Day 35 - Sunflowers and Trail Magic : Arzacq-Arraziguet to Arthez-de-Bearn

Today was another fairly long day - 33.8 km, and it seemed like we finally entered the foothills of the still invisible Pyrenees.  It was a beautiful walk, complete with lots of climbing.

We were the first ones down to breakfast in the kitchen of the communal gite, but although it was still dark outside, other pilgrims soon joined us for the typical breakfast of coffee, baguettes, jams, and yogurt.  After a quick meal we set out, just as it was beginning to get light.  We followed the trail markers into the middle of the town, which consisted of a kind of central promenade with shops along all sides. After some confusion, and the help of friendly local when we chose the wrong street, we found the appropriate alley and headed out of town.

The trail led down a hill and across a large reservoir or lake.  It looked like a very nice spot where people could enjoy a picnic.

From there we headed out into the countryside, which was mostly flat to begin with.  We passed several small settlements, and in many of these signs of the Camino became more and more evident.

Around mid-morning we began to climb, and although it was too overcast to see any mountains, we  had the feeling that perhaps we were slowly approaching them.

The first small settlement we came to was Louvigny, which had an interesting looking mill.

After Louvigny the trail continued to climb into the hills, giving us a beautiful view over a misty landscape.

During the late morning we came to the beautiful Eglise St Pierre in Larreule, where we took a few minutes to rest and explore.

After passing through the next small village of Uzan, we came upon a magical seeming resting spot for pilgrims alongside a small stream.  It was very peaceful, and clearly someone took great care of it.

By around noon we passed through the somewhat larger town of Pomps.  It was a very nice looking village, and probably would have been a nice place to stay, but we decided to press on.

To my great delight the sunflowers have opened, and we walked past many fields today that seemed to be smiling at us with their sunny yellow faces.

Just outside Arthez-de-Bearn we came to a sign that said we could take a shortcut into the town by going straight up the road, or we could follow the GR65 and pass by the Eglise de Caubin.  We decided to take the long route, and it turned out to be well worth it.

When we arrived in Arthez we set about looking for our accommodations.  They turned out to be in a lovely looking house, but no one was around.  There was a sign on the door indicating which rooms we were assigned to, and suggesting that we should make ourselves welcome.  It was rather unnerving to just go into someone else's house, climb up to the top floor and settle in, but we decided to do so.

After doing our chores we went back out to explore the town, which is very long and skinny.  We found an open bar and ordered a sandwich and beer, and then visited the grocery store and bakery to pick up supplies for tomorrow.  Around 6:45 the owner to our gite appeared with dinner, and we shared a lively communal meal in he gite with our fellow travelers.

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Distance: 33.8 km

Cumulative ascent: 688 m

Cumulative descent: 714 m

Max Temperature: 24˚C

Accommodations: Gitede la Boulangerie Brousse