Chemin du Piémont Pyrénéen - Day 1

11 September 2023  

Lourdes to Lestelle-Betharram, 16+ km

This was the day we changed from being pilgrims of Lourdes to pilgrims of St Jacques de Compostelle - Santiago de Compostela. 

Just after 8am, loaded with our packs, we walked out of Lourdes - up past the Sanctuary, then out into the Forest of Lourdes where the chemin (camino) path followed the River Gave for a way. The morning was cool and being among the trees was beautiful but it wasn't long before we left the forest behind and the day heated up - it reached 30° or more with high humidity. 

We stopped for our first break in Rieuhès, a wee settlement with a church (locked) and a few houses. This is where we encountered our first fellow pilgrims - from Italy, Belgium and Paris.

Shortly after we stopped at Saint-Pé-de-Bigorre, a small town with a couple of small food places which were open - a very pleasant surprise as we understood that this would be rare. We bought a cold drink and sat in the shade in the  square while we ate lunch. 

From then on it was a matter of putting one foot in front of the other. All of the walk was lovely but the heat and the humidity made it wearying - as did walking on roads, even though they weren't busy ones. 

We arrived at Lestelle-Betharram, our stop on our chemin, at 3pm, where we stayed in church accommodation which I had arranged with Père (Father) Laurent Bacho - a lovely gentle, quiet-spoken man with gorgeous laugh, almost a giggle. He didn't speak any English and my French is extremely limited!

Vespers was at 7pm then we went to the community room for dinner which was prepared by two young priests - one from India and the other from the Ivory Coast. It was a fun meal as the priests ate with with the pilgrims - Filip, the Belgium we had met earlier and Fred and Debbie from the US who are walking to Santiago de Compostela. Also dining with us was a French woman who was staying for a weeks retreat. 

We were very pleased when we finally returned to our room as we were very exhausted. Sleep wasn't immediately possible for though due to a violent lightning and thunder storm that lasted 3 or 4 hours - I had received a storm alert on my phone shortly after we had arrived in Lestelle-Betharram. We did get a few hours sleep when it eventually passed. 

This was our first day on our chemin from Lourdes to St Jean Pied de Port. It was a beautiful walk, but very tiring in the heat. 

The exact distance we had walked is unknown as a guidebook said 16 km but Fred, the American pilgrim, tracked it on his phone and said it was just over 22 kms. 

Our first sign for the Chemin du Piémont Pyrénéen as we leave Lourdes.

The Sanctuary as we walked up past it on our way.

A very prominent sign. The Chemin du Piémont Pyrénéen is also known as the GR78.

Walking through the Forest of Lourdes. 

We haven't seen any snails but there are slugs everywhere - orange like this one and grey/black ones, equally as big.

Balisage markings for GR routes. The one on the left indicates to go straight and the one on the right shows a righthand turn. Confusing when there's both.

There are plenty of roadside statues and crosses.

The Italian pilgrim leaving Rieuhès. 

The small church at Rieuhès where we sheltered for a while from the harsh sun.

Between Rieuhès And Saint-Pé-de-Bigorre. 

A pretty window box. 

Having lunch in Saint-Pé-de-Bigorre. We appreciated the shade in the village square. 

In Saint-Pé-de-Bigorre. 

The Church of Saint-Pé-de-Bigorre - it was locked. 

Then is was back into the sun again. 

We finally arrived in Lestelle-Betharram. The alleyway where the red car is is the way to the Notre-Dame de Betharram pilgrim accommodation. The whole building is belongs to the community, the church is at the far end, not visible in this shot. 

The view from our window. 

The door to the pilgrim rooms with the shell of Saint Jacques de Compostelle - Santiago de Compostela. 

The front of the church at the opposite end of the building from where we entered the accommodation section. 

Notre-Dame de Betharram 

The main alter in the church. 

10 September 2023

Lourdes 

Last night we went to the Candlelight Procession - we didn't walk in the procession but stood on the ramps up to  the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception. From there we could see the massive procession making its way to the Basilica and looked down on the bishops and priests, as well as the choir. Around 5 or 6 million people visit the Sanctuary of Lourdes every year and the procession was so large, so long, that it seemed quite a portion of those millions were there last night. 

We spent the first part of this morning looking at all we have in our packs trying to decide if we could lessen our load but only a few things will be left out. We quickly gave that up as a lost cause and went to an English Mass in the Mater Dolorosa Chapel. We got there well before Mass started and a Sister soon had us all going through the hymns that would be sung. Three priests said Mass - English wouldn't have been the first language for any of them. After Mass we asked one of the priests for a pilgrim blessing to start our pilgrimage off well. 

We then visited Basilica of the Immaculate Conception and the Crypt of St Bernadette as well as the massive underground Basilica of St Pious X. The Basilica is completely underground with a grassed area overtop. It was completed in 1957 and consecrated in 1958. It is a 201m by 81m oval, an area of around 12,000m² and can seat around 25,000. I had expected it would be quite industrial looking as it's made totally of concrete but I found it to be quite special. Around the concrete pillars are hung huge images of saints. And on the wall are 52 amazing images of the Stations of the Cross and the Mysteries of the Rosary. They are made with stained glass - fragments of stained glass fused together - and are back-lit which makes them really glow. 

This afternoon was spent in deciding what supplies we will need for the next few days, knowing that the pilgrim infrastructure is very different on the Chemin du Piémont Pyrénéen to that of the Camino Francés meaning that we will need to carry snacks and something suitable for lunches, and maybe a breakfast or two, if we don't find a boulangerie or an open cafe. Then it was off to the Monoprix supermarket for a shop. We had fun using the self check out but we got there in the end.

Once again, the photos have uploaded out of order. The videos of the Candlelight Procession didn't upload at all! 

  

Looking over to the Sanctuary from the walkway up to our accommodation.

    

On our way to the supermarket. 

Kiwifruit at the supermarket. Product of NZ, €1.10kg.

It was so hot but these two women were beautifully dressed in what to me was winter weight clothes.

The alter in the Basilica of St Pious X 

In the Basilica 

A closeup showing the fused glass pieces on one of the Stations of the Cross. 

The full piece. 

Saint Mary MacKillop

A shot inside the Basilica 

Mater Dolorosa Chapel where we went to the English Mass. 

At the Candlelight Procession last night.

 

9 September 2023

Lourdes

Another hot day, there's been no relief. The mornings are the best as, though they are still very warm, they don't have the sting of the midday and afternoon heat.

We spent most of this morning at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes while the air was comparatively cooler. We walked the Stations of the Cross which are placed up and around on a high hill above the Sanctuary, and a Mass in French was held at the grotto.

The town of Lourdes is an incredibly busy place, the streets are filled with people, and it's full of traffic. Not just private cars but massive double-decker buses keep rolling in on the narrow streets, as do equally massive supply trucks. And this afternoon motorhomes and campervans joined in the mix. We enjoyed watching a large motorhome making a multi-point turn to get itself out of a tight spot.

While the town streets are busy the area of the Sanctuary is equally busy, if not more so. Large group after large group followed their guides around all the Holy places that make up the Sanctuary of Lourdes. Languages of so many countries could be heard, some we couldn't identify. There were several groups of Sisters - their habits and ethnicities all so different. I was fascinated by two French groups being led by priests - at least their priest guides were speaking French. The priest of one of the groups was dressed in a long flowing cassock and a flat black hat looking much like he had stepped out of an earlier decade, whereas the priest guiding the other group was dressed as though he was off on a hike. 

We returned to our accommodation to rest from the sun and later in the afternoon we went to the St Jacque de Compostelle (Santiago de Compostela) pilgrim office and got our first stamp in our credentials. We also received our first 'buen camino.'

On our way back to our accommodation from the pilgrim office we popped into the Chapel of the Monastery of the Poor Clare Sisters. 

We now have WiFi so I have added photos to my previous post.

Walking to the Sanctuary 

The Sanctuary of Lourdes 

A photo taken when walking up to the Stations of the Cross. 

Stations of the Cross 

Looking up from the grotto. There were so many people that it wasn't possible to get a photo of the grotto itself - although that didn't worry a few people who were posing in front with their selfie sticks held high. 

While walking to the pilgrim office we found a sign pointing out the way we'll walk we set off from Lourdes. 

At the pilgrim office 

The Monastery of the Poor Clare Sisters 

The Chapel in the Poor Clare Monastery

 

Statue of Saint Bernadette in the Chapel.