I had a good rest last night. When I stayed in St.-Etienne-de Baigorray, the church bells were sounding all night. There is a strange custom in this part of France that as well as sounding the hour on the hour, they also repeat the chime at five minutes past the hour. I guess it is an in-case-you-missed-it approach. So, in St. Ettienne, in a gite in the centre of the village, I had no chance of getting a good night’s sleep. So when I arrived in Bidarray and checked into the pension just across from the church, I was expecting a fairly sleepless night. But in Bidarray, the practice is different, and they switch off the bells from 11PM to 7AM. And so I had the best sleep of the trip so far.
After a good breakfast this morning, I was ready to hit the trail again. I left the pension and went on my way. The route winds around to join the Bastan river and follows it upstream for a few kilometers.
The trail leaves the stream to wind its way uphill. At first the way is easy, following a road. Then, there is a foot track for a while, before it becomes one of those mountain-hugging trails again.
It was difficult, but it got me to the Col d’Artzatey. After that, it was relatively easy going to the Col de Mehatche: not much change in height between the two. The Col de Mehatche is an archaeological site, with cromlechs present, or as we in Ireland would call them, dolmens.
After that, it was downhill by a mixture of road and trail to the Col des Veaux. Shortly after that I stopped briefly at the Ferme Esteben. This is a gite that serves refreshments during the day, and I was ready for a beer. They only serve beer here in 250ml glasses, so two were required.
After the Ferme Esteben, the route turns northwards. Along the way, I had a good view back over the way I had come.
There are no more mountain-hugging difficult bits, but just a long slog to get to Ainhoa. The route twists and turns, coming to the Calvairie de Ainhoa just two kilometers before the village.
And then it was steeply downhill into the village of Ainhoa
I have been tempting fate on this trip, not booking places in advance, and today, that caught up with me. I tried phoning the gites in the area, but with no luck. The Chambres d’Hote (bed and breakfast) were also booked out. So I ended up booking into a hotel. OK, so it was above my budget, but I will deal with that another day. This evening, I needed a hot shower and a good dinner, and I have had both.
Tomorrow is another day. And I have not heard the church bells once, so a good night’s sleep is in prospect.
Finally, the step count for today: 38,696
Walkingman 