Day 28 - June 4th: Way of Arles
Oloron-Sainte-Marie to Morlaàs: 30.2 miles / 713 total
In addition to the shifts in culture and language, there is big positive for our logistics and for Jax. Since we are off the Camino Frances where lodging is in high demand, Christina is getting options from each hotel in the towns and they are not asking for prepayment to reserve. In addition, none have turned us down because of Jax. Furthermore, all the restaurants allow dogs inside so Jax can join us for dinner! At breakfast this morning, the house dog roamed around inspecting the customers then crossing the street to the sister hotel and doing the same. France is going to be good to Jax.
Today we officially kicked off the Via Tolosana, or Way of Arles, in Oloron-Sainte-Marie. Ted, who is not a walker and was literally suffering from going slowly with me, finally got into the rhythm this morning after 3 days and was upbeat about what lay ahead.
Only having read about it, I had no way to know what to expect. Signage, terrain, villages, stores, etc. were all unknown and I was super happy to be with Ted and Jax today. I started the day by getting the 5k done from where we stopped to get into Oloron-Sainte-Marie. From there we exited and headed north out to a small suburb. I had loaded the route onto my phone so we found the first turn off the road that headed into grass and then into the woods. As we entered we saw two lines, one white on top of the other red one. This would be the markings for the day that we would look for on trees, sign posts or even stop signs.
While it rained all night, it cleared by 8am and we were not bothered by it. Temps were in the 60’s on an overcast day. Our challenge was the conditions of the trail because of the rain over the past few days. Mud and puddles crowded our paths and the grass we ran through soaked our shoes early on. Nonetheless, we were treated to a day that was 90% backcountry trail or roads and most of it deep in forests with running water either in streams next to us or running through the trail. Jax was in heaven today scampering ahead and then respecting the “come” or “stay” commands when we neared livestock. As we turned east we were treated on the ridges to the Pyrenees on our right that stood magnificent against the clouds.
The Arles Way is remote and hard. We only saw two pilgrims today and they were a different cut than the Frances Camino pilgrims were. Serious, seasoned and none of them spoke English. Over the day’s 48km, we found one water stop, whereas on the Frances it was every 6-10k. And on the food side, we passed through a number of hamlets and quaint villages but none had cafes or restaurants until 42km — or a marathon — in although we did find an historical site where they had coffee and cookies. Jax decided to take a nap while Ted and I had an espresso and 2 cookies.
I had a breakfast of baguette, yogurt, coffee and croissant. Not nearly enough to tide me over for a marathon. We will need to do more planning now for water and calories.
Christina secured a house in the village of Morlaàs. The owners are a French couple and it was a non-descript facade facing the church. We were treated to staying in their house with their children, of which we met four. A beautiful, large interior that surprised us. Through the salon we went into a courtyard where two doors on the left were our rooms, well appointed and spacious. Then through a workshed area that smelled of ancient stone, dirt and wood to a vast walled garden. Don’t judge a book by its cover!
Morlaàs has its own significance too — it served as the capital of Béarn after the destruction of Beneharnum in the 9th century. Its Romanesque church, Saint-Faust, is a vestige of that importance and right across the street from our front door.
We enjoyed amber drafts next door at the tavern and a nice meal at the restaurant in town. Ted’s final day is tomorrow and the goal is to get him four marathons in four days before flying out to the real world.
All for today, thank you for the support.
Cheers,
David.
