Chemin du Piémont Pyrénéen - Day 9

19 September 2023

La Ferme Landran to Zen Abeille - 15 kms

We set out just as it got light, around 7.30 am, to make the most of the morning freshness. Today we were really up the hills, with hills all around us. We had fantastic views out when not walking through trees.

The ascent wasn’t too tough but gradient of the descent to where we're staying tonight was very steep, and all of it was more or less a narrow goat track, with either tree roots or rocks to manoeuvre around. 

We had two good breaks during our walk when we aired our feet and has a bit to eat. We're staying the night on bee/honey farm, about 2 to 3 kilometres from Saint-Just-Ibarre. We're in a dormitory room with two others. Another pilgrim has put up his tent on the front lawn. 

We snacked on roadside walnuts, figs and blackberries today. 

Leaving La Ferme Landran 

Off on our walk for the day.

We've found that only one or two in a group of cows and sheep have bells, the lucky ones, like these two aren't wearing one.

Here I'm very inelegantly avoiding the thick mud.

Coming into Ordiarp. 

The church in Ordiarp. 

The church had a most unusual spire.

Ordiarp - one of the very few villages that had a cafe/bar, only it was closed today. 

Following our shadows.

Gorgeous morning light. 

A view along our walk.

We looked down on farmland in the valleys. 

All along our walk we saw the Chapelle de St Antoine in the distance - the white structure on the top of the hill.

The Chapelle de St Antoine.

We walked through beech and oak trees today.

On our way down. 

The corners were tight and steep. 

We've seen very little fungi so far.

Finally we were out of the hills. 

Looking towards our stop for the day. 

Our dormitory room. 

Chemin du Piémont - Day 8

18 September 2023

Mauleon-licharre to La Ferme Landran - 8 kms

As we weren't walking far we had a relaxed morning and didn't leave Mauléon-Licharre until 11.30 after doing a supermarket shop. We had to get supplies for two lunches, one dinner and a breakfast, as well as snacks for three days.

The path immediately started to climb, dropping down only near the end of the day's walk.

We're staying in a chalet in a small camping ground about 2 kms before Ordiarp, with views out to the hills. 

We're well into the Basque country, have been since before Lestelle-Betharram. The road signs are in French and Basque, as are many items in shops etc. Where we had dinner last night the items on the menu were either in French or Basque.

It was a very straightforward day apart from Jeff seeing a large snake - it certainly made him jump but it very quickly slithered off the path.

It looked as though it would rain late afternoon but it didn't come to anything. The mornings are lovely and fresh but the days soon heat up.

From our room in Mauleon-Licharre 

Another view from our room. 

In Mauléon-Licharre 

Château d'Andurain in Mauléon-Licharre 

Out on the path. There are many patches like this on the path every day. 

We're seen several treehouses like this one. We have no idea what they are used for.

We walked through the settlement of Garindein. Another wee place with no services. A small group school children were off on a walk with an adult (their teacher). They were playing up, having fun with each other. Children are the same all over the world - only these ones could speak fluent French 😁

A view out to the hills on our way.

Nearing the end of our walk for the day.

Our stop for the night. 

Jeff being shown our chalet. 

Our chalet 

Washing out on Jeff's make-do line.

There were a couple of caravans in the camping ground as well as campervans, all very small. Late in the afternoon some cyclists arrived and set up tents.

A view from our chalet. 

The farm/camping ground owner moving sheep.