A Terrace with a View

I wrote a new post in Wordpress but still need to figure out how to do everything I want on that site. I will post some photos here now to go with that text. It is challenging to try to figure everything out when I just have a phone and not a computer.  Please be patient...  Thanks! 

Switching Blog Sites

Hi Friends!

Due to changes with the blogspot app, I need to change my blog to Wordpress. I think you should be able to find it at emeryvilleamyoncamino.wordpress.com.

I think you can still opt to follow by email on that site as well. Please go to that site and see if you can find it.  I made one post there already.

Thanks!

Amy 

Pyrénées in Sight

with just about 50 km left to St Jean Pied de Port, I am feeling excited about finishing this stretch of the Camino and beginning the next. Some of the people that I've met are planning on going to Santiago, but a lot are ending their journey there. I will miss some friends like Patricia but I am looking forward to meeting new folks who are only doing the Camino Frances route in Spain.

Many of the gites in St Jean close on October 15th which  tells me that the season is winding down. Hopefully that will mean that there won't be crowds of people along the Camino like I heard there was earlier in September. I have been enjoying the views of the jagged peaks of the Pyrénées which come into the forefront every now and then. Each day closer and closer. They look rather imposing but I am excited to hike over them to Roncesvalles where I started my Camino last time. 

Navarrenx

Today was all up and down "rolling hills" which was kind of a nice change after several days of walking on mostly flat terrain. However, most of it was on asphalt again and that is hard on our feet and joints. The weather was a pleasant temperature for walking. At one point we passed a family that had 3 small children and 2 donkeys. The donkeys were laden with heavy saddle bags and the children had gathered dried corn and leaves to adorn themselves. 

Navarrenx is an old walled city with ancient ramparts that you can still walk on. It is a rather charming town that was brimming with life, especially in comparison to many of the other towns we walk through. Our Gite owner here is a character and cooked a delicious supper of vegetable soup, quinoa with ratatouille and roasted pork followed by local cheese and homemade jarred plums. All 8 of the guests tonight are native English speakers for a change. 

Patricia and I had a nice time checking out the town before I headed to a pilgrim gathering at the church which was all in French. I translated for some of the others as my French was the best of the non native speakers. It will be a challenge to have to start thinking in Spanish in a few days .

In a few days I will be in St Jean Pied de Port, the end of the Le Puy route and the beginning of the Camino Frances . I have walked 700 km already and plan to keep walking into Spain. I will play it by ear to see how far I will go, possibly to Santiago again. Day by day...

Banjos

Argagnon to Navarrenx

25km

Nicholas, our Gite owner last night, was one of the most delightful people I have met over here. His face lit up with a beautiful smile when he greeted us and every time he interacted with us. He asked us for our pilgrim credentials before dinner and took them to another room. After dinner he returned with them complete with hand drawn images by his wife of the scallop shell and banjo.

He returned with his banjo and expertly played a variety of songs for us. It was a fabulous treat to hear such wonderful music played passionately by a talented musician. Nicholas also told is a little bit about Bearn, the region we are in before we get to the Basque area. They have their own language and were annexed to France in the 1700's I think. I will have to look up more about them when I return.

Upgraded

Uzan to Argagnon 

22km

With some help from Gretchen, I figured out that the problem with posting on my blog was due to the fact that I hadn't installed the latest upgrade to my phone. I stayed late at the gite to download it and in the next town that had a cafe with wifi I was able to post my blogs . 

But I don't like all the changes that it made on my phone and it keeps deleting my current blog. Technology problems make me go crazy! But at least I should be able to blog when I have wifi, which I don't tonight. Once I get to Spain the wifi access should improve. 

Patricia and I only saw one other pilgrim today, probably because a bunch of others went a couple of km farther yesterday and we got a late start due to my technical issues . 

There were a lot more cornfields again and a long stretch through a town. Before the town there was a trail through a dark wooded section with signs warning about vipers. That made Patricia a little jumpy and she was glad to get safely through that bit.

After a picnic lunch by the church in Arthez de Bearn with a sweeping view out over the valley, we continued walking out of town, past a pilgrim rest stop where our friend Maria was relaxing in the shade.

The Chemin crossed a grassy green plateau with the sky overhead bright blue and filled with puffy white clouds. Two fawns leapt across the path ahead of us and I almost expected to hear Disney music playing in the background . 

Tonight we are at a gite out in the woods away from town. It is a darling rustic place and we are sharing a room but a couple of other people are staying in Basque sheep trailers that look really cute.