The following was my planned itinerary for the walk from Le Puy in France(Just south of Lyons) to Pamplona (It was a little ambitious – lengths more than recommended so I allowed a few extra days for this and for eventualities like bad weather). It starts in the Massif Central -- a high barren volcanic region and goes south entering the lovely Lot valley -- then over the midi Pyrenees --- then over the Pyrenees and then west to Pamplona Day 1 (31st March) Le Puy to Monistrol d’Allier 31.5km Day 2 Monistrol d’Alier to Domaine du Sauvage 31.5km Day 3 Domaine du Sauvage to Aumont- Aubrac 27.5km Day 4 Aumont-Aubrac to Nasbinals 26.5km Day 5 Nasbinals to Sout Come d’olt 32.5 km Day 6 Sout Come d’olt to Golinhac 33km Day 7 Golinhac to Conques 21km Day 8 Conques to Livin hoc-le haut 23.5km Day 9 Livin hoc-le haut to Figeac 24.5km Day 10 Figeac to Cajarc 31.5km Day 11 Cajarc to Limogne-en Quercy 18km Day 12 Limogne-en Quercy to Le Pech 33.5km Day 13 Le pech to Cahors 12km Day 14 Cahors to Montcuq 33km Day 15 Montcuq to Moissac 38.5km Day 16 Mossaic to Saint Antoine 28km Day 17 Saint Antoine to La Romieu 42.5km Day 18 La Romieu to Montreal du Gers 33km Day 19 Montreal du Gers to Nogaro 36km Day 20 Nogaro to Aire-sur-l’adour 35.5km Day 21 Aire-sur-l’adour to Arzacq Arraziguet 35km Day 22 Aracq Arraziguet to Arthez-de-bearn 30km Day 23 Arthez-de-bearn to Navarrenx 35km Day 24 Navarrenx to Uhart-Mixe 37km Day 25 Uhart- Mixe to St- jean-Pied-de-port Day 26 St-Jean-Pied-de-Port (over Pyrennes) to Ronesvalles 24.8km Day 27 Ronesvalles to Larrasoana 27.7km Day 28 Larrasoana to Pamplona 15km End Day 29 Bus to Bilboa and fly to Dublin
Checklist
Starting at the head Broad rim hat Ear plugs
Warm cap
Gloves
Sun glasses two pairs of specs Two non stick vest
Three t shirts
Normal shirt Fleece Rain gear -- cape and pullups Light trousers Heavy trousers Three under pants Boots plus sandals Walking pole One half litre water containers Three Pairs of non slip socks Pilgrims passport Sleeping bag Plastic bags Head torch
Compas
Dictionary
Mobile phone (with camera) plus charger plus socket adopter plus music downloads plus apps
Guide to walk plus my personal notes re accomodation flights etc including fall back plans Toiletries ie razor, shampoo, sun block, antibiotic tablets, tube with needle, scissors and thread, blister pads, Pen Knife,Safety Pins,Anti swelling tablets, Shampoo
Diary Getting to Le Puy (from Dublin)
Flight to Lyon from Dublin no problem. Airport long way out from Lyon. Blogs on net refer to bus into Le Puy ----- no bus now in March 2012 ----- only tram and a lot of trouble getting tickets from machine to discover later you can just go on tram and pay on the tram 15ish euros. You go to SNCF station at Part Dieu in Lyon because this is also the best station to get a train to Le Puy. I thought I could do Dublin/Lyon/Le Puy in one day which you could but with a lot of rushing and arriving too late for my Capucin bed. So spend a night in Lyon ---- centre is beautiful with French grandeur and the beautiful rivers Saone and Rhone. The buzz is around the cathedral in the West bank --- 100s of outdoor cafes and the usual quota of Irish pubs; Best place to stay is on the island surrounded by the rivers as you are within walking distance of the buzz. The Cathedral is lovely. Amidst all this grandeur in the centre the suburbs I passed through were not agreeable places to live. Had a few pints because I know they will be scarcer for the next few weeks.I will go on the 1206 train the next day because it goes direct to Le Puy --- about a two hour journey, Google Rail Europe and request the train timetable and you will get it all. That was Thursday 29th March. So on Friday I go back to train station for train to Le Puy. I line up for ticket and get the two our journey ticket for half price voyage a Prix reduit 50° ---carte senior. 17ish euros ---- if you do not ask you do not get. You need time to get the tickets -- there was a very slow moving line up waiting to get a ticket. Le Puy is a grand ancient town on volcanic rock -- very compact. I sus out the Cathedral first as there is a 7 o clock mass every morning and if there are people on the trail they get a send off from the Cathedral. There are 267 steps up to the Cathedral. Went to the tourist office and they were brilliant. Booked in with Capucins -- a beautiful place 22euros for B and B. A friend of my neighbour (Seamus Lillis) is a man called Pierre in Lyon and he is collecting me at 1815 --- he is over Rural Development in this region. Day 1 & Le Puy to Saint Private d Alier  Le Puy with its Cathedral Met Seamus friend last night and had a good chat with him re everything French, The hostel was perfect, I headed off for 7 mass in the Cathedral ------- no mass, There were a few Germans present and they were balistic. Headed off. The first 20 km is all up hill from ( metres to 1100 metres and then you come down rapidly to my first overnight in Saint Private d Allier. The day went fine one minor error ----- in France they mark the route bothways to help walkers walking the opposite direct --- a good idea but if you go in a bit of a loop off to see something then when you come back it is very easy to follow the signs in the wrong direction which I did, I met two walkers going the wrong way and then I noticed the sun was in the wrong place so I quickly adjusted. The Gite in the town was beautiful There were three other Walkers a guy from Nantes in France and a mother and daughter from Quebec, The mother was 70ish and spoke no English. The daughter had no English until she went to school. She gave it to me about why should she have to speak English. Dinner bed and breakfast was 28 euro. The guy from Nantes walked for a few months every year. After dinner 8ish he was stretching himself getting ready for the bed. I excused myself saying I needed a walk after dinner ---- the truth was there was a pub called Joyces in the town which needed investigation. It was very nice run by an English guy. He said it was very rough goingtrying to make a living. It was in the main square and I was the only customer. I headed home at 10 and there was not a sound anywhere -- lights out.
Day 2 Saint Privated Allier to Saugues (it was supposed to be Du Sauvage)
This day was not a good day.I was very over ambitios on distance given the territory. I should have listened to my friend from Nantes as he was a veteran of the route. I did the first half fine even if the climbs were very challenging and was in Saugues for the end of 1200 mass in the Cathedral. I made a big bloomer leaving town ------ there is more than one route marked and yes in my over confidence I followed the wrong one out of town--- I followed yellow arrows which is the colour in Spain. A few things niggled me like no sign of a river that was on the map. Next big problem was I could not check in villages as they were either dead or borded up as it was Sunday . I ended up in a forest ---- it was for outdoor sports people doing Quad riding and such things. I knock on a door and an elderly woman comes out and after numerous attempts we establish where ici (here) is (nearly off the map). She says you need to go back to Saugues. I say can I go over those mountains and connect up with the right trail. She throws her hands in the air and gives up. I then waste a few deadly hours trying to make it across the mountains but I am beaten everytime by either barb wire or the forest too dense. I retreat again knock on door and this poor man of 70ish answers --- his mind is obviously gone and he stands their with a smile. Half his teeth are gone and the other half definitly should be gone. His grandaughter makes a rush to the door pushes him out of the way and says about 50 words in 30 seconds to me -- I think it was to me so I just thanked her. Further down I see two farmers and one of their wives trying to move some stones with a front end loader. The first man becomes over animated explaining things to me at 100 miles an hour and the guy on the tractor sees what the problem is. He gets down and with a shovel draws too mountain ridges between me and the track I want to get on. He says first mountain you can cross over there ------ showing this path to heaven and then says second mountain ne ne. I set off and cross this monster of a mountain and like any eager young person I foolishly do not want to give up getting to my right path rather than going 12/15 km all the way back to Sausages. I see a man and I say to him how do I get to Grezes. He looks at me and studies the situation and says nom is Grezes pressing his tongue against his lips to emphasise it. I try pronounciation again and he says ne and then reprounces it with a bit of spit flying in my direction this time. I try a third time and I get the thumbs up and he then helps me. I then have a serious chat with myself. Even if I get on the right path the hostel I want to get too is a lonely outpost in the middle of nowhere and it will be 10 o clock before I reach it and it may be full so head bent I concede defeat and walk all the way back to Saugues about 12 km. I arrive in town and I know I am dangerously late at 8.30 ------ most places are closed long before this. I cut my losses and go straight for the two hotels -- both closed (they probably saw me coming and concluded I was a tramp). I get in a side door of one hotel and notice the key board with about a dozen keys on it. Too risky to chance taking one now but it is a fall back situation. I try two Gites -- one is closed and the other is full. Last stop I go to central hostel in town. Nobody in charge-- the person is probably gone for hours. I then proceed through the hostel and the depression as I find every bed called for until I go to the 5th room. There are three beds and one is free so come what may I am claiming this bed. I have a quick look at the clothes in the other two beds to ascertain the sex of my friends to be but am unable to decide. There was a busy pub just metres from the door and I am both starved and thirsty. In my wisdom I decide it would be too risky to go out and have my fellow occupants come back before me. so I strip like the hammers of hell jump into bed and face the wall. Yes a half an hour later those steps start coming up the stairs and there are mild shouts Oh la La Le homme-----They are two French women. One comes closer and says something like le vieux homme (Its an old man) that seamed to keep them half quiet and I let on to be a sleep all the time. That day I walked hard for over 12 hours with just a 20 minute break. I thought my entire schedule was now in trouble. As well as losing a half day my left foot is in trouble and I dread the morning.  Is there a way through those mountains Day 3 Saugues to Saint Alban sur Limagnole - a very respectable 32 KM Got up and very confidently exchanged pleasantries with the girls (there was now problem unless they booked the entire room and I never found out if they had the entire room booked). I felt half ok and headed off but I improved every half hour. That is not to say it was easy. we are in dog rough mountain territory all above 1000 metres rising to 1300 metres at one stage with the remnants of the snow still on the ground. The grass is white everywhere. No life in any village -- coffee you must be joking. There is no sound of the donkeys or cuckoo or rooster to day. The only signs of life were mole heaps in the fields --- even the badgers and foxes would not come up this high.Happy with day but still a half day behind. I book into the first Gite near the middle of the town 31 euro for dinner bed and breakfast. I am placed in this enormous room with about 14 beds ---as it turned out I was the only occupant. I noticed there was a pub next door. The lady in charge was most helpful. Dinner was at 7 and I joined a very nice Hungarian couple Joseph and Annie-- about 30ish working in the secretariat in Brussels so we had a lot in common and had a great chat. When dinner was over 8.15 I slipped out for a pint --- horror everyplace closed. Hand on heart I went back to the woman in the Gite. We already had refused wine with the dinner so now I am asking her for a half bottle of red wine to bring to my room. She gives me a lovely jug of wine -- over a half bottle. I think 4 euros the cost. I go to my room and my two sons have helped me with music downloads to my smart phone etc so Johnie Cash is selected and after a few glasses of wine I am almost waltzing to the music.  Blondes d'Aquainte cattle in the hills Day 4 Saint Alban to Nasbinals 41 ish km I set out to day with the hope of doing an extra half stage to get back on track. I was helped a lot by the fact that Joseph and Annie were with me for 20 something Km so that time passed very quickly and you then need to focus on the balance. At one stage we met a school group and Joseph spoke to them and asked how far they were going and they politely asked us the same question. Joseph explains where he and his wife are going and he kindly says his friend John from Ireland not so sure he will keep on walking and then decide. There is a little laugh all over the place. The French believe in booking ahead and this concept of play it by ear does not appeal to them. Joseph also got bitten by a dog. All middle class houses have one or more big dogs mostly alsatian but they are well fenced in. This in total cotrast to the gites and hostels where the door is open and you just walk in and put your bag on the bed. The coutry again was dog rough at around 1000km. The Romans were great for organising towns etc and they said the Celts could never manage towns. Well I think the Celts won in a lot of this territory . The state of organisation in the farmyards was below any standard in Ireland. I see this awful shack that surely no person lives in. I was going to take a photo but then I see this poor old lady and I put the camera away. There was a monster wolf in this part of the world over a hundred years ago and he killed over a hundred people mostly women and children. I came across a graveyard in Lasbros and it was an adverisement for cremation, headstones scattered and strewn everywhere covered by grass. To day for the first day the rain came down also. In some fields there were 5/6/7 or 8 cows. The daffodis were just in bloom in the mountains. I walked the last 20 km on the road as there was too much wild ups and downs in the forest. In a place called Malbouzon I see a pub open --- there is 12 km to go but I think I need a break and get a coffee and sandwitch from this wiley old man. People come and go in the pub and always the procedure is the same you shake hands with every person you know and if it is a female it is three kisses -- one check then the other and then back to the first cheek. These guys seam to drop into the pub as if it is a meeting place. They sit down and read the paper and chat. A big man with big oily hands comes in and spends 20 minutes digesting a glass of wine. I just thought of an Irish person like him going into a pub in Ireland and spending 20/30 minutes over a glass of wine or one third of a pint of beer. The man behind the counter has a a ledger also as a few guys just asked him to put the purchase on the books. Their system of a small drink and a chat has much to recommend it. This thing of drinking a pint in the middle of the day is a bit much. I stay in a religious house tonight in Nasbinals. there is a lovely group of 6 elderly walkers that I have the chat with (they are from all over the world) . One is Douglas who lives in Dorchester Avenue in Boston. It brought grand memories for me because as a student I worked on the buildings their for two summers making massive money. It is12 euros for b an b tonight. Our B and B prices in Ireland are so out of line they are an embarassment now. I go down to the local hotel for a snack and a pint. The daffodils are in full display. There is a nice guy of about 20 at the counter next to me and he gets crisps and shares them with me. He picks up the paper and opens the sports pages. I wonder what opportunity has a fine lad like him of playing football or being a member of a young farmers club in these mountains. Day 5 nasbinals to Saint Come dholt 32.5 km The group of six that I met last night are doing a much shorter run and they keep adding my distance saying too far ----- there are not choices a lot of the time as there is no other accomodation for miles. Started in dense fog. Fields still white and no traffic on the roads but today we come down a bit in altitude and it is amazing that in the space of four hours walking we are into commercial farming and the traffic builds up as the milk collector goes around and the school bus etc.I get a lovely hostel neer the church (former prison) There is just a Dutch woman and myself. She is fairly shattered and comes up to me and says please you speak Dutch. The only shop is at least a mile outside the village so I go and stock up with oranges. I leave the Gite at 6 o clock in the evening to be in good time for grub and a drink. I discover too late for food -- drink until 7 ok. The church was beautiful and coming out I met this lady and asked her about the shop. She really wanted to drive me to it. Day 6 Saint Come dholt to Golinhoc 33 km I think I know it all now --Oopps. Morning beautiful and made great time and got to this beautiful town Estaing and had a coffee their. Headed off and the directions are clear you follow the river bank on the other side of the town. But things got a little confused. At a fork straight ahead had a red and white signal with a yellow cross underneath. I assumed this meant you cannot go straight on so left I went (what the bloody sign meant was yellow should not go ahead but ok for red and white ie me). I climbed and climbed and climbed and realised there was a problem but there was a farmers village on top of the hill and I kind of said I might as well go their now as I am this far but it was one of those things the village did not get closer by much as I walked. Got their and one farmer is by the door of his house. I show him the map and I ask him to point out ici (where this place is on map). This is too difficult for him so he says he will bring me to the house next door because the man has a bit of English (less English than I had French as it turned out) There was no knocking on the doors we just walked in. The second man was not satisfied without calling a third man in. They sit down and study my guide. They look like the local officers of the IFA in session. It is the middle of the day -- break time and I think they are using me as an interesting distraction. One of the farmers has is right hand constantly across his face and stroking his left cheek. He seems to be saying something like "we cannot let him die here. It will cost us too much" and the others laugh. They suggest I go back but I press them pointing out on the map surely I can go cross country here. eventually the first farmer I met is detailed the bring me on a little journey to point out the route. I got back on track and then it was tough tough up hill. The road went on winding up and the guide suggestions taking these direct paths to short cut the loops in the road. My advice is to stick to the road. Those short cuts were murderous uphill and it was very warm now. For the last 10 KM I decide to stick to the road because the road does not go up and down as much as the forest paths and I have had my share of valleys today. 2km on the road forks with no signs I go left on the basis the forest track is on my left and I have not seen it come across my road so far. 2KM further and there is a three way fork so I go left again on the same basis. It is non stop uphill now with not a house within miles. Doubts come into my mind eg maybe that path crossed the road and I did not see it and if so I may be going around in a circle. Normally I would always keep a bit of reserve water in the bottle as an insurance policy. Today the bottle is sucked dry before we finish. At 4.30 I saw this sign in the distance but could not make out the letters. It became Golinhoc. I could have kissed it. There was a mobile home type place so I went in and got a bed in one of the shacks. As it turned out I was the first home. I was even ahead of Gean from Normandy who is really a professional mountaineer. He will spend a third of the days in the year on the mountains. Just four of us in town Gean, a Frenchman who is packing it in because of bad blisters and a new great wild Frenchman Stephano that I get on great with. The town is dead dead well there is no life. The signs to follow are the red and white ones or alternativly a route 65 sign. Ignore all other signs including yellow signs. to make matters confusing yellow comes back into play as you approach the Pyrenees but it is accompanied with the red and white signs. Day 7 Golinhoc to Conques 21 KM Day not too bad. Meet up with two new Frenchmen on the route. After a time we stop to have a snack. They ate like dogs and I had to make an excuse that I needed to move on. Conques is one of those absolutly beautiful medevial villages in Lots valley. To enter it I had to descend for ever -- a warning for tomorrow morning. Went to the hostel all doors are open again and this time there are written instructions telling you what to do even to the extent of filling out a booking form and putting it in an envelope with the 14 euro and then putting it in a box. There are three of us only in the hostel Stephano, the Dutch woman and myself. There is a beautiful Cathedral that I visit. It is good Friday and they are preparing for a procession through town. I join in. Stephano arrives back in hostel with a bag full of food and cans of beer which he insists on sharing with me. They have this black pudding specialty --- it is like chewing plastic. It is Stephanos last night so we exchange phone numbers as he says he will come to Ireland.  Beautiful Conques. See those mountains for next morning wake up call
Day 8 Conques to Livinhoc- le haut 23.5 km  Lot valley Last night looking at those mountains towering over Conques in every direction you knew you had to get over them in the morning but they were so steep if in another circumstance someone said would you climb those for a bet of 100 euros you would just laugh but climb we did. Gean fron Nantes is with me. We stop at a tiny church (ten seats) half way up and even Gean is pumping sweath and takes a break. I move on as I want to get the effort over.I get into town and Gean is in front of me ------he has a better map than me and he has taken some short cuts.Livinhoc was deader than dead and should be left so. Day 9 Livinhoc to Figeac 24.5 KM Figeac is a decent size town so I am looking forward to this. We are back into more commercial farms now. One farm had a big Ranch sign over it. The buildings were a decent scale but if it was a ranch then we have a lot of ranches in every county in Ireland. Arrived in town at 1 pm. Took me a little while to find a Gite. Doors open again but nobody at home. I find the phone number and ring and there is no problem except a caution on fleas. We are not to put our bags on beds. In another town our bags were sprayed. We got a great evening meal. I found this nice pub for a pint. There is a girl of about twenty in charge of the pub and nobody else. At one stage she explained she needed to do something and she must have being gone 15/20 minutes with nobody inside the counter. she was dressed shabily and it looked as if she forgot to do anything with her hair for the past month. This is probably all minimum wage territory. Day 10 Figeac to Cajarc 31 km I have a sore left foot a legacy of the first Sunday so I try and give it a break any chance I get so today is bank holiday with little traffic so I decide to get up early and take the direct route by road. I go hard and arrive at hostel at 12.30. They were cleaning the place. last night there was a rock concert in town. I explain to the guy that I want a bed. At first because it is so early he thinks I am part of the brigade from the night before who has not gone to bed yet. Quickly we rectify the understanding and get on like a house on fire. It is a lovely hostel. Gean arrives. Today he is definitely not happy with this Irishman. He said he started early and came very fast and wondered how I could be in front of him -- tough. Nothing much in town. I go for a drink at 6 o clock and ask the guy what time he closes --- 7 o clock on the dot. there is this nice restaurant near the church and I go there for a bit of grub. Nobody else in the place (two young people arrived later). While eating at about 7.30 I see this guy walking his dog. He was one of the guys at the counter of the bar an hour ago. So now at 7.30 it is past closing time and the dog gets a walk before bedtime. I will stick with Ireland. Day 11 Cajarc to Varaire 24.5KM Between Cajarc and Cahors was a major problem for me. Ideally I needed to reach Cahors with just one stopover in between but it is wild country with nothing in my guide around the half way mark so I would be left doing over 40 KM one day. I swallow my pride and go to Gean the professional mountaineer. He has in his guide one place just off the track in a place called Varaire. It is called Marronniers and Gean phones and books me in. During the walk the heavens opened and there were hailstones the likes of which I have never seen. I have a poncho over everything and everything in my bag is in plastic bags but the power of the rain and wind got through in a few places. I arrived at this outpost with nothing much except this pub named Marronniers and a Gite sign up a side entrance.I go to the Gite entrance and a guy comes up to me. I explain une lit une nuit reserved. He says very politely "we are a group and we have all the Gite booked out, you need to speak to the Director" I go back to the bar and ask for the director. This guy comes out to me. His appearances would fit in much better with the clientele at Ballinasloe horse fair in Ireland than they would with being a Director. he had this cute look. I explain about the reservation. He understands and says you John and then says what is your problem can you not find a bed. I explain about other man saying Gite booked out. He shakes the head and asks me to follow him to the Gite. He walks straight in opens the first bedroom door and all beds are full then the second bedroom door and one bed is available. There he says and walks off. A few minutes later the guy who had dismissed me earlier arrives and goes into a panic. It is a group with mental issues. The guy settles down very fast and realises that maybe he should be nice and inclusive with me. He invites me to join them for a snack. I am saluting and shaking hands with them for ever. The evening meal is ok but the Director being a cute whore saved a bit on the main course -- boiled chicken (hen). I now book dinner b and b for around 30 euros as first option if it is available as it is difficult for one person to do better by buying bits and pieces. I was dumping half the stuff. Day 12 Varaire to Cahors 39 KM Up early and walked hard. Met a very nice man from Friesland and waiked the last 20 KM with him. He was about 70 and was part of the group of 6 I met way back in Nasbinals. One of the group of six pealed off because he was difficult. They were doing 20ish KM per day. Now my friend from Friesland pealed off as he felt he could do 30/40 km per day like me. He left his wife by agreement with the other group. He is a retired teacher. He uses the term on a fixed budget and would like to do his owning cooking. I think that is a load of bull. saving a handful of euros a night for someone on a good pension but he is still a lovely man. Today after 12 days I have only spoken to one person whose first language is English. I am going over the beautiful bridge into Cahors and this woman in a kiosk on the other side is shouting at me to come over. She is a volunteer in Cahors to help pilgrims. She gives me tea and biscuits and she suggests a gite run by an English lady. I quickly find the Gite up this maze of very narrow streets. The Gite name is Papillion Vert (the green butterfly). It is in the centre in a Street called Rue du Tapis Vert run by a charming English lady called Jackie. I had being weighing up my option as I had three days in reserve. Most of the days left are toughish in the 30ish to 40ish KM. I think it will not serve much purpose for me to starting dividing one or two of those days. The option is to take out one day now in Cahors and give my foot a break. The town has everything going for it and Jackie has a computer for me also. This is only the second time since I started of having access to a computer. The mountains are beautiful but god you need to be back in civilisation every so often. This guy from Nantes Gean that I keep crossing will not choose to stay in a place like Cahors. He wants a place in isolation all the time and he lives for the walking -- he will arrive in after walk,shower and change, then go to bed. He will get up for grub and he will be in bed at 9pm. I have no problem doing that for a tough climb or two but to do it day after day as he does gives mountain walking a bad name.  Cahors So Day 13 is break time. Dinner with Olivia a French garsun and Jackie . Jackie being cute said John can you cook and John being stupid says yes. So Jackie says all the materials are there so maybe you could make an Irish stew this evening. It turned out ok. At least it was all eaten. I go to this bar for a drink. It turned out to be a French/Algerian bar. I leave my drink and walk to window to look out. Then I noticed a drunk coming back from the toilet mistakingly picked up my drink. I left a shout at him and the barman sorts everything out. Next drink I put 5 euros on the counter and the barman puts the drink on top of the note. That is a signal that it is free. People go to the bar here for a social occasion eg there are two guys reading papers. A third guy is reading out something from the sports pages.Guys are coming in and getting a shake hands or kisses (two here) from the barman. People are talking across tables ---- It is all a big social occasion. Writing under pressure. hope my spellings etc ok as Mr Dan Hanley former Principal Benevin college in dublin is my editor. Day 14 Cahors to Moncuq 33 KM Fields getting a bit bigger now and farmers living in their chateaus each with their own name. I make no navigation mistakes now so it is getting boring. I meet a lady in town and she asks me if I want anything: I say the Gite. She points the way and as it turned out she was the woman of the house in the Gite. It was an enormous Gite with just three of us staying that night: The husband was walking up and down outside the door to welcome any arrivals. He could not be more helpful and all for 30 euros dinner bed and breakfast. The one thing I noticed about all these new buildings is they were not built for energy conservation. The other couple staying were from Paris and they were complaining about the cold. Went down to the town that evening and it was lively. I found an English bar and met some English people living locally. There are a lot of English here and some Irish. I see they are driving and ask about the breathalyser. ah they do not bother us was the answer. I have a long journey tomorrow so I am trying to cut a bit off it. I know I can save 2/3 Km if I can do the first 10Km by road. It will be Saturday so maybe the roads will be quite. I ask the barman he says no no and starts to look up a bus timetable. I explain again that I am doing this walk like lots of others and I am going to Mossaic tomorrow. He just cannot believe it saying you cannot walk to Mossaic . It is impossible. This guy is a bar man in a bar on the walking route.  The vineyards
Day 15 Moncuq to Mossaic 38.5 Km I felt the long walk today. Some of the walk was in ferocious scrub territory. The climb was so steep at one short lengyh over rocks that ropes were in place to pull yourself up. Then you come to the outskirts of Mossaic and you think you are there but like all big citys an hour later I am still walking. I had not heard of a very good gite in Mossaic run by an Irish couple (Bates). I later got a lot of good reports about them. I head for the convent on the hill near the Cathedral. It is run by volunteers which is great but volunteers need to be managed. This guy in charge has pulled his table right out in front to give himself maximum authority. I go up to him and sit at the table at his nod. He asks for name I say John, Mr John. Murphy had become complicated to spell. He starts to look at his list as all respectable French people book in advance. I say no reservation. He says no reservation and drops the list and looks at me and then very slowly says no reservation with a small shake of the head. i felt like saying -- no reservation like Mary and Joseph going to Bethlehem. He calls this other volunteer a very tall man of about 70 with three bits of tissues on his face where he cut himself shaving and points politely at me saying no reservation. i can clearly see on his booking sheet that there is plenty of space and the big man points this out and problem solved. I later became very friendly with both of them. dinner time came and there was buckets of soup to start. Later the big man gave out hymn sheets and we sang hymns for a few minutes --- we was 66% of us and the others kept eating which was a bit hard as we are clearly in a religious house by choice and it is obviously subsidised by the religious. I visit the Cathedral which is beautiful and the town is beautiful but I need to conserve the energy so I go to bed early.  The convent that was our home in Mossaic  The beautiful Cathedral in Mossaic Day 16 Mossaic to Miradoux 36 KM We are down from the high mountains now and you can smell the riches. The farmers are again all making statements with their big Chateaus -- not in village but standing out to be noticed with cars and vans in the driveway. We are in vineyard country; Farms are big in size also. Breakfast in Mossaic was at 7 and we started immediately. This morning we got a mighty break in that the first 8 miles was on a canal bank.I was with this group of French people on and off and we are walking again this morning. They slow a bit on the canal as they are not going as far as me today. I move a bit ahead. A half hour later I look back and they are out of sight. I will probably never see them again. Mossaic was getting ready for its weekly market as I left. With about 6 km to go the rain and hailstones pelted down. There was no escaping. When I hit town I went in to the first hostel. It said in the guide that this hostel was for people without reservations (the opposite to the French way). Well about everything else was different also. Therese was the woman's name. She was well into her 70´s with about six layers of clothes around her. There was this enormous table in the kitchen stacked high with all kinds of food. She gave me a beer and set about stuffing papers into my boots to dry them. I went for a walk around town. It was dead,dead dead. It was duskish and to add to the sombre mood there was not a person on the street and the timber shutters outside the windows were shut. To find a small sweet shop open in some of these villages would be the discovery of the century. The only place that looked alive was the graveyard which was beautiful. I was the only client for Therese. The dinner went on for three hours -- there was beer, wine and Liquer to finish off. The kitchen was totally devoted to the walk. Every spare corner had a crucifix or a religious picture or messages from people who had stayed. There was no tv. She had a record player and she played English, French and Italian music for me. Once she got up to do a little walz around the table. I enquire how much. She pointed to an old jar saying it is voluntary. Day 17 Miradoux to La Romieu 34KM Therese had a mighty breakfast for me and afterwards she was out in the road waving goodbye to me.In route there was this beautiful cathedral in Lectoure which I visited and said prayers for all. I met a lovely tall young Dutch guy. He had injured his leg and was out of the Camino waiting for his father to collect him. Got their no problem. Wild enough weather.Could not find hostel. Tourist office open and she points out building to me (it had no sign and was as many are a former convent). A lovely guy in charge and he gives me all the options. I opt for a single room tonight for 30 euros. There was no sound proofing in the interior walls so you might as well be in the dormitory. That said everything was beautiful.I decide to get my own grub this evening and go into a bread shop. I ask where can I get a butcher shop.She says Condom which is 16 KM away. I say to her you want me to walk to Condom for meat -- she gets the message and laughs. The best I could get together was six frankfurters from another tiny shop and a tin of peas.I go down town later. There is a hotel come bar with seats out front so I go in and get a beer. I am the only customer. I get another beer 250cc. The man in charge is fumbling around and I would score him zero for personality. To be nice to him I ask him what time he closes. He shrugs his shoulders so I leave. Day 18 La Romieu to Montreal du Gers 33KM
Making big progress long journeys every day. Warden this morning said forecast bad ie rain in afternoon. I am first into breakfast so I am ready to go like mad at7ish. Looking at the sky as I went. Hit my town with no rain at around 2pm. Left knee giving trouble but it will sort out. I visited in route one of the oldest churches in the region Eglise de Routges. There is a small door on the side of the church and this was for "the Cagots" these were an out cast group of people of uncertain origin. They lived segregated lives and were believed to have leprocy, syphilitic, unclean and bearers of all types of evil so they had a seperate door to enter the church and they could not be buried in cemetries etc etc. Arrived in town long town wondering where the centre was at first. Found it the worried about accomodation as not much mentioned in guide book. Found the tourist office on Main Sq. next to Church. Very helpful girl offered to phone Gite just off the square Gite D etape compostela in 10 Rue du 14 Juillet. Anita originally from the Black Forest in Germany owns it and she speaks good English; It is a lovely quaint place with the old beams and all the facilities you could need. Her web site is www.gite-compostela.com or phone 0562286736. The food that evening was the best so far and down came the rain..Nice lady staying in same room.she asks at bed time if it is all right to ask a personal question. I say ok. she says do you snore. lovely days walking plenty vineyards. Day 19 Montreal du Gers to Nogaro 36 KM Good days walking. Until now I only meet two people briefly who had English as their first language. It is all about to change. I arrive at this communal hostel. a lady is in charge. she is very official. She could run any prisoner of war camp. I am placed in this big round room of beds. In the middle of the room there is a big table with three guys drinking wine. In the far end there is a lovely couple in their twentys who are cycling the route. The three guys at the table give me the nod. I join them. We go to a beautiful local shop and get buckets of fish bread and wine and go back to the gite and have a big big meal. It was a nice night. The three at the table were Philippe from Basque country, Conrad the Doc. from Canada, and Geert from Holland. They were great company and we had buckets of stories and wine and beer to match. The language was split between French and English. Philippe was 67 but looked 55. Geert had those rambling roguish eyes that no woman would be safe with. He was into music and singing. He had a wall built each side of his house to try and contain the sound of the music coming from the house. Phillipe was retired from the Department of youth and sport. Conrad was a general medical practitioner in Canada. All health services are free in Canada including your visit to the GP. A lot of French Canadians do the Camino walk. I heard also that in Canada as you progressed in your job then at some stage the ability to speak French becomes critical. The Doc was certainly into his outdoor stuff walking cycling and all that. Day 20 Nograno to Aire-sur L Adour 35.5 KM Walked in my own to day. So easy to follow the system. There was rain and muck everywhere. So there was nothing for it except head down and go like the hammers of hell. These last few days I got startled a few times as French fighter planes flew in low formation overhead. The election for President is coming up in France and I think Sarkozy had a word with the Airforce commander to demonstrate to the nation that I am the strongman of Europe. Today also the clouds lifted for a minute and I got my first glimpse of the Pyrenees -- a long long row of stacks capped in white. Found this hostel run by a lovely lady. she took infinite time explaining everything to me. I got a few cans and two chops and bread and had great meal. The husband of the lady took over responsibility and remained in charge until after 10ish. These people are up at 6ish.There were four of us staying so they got something like 50 euros in total from us. There is a French lady staying. Sometimes if I am leaving very early and there is nobody else getting up at that time I ask them to leave the breakfast on a tray and I will help myself. The French lady has not paid for breakfast and is getting her own breakfast. The man in charge is helping her giving her boiling water and anything else she need as if she was paying 100 euros. The other two are the young Belgian cyclists from the night before. They had problems with one of the bicycles and that was the reason for their lack of progress. Day 21 Aire -sur l adour to Arracq-Arraziguet 35KM Everywhere so far there are religious symbols including in this house. The cross roads often has a ten foot cross erected. Sometimes at the base of the cross you will see a sign like erected following the mission of 1904. All the middle class houses have a five foot fence encircling everything with these two giant dogs like Alsatians. There is a sign in every house "beware of chien (dog)". These dogs bark like mad at us and follow us up the garden. These dogs do not look happy. They are paranoid. I never see the owners walk them. It looks to be a very sad situation for the poor dogs. The post box is on the pillar and the postman drives up and drops the stuff in. I saw another guy calling in a van to a farmers place also and he just drives into the yard and does not get out of the van. He blows the horn until someone appears. Gardens as we know them almost do not exist. The nearest to a garden would be to make some attempt to cut the grass. All of this part of France is very hilly. One part of the day you are in this valley and four hours later you are in scrub country on top of this big hill but today we are in a a big valley. The fields somedays were 20 to 30 acres in the valley. To day we have cornfields going from 100 acres up to 600 acres. A square mile of land is 640 acres so you should know how long it takes to walk a mile and then do your calculation.I book into this beautiful gite communal and who is there except the Doc, the Basque and the Dutch man. There are two more Canadians and one Canadian a guy called Paul invited me down to the pub for a drink. I surrendered. It was about 30 euros in the gite for a great dinner and bed and breakfast. This evening we have about three partys. It is very easy to have a party. You just find a reason and go across the road to the shop and get a bottle of wine for three euros and a bit of cold meat and cheese and share it. Philippe the Basque specialised in this dryed black pudding which we eat as is and it was lovely but really tough. Visited church Eglise de Ssensacq. It was 11 century church dedicated to St James with a total immersion font for infants.
Day 22 Arracq- Arraziguet to Arthez-de-Bearn 29 KM
I am going very ahead of schedule.A hard days slog in the rain and muck. Met Martina from Germany. Met Latvian lady(the woman I thought was dutch) that I had not met for some time and walked for a spell with four frenchmen about my age all with the same capes so you could pick them out a mile away. They had 0 English. I passed them at one stage as I was going strong in the muck and then about three hours later I caught up with them for a second time -- they had a few shortcut tricks up their sleeve. I was first in town and went to the hostel. Nobody there. I look up the bedroom list and see a lot of names. I go through the bedrooms and count the beds and I think it is booked out. I should of course have checked the date -- the list of people was for the previous night. No problem as person in charge arrives and we are all set up. She explains that there is no evening meal but there is a place that will deliver food. All the usual suspects are present and we vote for the delivered meal. We have a great evening with a few partys.There is a guy Michael from Southampton also 48 years of age who quit his job with the BBC to do the walk. I spent three weeks with not one English speaking person to talk to but now the tables have turned and I have plenty people to talk to and the partys to match. A man calls with the food delivery. He has this big trolly and first he takes out this big pot of boiling soup, followed by salad and main course of duck and desert and two bottles of wine for six people all for 11 euros each. There was a young German and Spaniard also and we gave them anything surplus like beer, wine and some food.
Day 23 Arthez-de-Bearn to Navvarrenx 29KM
I am with the usual gang and that helps eg today there is a sign in the hostel saying to register today you must go down to Mrs Murphy´s bar in whatever street. There is one restaurant open for grub. When we go down to the pub to register the woman's husband has being out somewhere with his wellington boots and he walks in the door before us and leaves a trail of muck. The wife goes wild pointing at the trail. He sheepishly shrugs his shoulders. The woman tells us there is no place else in town open and there will be no place open tomorrow morning (Monday). The best she will be able to do is give us a coffee in the morning. We eat in the only restaurant and get an indifferent service from a 20ish male. I will not be sending him a Christmas card.
Day 24 Navarrenx to Uhart-Mixe 37KM
We wanted to reach the bottom of the Pyrenees in two days but finding accommodation in the right place to split the journey was the issue. We opted to go off the beaten track and book a gite called gite Lescargot in Uhart- Mixe. Geert the Dutchman complained that we could not walk on empty stomachs. The Doc and myself said no problem. I think Geert wanted to travel slower anyway as he was ahead of his schedule. That was the last we saw of him. Just outside the town there was this shop that was closed but a side door was open so I go straight in. A lovely old lady of 70ish comes up to me saying closed. I give her a kiss on the hand and she says Ola La I ask for La Pa (bread). Conrad arrives. The best we do is get some mars bars and they are fine. Usually during the day we split up and walk at our own pace and do our own thing. Normally I would walk non stop. My supplies were a pint of milk to be drank 10 to 12 ish. An orange at 1ish and a mars bar 5KM from the end. I was gone another 10KM and there was a factory on the side of the road making pathe and they erected a little shelter on the path with a seat and there were tins of pathe and you put two euros donation in a box. Had a great feed and along came the doc to join me and the boss of the factory came out to say hello also. Another thing we noticed on our route is that the local council have sown all sorts of fruit trees along the route so that the pilgrims can help themselves. We arrive at our Gite. There is this beautiful husband and wife team of about 60. First we are put sitting down in front of this big log fire burning like mad. They give us lemon drink and cannot be more helpful. They show us the room with the lovely beams. We come down at 7 for grub. It starts with a beer each. We got four massive courses with as much wine as was needed. During the meal they were involved in an adjoing room with another group eating. They appeared to be local. There was no door in between. During the meal the husband and wife took turns to come out and sit by the stove talking to us. There was an embarassing mountain of good food. You would just be after your third top up of soup and he would be around to you again. He made it very clear that he was Basque so the fact that we had a basque in the company did not go unnoticed. The meal finished with a liqueur and a beer for myself. There was this lovely little shelf next to the stove for drying the boots. This was heaven because day after day we had to stuff the feet into wet boots. I got a violent pain in my right foot after finishing. The Doc examined it and Philippe gave it some kind of energy treatment. I put Difene gel on it on Docs orders. It got better -- veins and nerves trapped by laces or something like that. I brought a computer mouse mat with me for problems like that --- cut a piece and put it between the foot and the laces. It worked grand. Today also I slipped proper and fell on my bumb --- a common problem --- no problem except that big plaster of muck all over me. Good gear is everything on a trip like this. My boots are great with great grip which you need walking on slippery rocks. That said my poncho is for the ben.
Day 25 Uhart-Mixe to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port 28 KM
The breakfast again was a mighty affair of food. That man with the lovely smile stood there next to the table urging another bit of bread: try the honey; what about a bit of cheese. We were charged 30 euros each for all that drink included. When breakfast was over we started in the rain and the man accompanied us with an umbrella to make sure we got on the right path. It is lovely to meet nice people like that. We walk together now and Philippe´s son in law Patrice is now with us for a few days also. He is married with four children and they are coming to Ireland in August for their holidays -camping. In route today we come across this kid goat with his head all caught up in a fence and he is crying like a baby. I get him untangled but not before losing some skin off my knuckle which Doc sorted out with his ointment treatment. We arrive in town and there is this incredible buzz. This is the start of going over the Pyrenees and it is a very popular starting point as the airports are nearby. We get our hostel and this briefing that goes on forever. The onething I want to do is walk the high route or Napoleon route over the Pyrenees. It is a 1400 metre climb up from St Jean. The bad weather recently meant it was not recommended and people were advised to go the low route. This evening there is super news the guy says the high route is ok. We get a so and so meal in the hostel. There is a big German and two English men with us at the table. We walk around town. It is a lovely town overflowing with people with rucksacs some making last minute adjustments. Every face is alive and happy. There is this great feeling. If this was an easy cake walk nobody would want to do it. They are all here for the challenge. Went to bed early as usual between 9 and 9.30.
Day 26 Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Roncesvalles in Spain 22KM Woke a few times during night to horror of hearing high wind. We got up and head for breakfast and everything was rattling with the wind. We go outside and the street signs are banging and who comes along the street from the night before but the man giving advice. It was very simple high winds go the low route. We started walking . I put my head down and said nothing and went in front. As it turned out the vast majority opted for the high route. So I stayed going strongly. The wind was fierce. At about 7KM the first signs of trouble the big German that was at the table with us the night before is in full retreat going back down. The wind curls in between the mountains so in some places it is strong but in other places it is impossible. We reach our first challenge at a curve in the path. About eight of us lie down anywhere that is half comfortable because the power of the wind is too strong. Along comes Conrad the Doc. I am delighted to see him because you can take turns walking in each others slip stream to get some relief from the wind. Two girls come along. One falls in the path about 10 yards behind us. The other girl tries to help but goes over too. They lie there. Eventually they make it to us. Conrad and myself head off. It feels impossible at times as you raise your foot and the wind pushes you back and your foot lands in the same place or you stumble sideways. There is only one issue in my mind now ie it is 9.30 now and we have being going strong since 7.30 --- is it possible to keep taking this until 2,3 or 4 o clock. Talking was very difficult or impossible because of the noise of the wind. At one stage I was behind Conrad and desperatly needed a break. Conrad was about ten steps in front of me and I shouted at him but he did not hear. There were two people that had jumped in behind a rock. I jumped after them and just stayed lying for two minutes. I then jumped up expecting to see Conrad in the distance but he really had made no progress. He was dancing in the wind. You reach a certain stage going over the mountain and you realise that going forward now is probably as easy as going back and that was a stimulus. Every step helped. Then you come to this part in the top of a mountain that is a real bumber --- You go over the peak and down but then back up again. We are about one third of the way down and I think the worst is over. We find the path is closed off because of snow drifts. There is about 12 of us now and the consensus is to follow a path to the right. Conrad is in front of me. I see about four people with their backs up against the embankment in an exposed corner. They are facing the wind and I think how stupid. Just as we approach them I end up face down in a snow embankment. I jump up and end up being flung against the embankment. I jump up again and am really rolled around on the embankment. This time I surrender and slowly pull myself up to a half sitting position. I kind of think I must be getting weak. Then I look around and everyone else has hit the ground as well. My walking stick has doubled in two. Conrad is about six feet behind me. I do not know how he ended up their as he was in front of me. We cling on. Down come three poor guys walking with their bikes. They were holding their bikes sideways using the wheels as breaks as the wind was catching the panniers. Then suddenly they were hit. All three ended up in an exposed embankment on the other side of the path lying on the ground holding the bike with one hand and whatever they could catch with the other. There was no panic. On the contrary most of us looked on the funny side of it. At least now we could see the town below us. Eventually a girl gets up and gives it a go. She is tossed on the embankment next to me. There is about twenty of us lying there for maybe 20 minutes. A big guy gets up and bravado style gives it a go. He goes flying past us and is slammed into a fence ---- he signals to us not to try it. A few times the wind caught the snow and grit and pasted us so you really felt it when it got you in the face. This really bad patch was probably only 100 metres long. Conrad and myself decide to give it a go. There was a stake about 15 metres away and that was my first target. We took off walking almost in all fours like a hare to keep the body low. We made it and walked on kind of leaning 45degrees into the wind trying to stay upright. In terms of energy drain it certainly was one of the hardest days I endured but I am glad I did it. Quite a few turned back and got taxis (they can go up a good distance). We never saw the English man that was at our table the night before again.  The high point in the Pyrenees There is this enormous new hostel in Roncesvalles for 140 people. My number was 169. 1t means floor 1 and 69 means bunk 69. The place was very efficient even if we were like hens in battery cages. There was this lovely elderly man with a beret in charge. His face came into view again the next morning at 6.30 as he walked along asking politely would it help if he put on the lights. There was another lovely man in charge of the laundry except I got Conrads clothes washed with mine and there was a slight error in that I got one of Conrads underpants (it is a very comfortable one). Every pilgrim has a passport to be stamped in each place of residence as proof that you are a pilgrim. This would be checked esp in a place like Roncesvalles as they do not want tourists looking for cheap accomodation.
Day 27 Roncesvalles to Zubiri 22Km
There were a few people having Pyrenees nightmares over night but I slept through it all. This day was a cake walk compared with yesterday. Stayed in a very good private hostel. If you want more wine with the meal than the more than adequate provided it costs 3 euros for the big bottle. We went to this restaurant and had a great lunch. I was in the bed next to a very nice girl from Derry called Sullivan who works for concern together with her husband a man called Power from Waterford. I know Tom Arnold CEO Concern and he was meeting her husband for breakfast that morning so she sent a text to say hello to Tom from the two of us. If you think you are good on the trail able to walk fast and do 40Km some days then spare a moment for this lady who is doing two stages everyday ie 50 Km plus per day. I am getting careless because it is the second last day so I slip out for a pint after dinner. Normally we were in bed shortly after 9 with all lights out before 10 pm. I come back shortly after 10pm and the whole place is in total darkness. To get to our bedroom you had to go through another bedroom. I negotiated this part with difficulty missing a down step and belting into a bunk bed. Then I open the door to our bedroom and it is black black. I gingerly go to where I think the bed is and make advances to get in to be repelled strongly by a big man. I go back out of the two bedrooms again to recheck everything -- maybe I am in the wrong room but no it is the right room so back I go again. Luckily my Basque friend has realised I have a problem and he points a torch at my bed
Day 28 Zubiri to Pamplona 22Km
The signs on the spanish side of the trail Still wet and muddy but another cake walk so I split with my two friends in Pamplona as they go on. That is the not nice part of the whole thing. I had become good friends with Conrad the Doc. and Philippe the Basque. We understood each other and went our own way at times to be alone but the company was very good and I spent two great weeks with them. The three weeks prior to that were testing as several days I walked 35 plus Km without seein more than one or two walkers and in all this time when there was company it was invariably with non English speaking or individuals with very little English. Sometimes you think your country is the only country with problems. Well cranes in the sky are a good indication of building activity. I do not think I saw a crane in the bit of France I was in. Many of the buildings in rural areas are in poor shape (quaint the property supplements call them) and a good storm would sort a lot of them out. There are lots of for sale signs and there are lots of closed hotels or hotels that appear short of bussiness.In general I find the buzz in the villages and towns in spain to be much better. Yesterday when we were walking I noticed a young guy following us so I went back and introduced myself. He was Heiko from Hamburg. He liked our pace so I brought him into the company. He was a fine guy that worked as an aircraft mechanic.To get his five weeks off for the walk he could work overtime and instead of getting cash he could take it as leave. In Pamplona we headed for the same hostel Baderborn near centre of Pamplona for 8 euros for B and B. It was run by an almighty big German. You can only stay one night so I will be evicted in the moring and I am ahead of schedule with three days to spare in Paamplona. I look up Aer Lingus but they want 275 euros for an earlier flight so I am going to settle for a hotel for the three nights.. There is this nice American on the trail for the past few days and he speaks very very loud. His name is Todd and he is from corn country in North Dakota. He is walking with this 75 yearold man from Bavaria called Norbert. Norbert resembles Martini in one flew over the cuckoos nest film. Todd is driving him mad and he looks like he is going to have a nervous breakdown any minute. Last night I spoke to Todd and Norbert came up to me explaining that Todd was not right in the head and that I should not encourage him in any way. Neither Todd or Norbert are walking tomorrow because of injury. There is one more injured person Malte a fine young guy from Northern German. He has a shin problem so I give him my Difene gel which he is very grateful for. So here we are in this bedroom breakfast eaten at 7 and in an hour we will be evicted. I want a bit of craic so I wind Todd the American up. Norbert is half ahide by the door trying not to listen. Todd starts -- there is this pile of stones at one place in the Camino and you are supposed to bring a stone from home and put it on the heap and make your wish so Todd asks Norbert if he has a special stone. Norbert has no idea what he is talking about and is getting purple with anger. I asks Todd if he has a stone so he is digging at his bag for a few minutes and he takes out a golf ball and shows me the stamp on it saying it is from his country club asking me if we have such things in Ireland. He will put the special golf ball on the heap. Todd then goes on a different angle and explains that his highly efficient secretary packed his bag but it has far too much and he needs to sort this out. He has already bought a new knapsac and dumped the old one. He asks me if I know a charity in Pamplona that he could donate some very good stuff to. I say no and ask what have you to get rid of. Norbert is not happy with me now so he says you are a Catholic are you not then adding of course you are you are bloody Irish. it is right to be a Catholic he says saying the English came up with their own religion and you cannot do that. I agree with him for the sake of peace. He then says he is a solitary man and wants to be left alone and this man Todd (pointing to him) is not educated in the ways of the world and is driving him insane as he stayed walking next to him for the last two days. Todd comes back in and says Norbert everything in life happens for a reason and there is a reason why we are together. Todd goes on and says Norbert you are one of the wisest best read men I have ever met and I have learnt so much from you. Norbert comes back in shaking his head saying I am normal. I am neither wise nor that well read. It is just that I know the ordinary things that ordinary children lean in school but you Americans seam to be totally unaware of very simple facts that children learn in school in Europe. I come back in and ask Todd what he wants to get rid of. He takes out binoculars and says do I really need these John. I say no and it is put on the floor. Hi John I got two bottles of Tobasco spice do I need that stuff. No. I have some find Cologne here John do you need that. No. I have three tubes of eye drops so I think one should do eh. Yes. I have three sets of razors a total of 18 for 28 days do I need them. No. Here see this bottle of sun protection stuff there is enough for a year so on the floor it goes. I have this heart rate monitor that tells me how many calories a day I burn --- he wants to hold onto that. Last he takes out this big box of matches and explains all the trouble his secratary took to get these as they are special matches that do not blow out in the wind. It is coming up on 8 o clock and this big German warden comes up and says time to move on. we agree to meet that night in a restaurant that gives a special deal to pilgrims and boy do we have a good nights craic. I think the cafe and pub culture in spain and France is very healthy. The owner of the bar or cafe is quite happy to have two people their for an hour one drinking a small beer costing 1.80 euros and the other drinking a coffee for one euro. this morning Sunday the little cafes were full of people having their croissant and coffee total cost 2.60 euros but it is the noise of the chatting that is so nice. It is a big social occasion.
Getting back to Dublin from Pamplona You need to get a bus from Pamplona to Bilbao and fly out from Bilbao. Bus costs around 17 euros and takes over two hours.
Bus Timetable from Pamplona to Bilbao (Bus company La Burundesa) Mon to Sat Sunday and bankholidays 7:00 9.00 10:00 11:15 13:00 15:30 16:00 18:00 17:30 20:30 20:00 You get the bus at the central bus station in one of the main parks in Pamplona --- Park Castillo at the end of Street --- Ave de Baja Navarra. The building is in the park and it looks small but the bus station is underground so down you go and look at the monitor and it will say something like Bilbao bus departs from bay 17 to 19 Buy the ticket as early as you can to avoid the possibility of the bus being booked out. When you pull in to the stop in Bilboa (one of the bays) there is an airport bus every 20 minutes from the edge of the bays. it costs less than two euro compared with 25 euro plus for a taxi.
That completes stages 1 and 2 of the trail of St. James from Le Puy in France to Santiago -almost 1,000 miles. Stage 2 in 2008 and Stage 1 in 2012. It was lovely and thanks to everyone that helped.
Log of stage 2 below ie Pamplona to Santiago |
Camino logStage 2 Pamplona to Santiago. This is the log of John Murphy typed into the web site as I walked 450 miles of the Camino de Santiago from Pamplona to Santiago 29th August - 26th September 2008
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