Day 27 - June 3rd: Lost

Juexe to Oloron St. Marie: 28.98 miles / 683 total

The culture and food has changed like a light switch as we crossed a river into France. Our Basque hotel, an old-world travelers' inn that is not pilgrim-centric since no major Camino passes by, gets an assortment of through persons. A middle-aged woman with black and gray hair wearing black-framed glasses and a kind smile worked the hotel taking care of check-ins, bartending, waitressing, and everything else. Convenience and our fatigue drove our decision to eat at the restaurant in the hotel. A good omen was that they had two draft options, blond and amber, my favorite.

The meal was fixed with a vegetable soup which was thick, hearty, and rich with pine nuts, olive oil, and toasted garlic on top. Duck as the main was perfectly cooked with the fat crisp to accompany each bite of meat with potatoes, carrots, and mushrooms on the side baked in the gravy and crispy. Finally, a tiramisu that was textured with syrupy flavor on the bottom, granulated sugar and cinnamon with the mascarpone. Throw in a locally sourced wine and it was food heaven. Jax was also happy with the meal when Christina couldn’t finish her duck and brought up the spoils. He now goes straight to her when we come back from dinners knowing she has a treat for him.

Ted surprised me with a Theragun gift that will come in handy. He also needed it after all the walking he had to do. When my left tibia/shin became an issue, my right hip and knee were killing me for days until I got all the kinks worked out on my walking stride. Ted is super fit and could run the miles with ease but walking is a totally different ball game.

The end of yesterday’s run was a grind as we had to put our heads down on a busy road in rain with not much of a shoulder. Not wanting that stress on today’s route we elected to add a few kilometers but to take the back roads. Google Maps delivered on very remote farm roads and secluded foothills with the Pyrenees in the clouds above. We also dipped in and out of the clouds as we began climbing our first pass of the day in chilly, clammy conditions. Jax was leashed most of the time as there was livestock roaming in the fields and hillsides all around us. Towards the top, we veered onto a dirt road that Google Maps showed going in the right direction. This ended at a gate that we decided to open and proceed. Ted is watching the Yellowstone series right now and commented that if it was there, we would get shot—let’s hope it's not the same here!

The dirt road was totally muddy from the rain and the cow flops were mixed in to create mucky conditions. Jax was now off leash as we got to a field and no more trail on the ridge of the mountain. We went by direction and came off the top to a gap and then climbed up the other side, enjoying the magnificent panoramic views on either side of us. Then back onto the cow paths and then finally down to a small mountain road. We had both slipped, fallen, caked our shoes with muck and couldn’t stop laughing about the adventure we had. While we may have saved ourselves from the busy road, our “shortcut” was longer but we wouldn't change a thing.

Jax met new farm animals today that were smarter than those in the past. Sheep, goats, and cows all run as he chases, but the four donkeys he ran after hesitated and then paired up while running then turned towards him and charged, one of them delivering a blow to his face which yielded a quick turnaround and retreat. A bloody snout and tongue were his lessons and hopefully enough of them so he knows not to do it again.

We arrived into the French village of Mauleon-Licharre at 21km and had lunch at Café L’Europe of mozzarella cheese and tomato paninis with French fries and cokes. Christina was coming through town to get to our next hotel and we decided to give her Jax as the route I had chosen required 20km on the busy road.

Out of town, Ted found another option to the busy road on Apple Maps. We agreed to give it a try. A few kilometers were like the farm roads earlier in the day until it ended on a dirt road and then we were in a field. Google and Apple both showed trails but to get there we would need to bushwhack through fields of weeds neck high to woods where we couldn’t be sure a trail existed. Ted went in one direction and me the other to assess. We agreed to go deeper down off the hill, into the weeds towards the woods. Jackpot. About a kilometer later in the woods we found a washed out trail. For the next 10km we rotated water-logged trails and bushwhacking until we finally reached a proper road and decided we were done adventuring for the day. Time to bring it home on pavement.

We are both wiped out after the adventurous day but I know from my run across America that there are a few days when we are treated to epic stages that are scenic, remote and challenging. This was definitely one of them and it will never be forgotten.

Time for a cold draft and a good meal.

Historical note: Oloron-Sainte-Marie is one of the oldest towns in the Béarn region, originally founded by the Romans as Iluro. In the 11th century, it became a stronghold under Viscount Centule V of Béarn. Its Romanesque cathedral, Sainte-Marie, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site notable for its rare depiction of the Descent from the Cross on its 12th-century portal.

Thanks for following along and supporting.

Cheers,
David.