Our Walk Along the Via Podiensis (GR 65)

Foothills of the Pyrenees Via Podiensis GR65 Hike How perspective changes ... today we only had to hike 19.5 km, so we slept in until 6:30 AM, and had a late buffet breakfast of chocolate croissants, coffee, and baguettes with jam in the hotel. We then headed out across the square, through the old city wall, and across the bridge. It was sad to leave Navarrenx behind because this was a very nice town. Castelnau  Almost immediately we came to the village of Castelnau, which was very beautiful and had lots of nice looking gites. There was a church as well that was open, and we stepped inside. One of the interesting aspects of this church was a stained glass window dedicated to Saint Jean-Paul II. After Castelnau, GR65 climbed a little into the hills and then descended into a forested stretch. It was very beautiful, and the path crossed a stream, but unfortunately, there were some very large black flies that bit viciously (like horseflies). This worked wonders to sp...

Pilgrim Wisdom on Chemin de Saint-Jacques Via Podiensis GR65 Hike We got up around 5:30 AM and made our way downstairs in the dark. We couldn't figure out the coffee maker, so we made some instant coffee of our own and helped ourselves to bread and jam. As we ate we were joined by several other pilgrims, and eventually, the baker arrived with a basket of baked goods. A bun with strawberry and apple jam swirls was a nice addition to breakfast. We set off around 6:30 AM with a couple of German ladies whom we saw on and off all day. Hiking Arthez-de-Bearn Arthez-de-Bearn is a fairly long town, so the first few kilometres were spent in a residential section. The downtown area, which we didn't visit last night, was quite nice looking too. We also passed a couple horses on the way out of town, and we fed them an apple. The view out across the valley revealed a large industrial park, which made us wonder what is produced in this area. We spent the first couple hours of the ...