Tales from the Via Podiensis-k) The Pyrenees Foothills

There were always new sights every day on the GR 65 to behold. I can remember stopping and gazing at one small lake prior to Maslacq one morning. The reason I stopped was because this particular lake had both the greatest number and variety of water birds that I had come across so far on my journey. I was not able to do justice with my photographs but it would have been a delight for anyone with a good quality camera with a zoom lens! Shortly afterwards I walked through Maslacq and noticed a run down chateau as I was heading through the other side of the town.

Of course there were more hills and I can vividly remember when I first spotted the magnificent Sauvelaude St James church. I stopped off here to marvel at its interior along with watching a very informative video on the history including when it was part of an abbey complex. This church was sacked by the Huguenots, then restored, then sold off during the French revolution. Fortunately it is now being looked after by people from the nearby commune, plus it also contains an impressive statue of Saint James (hence the name). As I was sitting on a pew in the church the bells pealed for 12 am and I have to admit it was impressive hearing this thundering noise whilst inside. Then off I set again for what would be predominantly more road walking combined with a series of hills.

Bonjour les vaches I would say as I walked by some of the fields. Being the middle of the day the cows were all resting and I sometimes wondered what they thought about the steady parade of hikers passing by every day for at least half of the year. Of course they were probably used to it, hence why there was not much interest on their part on yet another hiker trudging by. The tranquillity of being out in rural France was only disturbed by the odd small car being frenetically driven by a local which would whiz by. Situational awareness and road walking skills are a must for many of the sections of the GR 65!

Between Sauvelaude and Navarrenx there are not many places to stop so I ended up walking into a field, sitting down and getting some snacks out mid afternoon. As I went to stand up there was some rustling in a nearby thicket and a small boar rushed away in the opposite direction. I was lucky in some respect that it was not a large animal and that it was more scared of me than I was of it. Up to then the only boars I had seen were those whose heads were mounted on the walls of some of the places that I had stayed in. If you want to see what they might look like in the wild you can watch this short video https://youtu.be/uXkPYWMDAoA

On the outskirts of Navarrenx I caught up with some of the hikers who I usually met up with for dinner each night. We compared notes, navigated a roundabout and walked into the outskirts of the town. The medieval centre was our final destination and we knew we were close to it when we saw the battlements. Navarrenx also had a number of shops (I can remember being ravenous and buying a mini pizza as well as more cheese and tomatoes for the backpack). Sitting down and enjoying a drink in the town square was a great end to this particular day. Of course the backpacks always attracted interest from other visitors and soon conversations were being held comparing notes on where everyone was from and where each of us was heading (and how).

Crossing the Navarenx bridge I could gaze along the Gave d’Oloron and try and spot water birds. Looking back over my shoulder I could also get a final view of this preserved medieval fortified town. Just after this whilst walking up a hill I actually saw a rabbit!

On any damp day walking through the forests had its own particular charm and this was the case on this particular stage. What with the smell of the damp vegetation, the patter of rain drops on the canopy plus a respite from the heat. I had never seen so many orange slugs up to now, and they seemed to be all over the place. Life as a slug in rural France was not without peril however because they were no match for those cars on the back roads it seemed. I noted a number of casualties whilst walking along some of the roads. It was also on this leg of my journey that I walked a whole extra circuit of a farm because I missed one of the waymarking signs in the rain! However I did manage to shelter beneath some very large trees out of the way for close to 45 minutes when the rain then became torrential, so there were pluses and minuses!

So when I squelched into my Gite for the night, damp from a day spent largely in the rain it was a relief to see how well set up they were for hot drinks, snacks as well as for the drying of clothes etc. Plus there were many other hikers with whom I could compare notes including from Austria, Spain, the United States, Australia as well as France. I learnt some more facts about French cheese from the locals along with sampling some of the delights that night at dinner. Dinner was well received particularly as four courses were served!

Comparing notes with the other hikers who had also walked the whole route of the Via Podiensis all the way from le Puy was very informative. Many of us were also becoming excited that our journey was coming close to an end and that barring misfortune we should make it!

To be continued- Tales from the Via Podiensis- Finally the End is in Sight