It was a trip UP memory lane, as we hiked UP the steep Rue de la Citadel past the Camino Office in St. Jean Pied de Port and the last 2 kms to the Orisson Refuge (Hostel) on the Camino de Santiago* en route towards Spain (*in French, referred to as the “Chemin de St. Jacques”). The ‘beaux village’ of St. Jean Pied de Port is the starting point for pilgrims walking the “French Route” of the Camino and where we had embarked in 2016, while Orisson is the first stop on the trail, where we had enjoyably spent our first overnight on our Camino trek three years ago. It was quite emotional to revisit this place — seeing the familiar scenes; dropping in at the Camino Office to get our ‘Credential (Camino Passport)’ stamped; having coffee at the same sidewalk cafe; drinking sangria again at Orisson; interacting with this year’s pilgrims all excited, full of questions, and eager with anticipation to start their Camino adventures; and sleeping in a pilgrim’s hostel. We chatted with pilgrims from various countries, and wished them “Buen Camino,” somewhat wishing we were going to Santiago, too, as they are off on a trip of a lifetime!
It’s an 8 km uphill hike to Orisson — quite a hike — so, we decided to drive part way up and walk the last 2 kms. This saved wear and tear on our legs, but was quite a drive, nevertheless! The road is narrow (only wide enough for one vehicle — we just prayed that we didn’t meet anyone), steep and windy, with some hairpin corners, up and up! And, to top it off, there was thick fog! We cautiously made our way, waving encouragement as we passed by about 15 hikers plodding along, as well as some cattle. Our last two kms, on foot,
were also through thick fog and then suddenly the hostel appeared out of the mist! (We had been fortunate in having had good weather in 2016, and had seen all the gorgeous mountain scenery, complete with rainbow — no scenery to be viewed this time!). So we ate a bowl of soup (pretty sure it’s the same that we had three years ago) and had a drink with an Australian pilgrim, then reminisced, took some photos, and then made our way back down to the town.
Last time that we were in St. Jean Pied de Port (2016), we were so focused on getting our Camino started — registering at the office, arranging for luggage transfer and dropping off the bag with Jacotrans, searching for a couple of last-minute supplies, finding our
way out of town on the trail in the right direction, etc. — that we did
not have a chance to explore and appreciate the lovely town. So,
that’s exactly what we did next today! We scampered all around the citadel and up and down the cobble-stone streets, shopped and window-shopped, ate, drank, took in the sights, and snapped photos like regular tourists. And in the evening, we managed to locate the “elusive” Basque sport of pelote, as we joined fans at regional semi-finals that were being held for boys and men. It’s a fast and physical game, and we were very impressed and entertained by the prowess of the players. A singing scorekeeper rounded off the entertainment.
I should also mention that St. Jean Pied de Port, though usually the
starting point for a Camino hike, was, for us this time, the ending point of our walking experience from Lourdes to St. Jean. This particular way is known as the “Piemont Route” (or “GR78”), feeding into the “French Route.” We had logged a total walk of 157 kms.
Next stop — Spain!
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