Day 30 Morlaàs to Lescar, 19 km

Another easy day under cloudy skies. First on the agenda was a visit to the boulangerie for the croissant and pain chocolate that would count as breakfast and a morning snack. And a little quiche for lunch. They always seem like a good idea but then I often, as today, find them really hard to eat while I am walking. And then of course they get squished in the pack. It ended up being tonight’s dinner. After the bakery I remembered to go to the bank machine. Outside the cities, pretty much everything is cash. The first withdrawal I made had a service charge of 6€. But since then there does not seem to have been any service charges at all. After the bank machine I went back to the hotel for coffee. And then I was out the door about 8:15.

I’m trying to remember… definitely no ups and maybe just one small down. But it was generally flat. But nice flat - not all pavement flat. The day started in farm fields and then through a rural area with lots of houses. Good roses. And tons of rhododendrons. At one crossroads I met up with a group of day hikers waiting for some of their friends to arrive. Most of them were women, more or less my age. First question always - you are alone? There was a little bit of chatting. One of the rare times French people have wanted to speak to me in English. We were talking about aging knees, closed Sunday pharmacies, and I asked if any of them had an extra ibuprofen. Nope but they had something like Tylenol. It definitely helped!

The chemin goes across the top of the city of Pau, through a real forest, one with an understory. Beautiful. And full of people out for their Sunday walks. After the forest the route goes right to the edge of Pau, around a race track. And after that I left the GR markings and went a few blocks south to a grocery store, which closed just as I was leaving, and then a few blocks west to a huge bakery-cafe for lunch. And after that it was a very pleasant walk along mostly green paths, past some kind of zoo, to the village of Lescar. Built on the edge of a hill with amazing views. And a very pretty cathedral.

The gite is another really amazing municipal one. So well thought out. Everything you could need. Brushes to clean boots. Newspapers for wet boots. Drying racks. Hooks on the walls, a hair dryer, lots of books, tables inside and outside. A donativo washer and dryer. I have clean clothes.

We are two here. Me and a man who also started in Arles. We each have our own room. Luc the volunteer, just back from a Moroccan tangine for his Sunday lunch, came and took our money and stamped our credencials. Like other hospitaliers, he looked through it to see where else I had stayed.

Super quiet afternoon and evening here. Big decision for the next days is whether to put off going to Somport from Thursday to Friday because it looks like the weather will be a bit better. They are predicting clouds and some rain all week. If I wait until Friday I could also, booking.com says, stay in Santa Cruz de la Serros on Sunday night.

Tomorrow is long with some hills, but they say the rain will not come until late in the day. Hope that’s right!Read more