the way to St Jean and a few to Santiago de Compostela. The gite is very near the site of an excavated Roman Villa that still retains moissac tiled floors. Worth the visit. The gite is also the same place my brother stayed many years ago – and I so told the Madam owner.

Dinner that evening was a grand affair and lots of fun. Fortunately a couple of the walkers spoke good English, and after sharing more than a few bottles of local Rose I was virtually fluent in French. It was the kind of evening that makes the Camino memorable.

Lectoure - Condom 27kms

September 23

Yes, Condom. I have other body parts where a bit of extra protection might immunize me from unfortunate consequences, but I'm not supposed to talk about my toes....
Les thought it was a beautiful walk, and I'm sure it was. However, since it is the third day of walking, the curse of St Jacques has befallen me again. Such it was that a young french couple passed me toward the end of the day, complimenting me on the "deliberate and gliding" rythm of my pace. I thanked them for their observation, mentioned something about my feet, and lamented the failure of my parents to bestow me with good toe DNA.

Fortunately Les did not have listen to my laments as she attached herself to a Danish man and walked ahead of me for a few hours. As expected, she knows his entire life story.

We said goodbye to our friend Johaness who will be walking more kilometers than us the next few days.

Condom itself is a pretty town, and most importantly is blessed with a one-star Michelin restaurant - Les Tables des Cordeliers. It should be a two-star cause the meal was exquisite, service supreme and the setting extraordinary - a coverted 14th Century chapel.

Tommorow will be a short day - only 18kms...we shall see.

Saint-Antoine to Lectoure 24kms

September 21st

Flat. I was led to believe this section of the Chemin was flat. Yesterday was mostly flat. Sacramento is flat. But this Chemin is not flat, especially with 8 kilos on my back. Every little hill feels like Mt Everest. In fact, last night at our very mediocre pilgrim evening meal, a french woman claimed that the elevation change between Le Puy and St Jean de Port is 18,000 meters, or 1 and 1/2 Mt Everests. I believe her.

Nevertheless, it was a lovely walk through rolling hills. We arrived at our cute little gite extremely tired. But nothing a bottle of Rose and a bloc of foie gras would not cure. In fact Les thinks foie gras is the remedy for any ailment - but you all know that already.

A very good meal at a Michelin mentioned restaurant that evening

Moissac – Sainte-Antoine – 25kms
Tuesday, September 20th





It’s good to be back on the Chemin Compostelle. Our flight from Sacramento was uneventful, if long. The highlight of the flight was viewing the movie “The Way” starring Martin Sheen – a film about the Camino in Spain. An appropriate start to our latest adventure. And quite a nice film that gives a good sense of the walk –at least in Spain. Should be released in the States in a couple of weeks.
We met up with our Swiss friend, Johaness in Moissac. We had walked a couple of days together last year and agreed to meet again to walk together a few days. He is also on his way to St Jean Pied de Port.
The walk today was easy. The first ten miles are along the Canal Lateral del Garonne – shaded by those great plane trees and very flat. Thereafter, a sharp quick steep climb into the beautiful village of Auvillar. On the way a nuclear power plant looms in the near distance. A couple of hours later we arrive at our gite. There are about 25 persons staying here, but we have our own little room. Almost all French walkers. We met the first American in 3 years of walking the Chemin – a recent graduate of Yale. We are also the first Americans he has seen in 20 days of walking. Obvioiusly, it is not a common walk for those from the US of A. We shall see if the new Martin Sheen movie changes that