Month: June 2014

13.06.14 Friday San Sebastian to Zarautz (yes really but no good for scrabble).

Not included in the blog yesterday was the cat that offered to carry Betsy’s pack. Sadly it did not fit.

We get out of the alburgue in San Sebatian by 7.30 and ascend the steep path on to the cliff walk as yesterday. Today however it is very foggy and the navigational aid (blue right green left) fails us as we hardly see the sea until we descend again into the old fishing port of Orio where pilgrims were ferried across for free in medieval times. It is interesting that the old restored town and churches are all on the near bank where development occurred to cope with the pilgrin arrivals, the development on the west bank is all modern.

We go up the hill out of town and a couple of km across the top between Orio and Zarautz we pass by the first campsite in favour of the one at the bottom of the hill nearer town. It is just in the process of opening for the season and will not take us. This causes consternation we should have realised it is Friday 13th. So into nearest bar for food a menu de doa and the walk back up seems easy instead of a major trial. A nice campsite on the top of the cliff with drying sea breezes, the morning fog has mostly cleared and much airing and washing takes place.
20.5 km maybe 500m of up and down although the GPS tracked 1000m which even with the reversal of route to add an additional 100m or so seems excessive.

12.06.14 Thursday. Irun to San Sebastian.

After a longish walk yesterday through Irun to the little Alburge wr gain a great deal of information from the hospitalero including a free booklet like the one Geof found for the whole route. Including campsites. There was one in Irun but another 7km out of town was a bridge too far. We zate off after a light breakfast at the donativo alburgue and after a walk though flatland just outside Irun start to………….. you guessed it climb. We go up steeply for a couple of hundred metres and then start to contour round on an excellent track, well three of us do. Ray thinks he sees a shortcut and follows a set of older markers both red and white GR marks and yellow arrows. He goes over the top of the mountain without even a Virgin on top and rejoins us some km later looking even more sweaty than the rest of us. We carry on round and descend steeply to sealevel at the first deep inlet/estuary at the start of San Sebastian where a little foot passenger ferry takes us and other walkers to the edge of San Sebastian. The route then goes, instead of the obvious urban way, up and around a great cliff path and over and down into San Sebastian proper.
We are still hearing the cuckoo but less persistent than before and the cries of seagulls are heard and will doubtless become commonplace. Robins and wrens arr seen and Ray glimpses a weasel crossing the path ahead. The walk had been notable for shirtless male dog walkers up to the point when as we walk along the beachfront in San Sebastian the seem replaced by female ones without dogs, sunbathing in the heat. We concentrate on the way and eventually passing a great little sculpture of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, find our alburgue a much grander and more costly affair than last night.
Hopefully we will get to a campsite tomorrow.
27km and up and down which at 1700m seems unbelievable. The system may have failed in this case.

11.06.14 Wednesday. Bera to Irun.
Well no fiurther excitments after we got fed in Bera. Up in the morning at 6.45 and breakfast from our hostess. Florita and her husband are trying to sell the Casa Romana to retire to his village in the Navarre lowlands. In the breakfast room there is a pelota racket on the wall Ray and Tim are allowed to try it on, it is surprisingly light.As we leave the town over the recently refurbished bridge we see an echo of a British past hero. The Spanish treat the Napoleonic occupation of their country as the War of Indepenence and many references to the British Campaign of Wellington are minimised, here is a wonderful joint commemoration of a minor part in the final days of the Peninsular campaign.
After that the day follows it’s familiar course with a steepish ascent though not as bad as yesterday and a long ridge wslk as we rise above the lower layer of clouds. The day remains reasonably cool and we race across the first few km.
The descent to the coast at Irun has several false starts with ascents short and steep afterward but finally a view of Irun and the sea comes in view. We wander through the outskirts relieved to be in a town with an open bar at 2pm.
The Irun alburgue opens at 1600 and its hospitalero is as helpful as he can be Betsy and he have a long conversation gaining information about the future course of our Way.
Hopefully we will not have to contend with the same difficulties of the last few days even if coastal routes are notorious for up and down. Todays gradual climb up out of the Embalese (reservoir) was a great walk very well graded and we were surprised by a cyclist pedalling quietly up the rough track behind us.
Today. 24km 1400m up 1450m down

As usual our arrival time in Bera coincided with siesta about 1530 consequently the place looked dead except for kids on skateboards and bikes. Of more concern and should have been a warning no bars were open and several showed unmistakeable signs of not having been open for sometime. So with difficulty we found a place to stay in a Casa Rurale, the Spanish B&B, and performed our rituals of cleansing, reassured by the elderly lady running it that the restaurant at the bottom of the hill would be open at 8.
We do some shopping for tomorrows lunch at the only supermercado in town and finally find a bar open at the far end of town. Beer consumed 8pm at last all rather hungry back to restaurant not open 8.30 still not open some of us sit outside and some scout for alternatives, the supermarket has now closed. Eventually man emerges from watching tv in restaurant as says he’s not opening tonight. Our scouts however have identified a hotel with a restaurant that was very closed during siesta, it is just opening we are fed very well pigs cheeks in red wine and a second bottle of Navarre tempranillo. Home to bed with a chance to complete the fourth big day tomorrow.

10.06.14 Tuesday. Elizonda to Bera.
Cooler today after the rain yesterday. Betsy and Tim were just settling last night with the open window when their room was invaded by a bat that took a little persuading to get out of the room. Sleeping with window shit unfortunately necessary lest the whole roost came in from the rain.
Out and walking by 7am across the river and straight up 600m once on tops an undulating route following ridgelines again at first in cloud with dew on plants and spider webs. Then with clouds clearing for some great views back into France and the border mountain of La Rhune a smugglers route of old. It is a long time since we were on top of it via the rack railway. We also spot the traditional Basque hay or bracken stacks on a pole that we remember from days on the GR10.
While up high we find some newts with tadpoles in a puddle. As well as more stone circles, but today is a good day for covering distance and we do. Arrival in Berra at about half past 3 means 31.5km 1700m up 1800m down.
We are all tired and in need of food.

9.06.14 Monday. Middle of Nowhere to Elizondo.
Although it was a quiet night except for the owl and the tents were dry in the morning not all the party slept well inspite of yesterdays exertions. Much insect life seemed to want to inhabit our tents and a wild life hunt in the inner mesh parts was needed before settling for the night. But we are off up the concrete road by 7am. It is a painless ascent and the views in the early morning across this relatively low part of the Pyrennees(1000-1200m) are suberb. Once the hieght is gained the route follows the ridges and we meet ponies and sheep but no people until well down the long descent to Elizondo through beech oak and occasional pine woods. We also find in flower Purple Toothwort a parasitic damp loving plant with quite attractive flowers growing out straight from the ground. Betsy finally managed to identify it in our electronic guides.
On the tops we found as in Tonys route info, several old stone circles and old border stones sometimes on the current border sometimes not, but up here it seems and probably always has been irrelevant.
Elizondo is reached well before the promised rain and find good rooms by the fine river with several old bridges and another large water snake. We wash ourselves and clothes much needed and then ponder drying, the establishment being in town and a little up market of most of our previous lodgings. Opening a window finds a blank wall about 2ft away so a good place to hang the line under the eaves and so sheltered from the rain that does come as forcast.
This town also seems to be on a Camino to Santiago, they have scallop shells in the pavement and occasional walkers pass through with the identifying shell on rucksacks. We were unaware of this but it is a relatively low level route through from France and certainly the flood of pilgrims in the 13 -14C would have found short easy routes which will even now vary at different times of year. It is obvious though we are in Basque heartland and the Kingdom of Navarre is alive and thriving at least on this pleasant little town.
The third well above average day in succesion and another planned for tomorrow. And the hunt for wild life of the insect kind continues as 30 ants parade out of Betsy’s rucksack. 

8.06.14 Sunday. Burguete to Middle of Nowhere. That’s Nowhere with a q and a z!
We sleep extremely well and with a few aches and pains we are off out of the village having bought food for the wild camp in the little supermarket just outside town back toward Roncesvalles. The GR11 crosses the camino frances in the middle of town and we are in flat grazing following a stream at first. There are many locals out for a walk or a picnic and after the first ascent and descent of the day we get coffee and beer and an excellent cheese tortilla at an alburgue/refuge which seems a useful halt but not well positioned for us. It does have an interesting gents loo that Betsy is impressed by (don’t ask). We expect the numbers to thin out but not so, climbing up the delightfully forested valley with the ever steepening path there are many butterworts in full bloom along the path, and we are amazed at the group of elderly ladies slowly ascending and having enough breath for a natter on the way up to the col which seems a favoured spot at 1200m altitude and 350m from the road, must be something in this transhumance business.
After lunch on the top with glorious views and a sleep for some we continue our way along a high sheep grazed ridge at about 1000m. Soon we gradually descend though more beech woods past multiple hunting hides of all ages many set up for migrating birds flying up the valleys and over the Pyrenees. We reach a road crossing that has some stream water flowing and water up, we are on a wild camp tonight and start to head up the concrete road after Tony prospected and found a possible site a short way up. We don’t want to go too high but would like to start early tomorrow and cover the second half of 40km and a lot of up and down before the rain promised for tomorrow afternoon.
A meal of gnocchi with a lentil and tomato sauce, Tim’s nod at Indian Italian fusion cooking fills up well once the lentils are cooked. So we seem alone except for two dog walkers passing our roadside encampment. They seem unconcerned. Wild camping is well tolerated in Spain.
21km 1250m up and 1170 down a good day

Yesterday’s walk from St Jean Pied de Port to Roncesvalles was well worth the effort with magnificent mountain scenery and pleasantly shaded beech woods, though it lost its charm when the campsite turned out to be 4km further than expected. Thank goodness for a ‘no show’ which left rooms available for us. Trying hard now to swap from French to Spanish, thwarted slightly by strong local accents. The church at Roncesvalles had some interesting misericords which I wanted to investigate thoroughly but was discouraged by the way the area was roped off!
Now sitting outside the tent at a wild camp at the end of another well above average day (lots of up and down as well as distance), very glad the weather is holding and the locals who were dog walking didn’t object to us.

7.06.14 Saturday Today’s the day. St Jean Pied de Porte into SPAIN. Burguette just past Roncesvalles.
This is the day we have been really looking forward to. The night before in the little campsite in St Jean was marred for some by the arrival and pitching of camp of a group between midnight and 2am. Others were blissfully unaware! But we are up at 5am and may seek forgiveness for not caring about the sound of our exit from the site. We get cracking at 6amand leave via the pilgrim gate Uphill for a lot of kilometers in the half light before the sun gets up. It is wonderfully cool compared to yesterday and before things really heay up ahain we are over 1000m in a stiff breeze so it is still comfortable going uphill even with the fairly relentless climb. We get coffee 8km out and 650 m higher in the Refuge Orrisy. We climb steadily through the hills with flocks of sheep clustered on hilltops (yes Ray like aphids)! Eventually we reach the top and look down into the Roncesvalles valley where Roland nephew of Charlemange died after being ambushed by Moors during the retreat from Spain in the 8th C. A bit before the crusades and the finding supposed finding of St James tomb. The descent into the valley though beech woods is equally hard and steep but not qite as long. A big day and still 2 or 3 km into Burguette. The abbey at Roncesvalles has some nice old stained glass and a deep stone crypt with seriously old painting on it. More importantly there is a bar. Two beers and our lunch later we wander down the path to the village and find as expected at 1430 the supermarket is closed till 1700 and the campsite is variably estimated at up to 5km in the wrong direction. We inquire for rooms non are to be had in a quandary we eat again, it has the virtue of sitting down and analgesia is supplied. After lunch a miracle, rooms have manifested. No shows are common and bookings are cancelled after 1600 unless confirmed.
We clean, shop and gradually recover tomorrow is another day hot and with a wild camp.
29km 1900m of ascent 1100m descent a big day.
WE ARE NOW IN SPAIN!

6.06.14 Friday Ostabat to St Jean pied de Porte.
The small village of Ostabat is the meeting of several ways tributary routes from Arles in the south and Paris in the north join the route from Le Puy.Mr Squeaky the bunk beds came to our dormitory and none of us slept well but we were off before 7 am and into a day rapidly warming up as promised. The route goes a little up the valley sides but without much hieght gain thankfully. We stop briefly at a farm offering coffee and yogurt donativo but dont stop long. A red kite hovers low over the field next to the road and settles on a fence post. Magnificent maneuvering in the still hot air. We finally arrive as pools of gee in St J P de P as find the restaurant Tony remembers from our holidays here long ago. Stephanie stole her mothers trout at the age of one. It was a long time ago it is now a creperie, you cannot eat the same trout twice. But we find another that does have trout on the menu.
They can also be seen in the small rivrr flowing through the tow along with s viperine water snake spotted from the bridge to the campsite. The hot day winds on and the campsite fills up and Ray and Tim go shopping for a little food not too much we have to varry it up 1000 m tomorrow. Tony and Betsy go for hair cuts, Betsy reluctantly. She has not seen the inside of a hairdressers in years except for Rhona’ s wedding, but the split ends she sits on are becoming icreasingly difficult and painfull to keep under control. The both return suitably shorn.
24 km 700m up and down. An Average Day.