Another rainy day and another day downhill towards the Atlantic coast. A 22km walk, 300m elevation and a 120m fall in elevation from Oloron to Navarrenx.
It was raining and 13 degrees when I went for breakfast and never reached over 20 degrees the whole day. Not even comparable to back home in Copenhagen where they are experiencing a heatwave.
I decided to wait for the rain to subside before walking as today was a fairly short stage. Therefore I decided to wash clothes after breakfast. Of course the rain died down whilst I was at the laundry and it hardly rained as I walked back to the hotel.
I was on the road by 11am, where it immediately started to rain again. It got worse, so at noon, I stood under a roof for 45mins, and watched the rain. The sun suddenly appeared – albeit for a short time – as I set off again.
At the laundry, I planned a road route, to bypass any mud, which I imagined could be on the paths next to the river, Le Gave d’Oloron. Whilst not the most spectacular walk, the road had the advantage that I passed through several nice villages, Orin, Géronce and Saint-Goin, and many nice houses. There were also a lot of fields growing corn as I got closer to Navarrenx.
At one point, I was surprised to see a road sign with 16km to Oloron, not least as I had only walked 9kms at that point.
I arrived at Navarrenx around 4pm and found the hostel I was staying. The owner invited me to join him for a beer and we spoke about walking and France, in French! After living in France for 8+ years, I am embarrassed at how little French I speak – my excuse being that I worked for an international company where English was the working language. On the other hand its more than 35 years since we moved from France. But actually, I was pleasantly surprised that I could have a long and meaningful conversation in French – not perfect, but it worked.
As I arrived in town I was greeted by a wall full of pictures of walkers who had visited the town – there was another wall on the way out. A fantastic idea.
After the beer, and a shower I walked around the village which Lene, Thomas and I had visited in 1993. Navarrenx is a fortified town, with a fortification constructed in the 14th century and many old houses. The river running through the town is famous for its salmon, and has yearly competition to catch the largest salmon and for the best salmon recipe. There were a few walkers in the town as Navarrenx is on the Le Puy to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port – Le Chemin du Puy.
I had a nice dinner at the bistro below the room I am staying, and a chat with a fellow walker on his way to Santiago.
I hope for a dryer day tomorrow.