The Way of St. James #38: From Arzacq-Arraziguet to Arthez-de-Béarn

I started out from Arzacq-Arraziguez shortly before 8 AM. Over breakfast I had a short discussion with two other pilgrims, and they were optimistic that the rain would hold off. But the skies looked ominous. I was not hurrying, but soon reached the local reservoir.

If you look closely at the first photograph, you can see two other walkers on the other side of the reservoir, so I was not the first one on the trail this morning.

From there, the trail descends to cross the little Luy-de-France River before coming to the village of Louvigny.

I had an option to follow the road or the trail. The trail claimed to offer an “Ancien Chateau”, so I took the trail and soon reached Moundy, having seen no chateau. But there are several pretty farmhouses in this area.

From Moundy, I again had a choice, and this time I took the road. The off-road trail was quite muddy in places so the road offered the better option, and it brought me to the village of Fichous-Riumayou, where there is an interesting romanesqe church.

Then it was straight on through the village of Lerroule. Just before Lerroule, the rain started. Crossing the Luy-de-Béarn River, even the cows were taking shelter from the rain.

But we pilgrims are a hardy lot, so I kept going and soon came to Uzan.

And from there, I soon reached Pomps. Pomps has an “epicerie” which serves as a refreshment station for pilgrims. I enjoyed a slice of pizza and a beer before going on. It was now just 9km to Arthez-de-Béarn which was my destination for the day. I made no more sops for refreshments; even if I wanted to, there was nowhere open. But I did stop at the Chapelle de Caubin. It was built on the site of a commandery of the Knights of Malta, and while it is now just a small wayside church, it has the air of former importance.

I had booked into a gite on the “downstream” side of Arthez-de-Béarn, that is to say a little further along the route than the town itself. I am hoping that will give me a good start tomorrow. It had rained nearly all of the day since Lerroule. Sometimes, the rain might stop, and I would foolishly take off my raingrea, only to be putting it back on within 15 minutes.

In these pages, I like to take note of the interesting and unusual. One such item was the signpost in the village of Geus, shown in the heading photo. What a way to use an old bicycle! The first sign points the way to Arthez-de-Béarn, the second tells you it is in

The other interesting item today was the Arbre des Pelerins, or the Pilgrims’ Tree. It looks as if pilgrims have decorated the tree with objects from their pilgrimage. There are sticks and scallop shells in abundance, and even what looks like a perfectly servicable hat.

And finally, today’s step count was 45,890.