This Makes No Sense At All

This was the final leg on our three year effort to complete the Arles Route pilgrimage path to Spain. Last year was sort of difficult - not enough stimulation to warrant the physical effort. This year everything worked. There was a lot of rain, but that made for stunning skies, and in Spain, every few hours there is a cafe or bar where you can take a break and a snack. That made all the difference. I put an overview on YouTube  if you want more photos. We flew into Pau, caught a train to Oloron, and were at Hotel de la Paix the same afternoon, well positioned for the three day trek up the Valley of the Aspe to Somport Pass at the crest of the Pyrenees. The trail is a mix of roads and tracks the first day, everything green and glistening due to the recent rain. The normal first day ends at Sarrance, but we cut that a little short, staying at Fontaines d'Escot - 18 kilometers out. The place was a crumbling old chateau, gradually being restored. The last half mile before the chateau...

This is a big year for us. Finally completed the Torres del Paine circuit in March, in June do the last segment of the Arles Route over the Pyrenees into Spain, and in Aug-Sept complete the 2600 mile Pacific Crest Trail, starting near the southern border of Washington state and reaching Manning Park in Canada about 40 days later. Along with that we are trying to keep up our connections with friends and relatives, and Susan needs to attend to the needs of her 99 year old and somewhat independently  living mother. Not to mention normal house maintenance. It is difficult to keep on top of everything. Yesterday looked at detailed daily mileage for the Pcific Crest Trail trip to get exact time for trip and location of resupplies. Today I checked the flight to France to see whether we arrived in time to go on to Oloron Sainte Marie the same day. Yes, barring delays so querying hotel in Oloron for reservations. Our calendar every day says "walk". Today there was a note: Carry bac...

For a music backed overview, check out our YouTube video of the Dourgne to Oloron walk . In spite of the video appearances this was a somewhat difficult and stressful trip for us. Our seventh walk on a pilgrimage trail, we were looking at it as more of a vacation adventure, than as a serious trek. Our plan was 20 to 25k per day and to use B&Bs and hotels when possible, not using scarce pilgrim gite space, leaving that for the pilgrims bound for Santiago de Compostella. I'll give you an overview of the day to day, some planning tips, and then why it wasn't so fine for us, but could be for you. Trip Notes: 1. From Toulouse, got taxi to Gare Routiere got bus to in Revel, the closest point to Dourgne. From there got a taxi to Dourgne. Toulouse bus schedules at www.haute-garonne.fr and the bus lines that go to Revel are 56 and 57. Walked from Dourgne to St. Felix. Stayed at Le Cocagne - no star room, but food and ambiance good. In th...

For hours, and sometimes days, we see no one as we walk. In France, at least we see someone at our lodging place at the end of the day. This is not a bad thing. It helps the transformation to the simple demands of the trail - food, shelter and persuading our body that this is normal, this is to be expected. As we settle into the daily routine, a new voice, the passing of a pilgrim, become major events. Later, as we think back on our experiences, we find the trip defined by the people we meet. Good friends for the moment, and then usually gone forever. For a few hours on the Arles trip we walked a while with Robert, the Solitary Walker . A few days later we kept meeting Celine, a French-Canadian pilgrim who helped us with our daily phone calls for lodging. Then they are gone or we are gone, each walking our own path. This is a strangely compelling existence. If you are thinking of walking in Europe, I would recommend the Le Puy route to Santiago as a good first experience, but on...