BLOG : Our daily adventures,
Week 49 - Lourdes to Monastere du Mont d'Arès
June 11th to 17th 2023
- Day 337: June 11th: Lourdes to Juncalas- 13 km
13 km done for a total of 4260 + 13 = 4273 km
- Day 338: June 12th: Juncalas to Soulagnets - 13 km
Casey's belt was almost totally ripped...Time to use my sewing kit...Difficult to get the needle through the layers of thick fabric but I managed..the result looks bad but will hold hopefully for the rest of this year hiking period.
Charming little village : Cheust and its river running through its streets.
Cotdoussan's church.
The keeper of the church keys came to us and gave us a little guided tour. The church built there was first destroyed in the 16th century by an earthquake and reconstructed with the stones from a nearby castel in ruins. Left to decay for the past 20 years, the church was on the verge of collapsing. The inhabitants of the village decided to take the matter into their hands and started to renovate the church. The ceiling and roof were repaired and newly painted, the original carved wooden panels/sculptures of the sacristy were restored and refreshed with the addition of a new layer of gold leaves...To reward the renovations effort, the local administration designated this church to serve as the place of inauguration and validation of a new Compostela path via the GR78.
We've been explained that back in the days when fridges did not exist, these wooden boxes were used to keep the villagers' bottles of milk cold. The trick is to create a slight deviation of the spring water to cool down the cages.
The locals have been warning us against the "Patou" a breed of shepherd dogs which could be quite agressive when guarding a herd of sheep. Here we have the instructions on how to deal with an encounter of this intimidating dog.
As we arrived in the little village of Soulagnets, the sky strated to express its anger...deafening thunder and again intense rain. Luckily, we've already found a discreet place to pitch our tent right beside the church of the village, and could wait serenely under a tree/umbrella for the rain to stop.
13 km done for a total of 4273 + 13 = 4286 km
- Day 339: June 13th: Soulagnets to Col des Palomieres - 16 km
Easy brunch on the little square of the village Soulagnets. We met there a friendly french couple who is hiking the GR78 towards Lourdes. Since we are walking against the current, it is always helpful to get tips on what to expect on the path ahead. Today, we were advised to take the paved road to our next step " Bagneres de Bigorre" since the GR78 trail has been reduced to a river of mud in that direction. The poor lady has been experiencing, like me, the visit of many tics...these little suckers are no joke...She is now on a 3 weeks intensive antibiotic treatment after presenting the dreaded "red inflammation circle around the location of the tic bite": the key symptom of Lyme disease. I could relate since I've been collecting so far 10 tic bites (despite thorough morning and evening inspections) in the span of 3 weeks...but luckily for me no red circle yet...The Pyrenees are infested with these especially in high grass and in the vicinity of farms breeding cows/sheeps/pigs...in brief everywhere we are stepping in while not on paved road.
A house with a cool green roof...if only this was done just everywhere!
Our main goal today was to pick up our new pair of shoes at the local post office in Bagneres de Bigorre. My parents sent us our 2 boxes to the "poste restante". Right on time, this year after 1300 km the sokes of our shoes were already eaten up...
New beginnings for these pairs !
An rusty old-timers passes me by while I was waiting for Casey (on a groceries shopping mission) in a small cafe ...around me people were talking in a Bearnais dialect I couldn't understand. We stayed there for a good hour since it started again to rain heavily.
Our on way out of the city we found this little pastry/candy shop with Bordelaise specialty to test. We got ourselves little chocolate/pralines pigs and the local gourmandise " les berlingots"...miam!
The colourful streets of Bagneres-de-Bigorre.
Perfect timing to pitch our tent tonight under a chesnut tree overlooking the valley, it started to rain and the tree provided the ideal temporary umbrella...Dinner will be served inside tonight!
16 km done for a total of 4286 + 16 = 4302 km
- Day 340: June 14th: Col des Palomieres to Bourg de Bigorre - 16 km
We've started our day with a great lunch at "Le relais des chasseurs (or "Chez Loulou" for the regulars ) located on "Le col des palomieres". Our menu of the day "civet de sanglier et pommes de terre persillees"..triple portions for both of us! Good fuel for the hungry hikers!
C'est par ici les mensonges...luckily we are heading somewhere else..our next stop the village of Uzer.
Not the most reassuring bridge...
We had a break in Uzer between the church, the book swap library and the mayor office...we even found there open public toilets providing hot water: time to wash our clothes in the sink and dry our tent in the sun.
Great name for a getaway home!
In the pyreenes, the main breed of cows we've seen is called the "charolais"...white to cream-coloured, they are amongst the heaviest of cattle breeds..the bulls and cows have a more imposant musculature than the breeds seen on the Spanish side of the mountain...what a neckline!
"Le bistrot des Baronnies" in Bourg-de-Bigorre was our holy grail today! It was the only bar located on the GR78 that we managed to reach on its opening hours...it was the only place where we could find food in the evening...It is held by Jean-Marc, very kind and fun owner whose pizzas are known to be succulent!
We had a great time there! We'll spread the good word!
We had a great time there! We'll spread the good word!
We've spent the night next to the local community center with a roof above our tent in case of rain, electric plugs and drinking water available on site: what more could one ask for ?!
16 km done for a total of 4302 + 16 = 4318 km
- Day 341: June 15th: Bourg de Bigorre to Espeche - 10 km
Today we had fun tracing a little treasure hunt towards our friend Jean-Marc's pizzeria...poking his business cards along our way.
In espeche we were lucky to find this little haven...We were running low on food and the next restaurant was still a good 20 from there. Cathy the owner of this small "buvette", provided us with eggs, bread and freshly harvested mushroom. What a kind lady!
And what a cute little place with a stunning view of the mountains!
And what a cute little place with a stunning view of the mountains!
10 km done for a total of 4318 + 10 = 4328 km
- Day 342: June 16th: Espeche to Lortet - 17 km
Amazing discovery on our path: the restaurant " Le Mont d'Aure" in the small village of Lortet held by Maximilien and Michael. The menu was just a festival for our tastebuds...prawns in a garlic and fine herbs cream sauce, snails in a Mediterranean sauce, beef filet in red wine sauce with crispy french fries, strawberry cake, belgium waffle with melted chocolate...loads of red wine simply delicious. We spent a fun evening with their kind staff and these 2! And ended up being invited to stay for the night in the upper floor of their charming restaurant: impressive cliffs on one side and beautiful river on the other. What a pearl of a place with more than generous owners!
Maximilien and Michael's team.
17 km done for a total of 4328 + 17 = 4345 km
- Day 343: June 17th: Lortet to Nestier (Monastere du Mont d'Ares) - 16 km
Another day of having fun advertising for M&M restaurant along the GR78 by pining their flyers on trees and sign posts.
We arrived famished at our target destination today...what we didn't know is that "Le Monastere du Mont d'Ares" had been converted from a restaurant to a venue for corporate seminars, weddings and cultural events by 2 very kind brothers Philippe and Johnny. Luckily one of this event was organized tonight and we arrived there, right on time:
- first to enjoy the catering service which was selling delicious plates of local charcuterie and cheese products,
- and second and foremost to attend a jazz concert scheduled for 9pm...
- first to enjoy the catering service which was selling delicious plates of local charcuterie and cheese products,
- and second and foremost to attend a jazz concert scheduled for 9pm...
Deux souffleurs sur un fil...Daniel Zimmerman trombonist and Eric Seva Saxophonist...We arrived at the Monastery du Mont d'Ares thinking it was still a restaurant and unexpectedly stumbled upon a gem of a jazz concert...a sublime musical dialog between 2 giants of the genre...as we later realized while reading their biography online. How lucky can we be!
As for Philippe and Johnny's kindness...here is how we were welcomed...they let us pitch our tent right on the stage after the last guests were gone..Thanks to them we could be protected by a solid tarp above our heads in a time where stormy weather was imminent. And, cherry on top, the next morning, they provided us with a generous breakfast and with a profusion of food to take away...Amazing people! Merci encore !
16 km done for a total of 4345 + 16 = 4361 km