Biarritz to St. John Pied de Port - Part Deux

Ok...I got tired last night nd didn't post anything about our afternoon (after lunch) and trip to our Camino starting point: St. John Pied de Port. Here goes (Dave version):

From lunch it's on to Bayonne by bus and on by another bus to St. Jean Pied de Port, a town of 1,800 with no actual reason to exist other than the Camino. The main drag (cobblestones, natch) is pretty much all about souvenirs, lunches for tomorrow, and Basque food, which, as served to us an hour ago, was carrot soup, ¼ chicken, elbow macaroni, and a crepe for dessert. Oh, did I mention the wine? Not pink this time. A flavorful red that probably came to the restaurant in a 50 gallon drum. Hey, we liked it. At 13€ each, it wasn't a bad deal. (Lunch cost about the same.)

Our “hotel” tonight is a B&B for $59 including breakfast, but no a/c. The owner’s nice, too, so, even though it's still over 85 degrees as we write this at 9:15 pm and with no hint of a breeze, we’re doing well. Tomorrow is our first test: The Pyrenees.

Status check: We’re generally healthy and, though eating too much today, anticipate fewer restaurants in the days and miles ahead, more legumes and less salmon.

A few words about our backpacks. These are relatively lightweight packs that we already had and generally feel are the right size @ 15ish pounds each (plus at least a quart of water each). The bad thing is, they don’t hold much; that’s also the good thing and has kept us to three or four tops, two pair of pants that zIp off into shorts, three or four socks and panties, a rain jacket, another pair of shoes, electronics, toiletries and pills. It’s enough although the item you want or the one that’s mysteriously gone missing is always at the bottom of the damn thing and requires yet another re-org. The lesson of the Camino is: If you bring less stuff, it’s easier to find the stuff you bring.

And now, a few pictures and narrative courtesy of Scout (Deb)

We are in Basque Country. If you aren't sure what that it, it's explained here: Basque Country: a part of Spain and France with its own language, customs, and food. The language is odd as you can see by this sign..lots of x's, z's, etc. Bit of trivia: there's great Basque food in Bakersfield! Also, a place Dave and I used to visit in San Francisco: Obrero Hotel. Food was served family style in the 70s and 80s. Last I checked, it was either closed or had one star from yelp. :-(

We weren't the only ones who caught the buses from Bayonne/Biarritz to SJPP....merely 10 euro...lots of peregrinos!

Getting ready...first sign and thing to do in SJPP: go to the Pilgrim office and get info.

The Gate at SJPP is a Unesco heritage site and we saw it and the Citadel, a little climb, but well worth it

Views from on-high

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And, last but not least, the first marker for our journey tomorrow.

Teaser: as I write this, it's Friday night and we made it: our first day as real pilgrims. It was a tough day: 16 miles with a climb through the Pyrenees of 4,000 feet, but we made it. Hope to tell you about it tomorrow: either morning or evening. Tomorrow is over 17 miles, but flat, so hopefully an easier day although I'm not sure how we will feel after today. We've had most of the afternoon to rest. As we are now in Spain, adios.

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