2017-10-02 Aire-sur-l'Adour -> Arzacq-Arraziguet (36/659 km)

The lake just outside Aire

<As usual - click photos to enlarge>

Met a confused pilgrim trying to find his way out of the city. The GPS knew the way, so I could help him.

The city had built a fairly big lake at the edge of town. Gave me a nice walk before passing under the motorway.

Straight roads through corn fields

Otherwise this day as the days before was dominated by farmland. Flat at the beginning of the day with straight roads trough the fields. A a couple of places cattle farms and geese farms in between the fields. "Foie gras" is a specialty.

Cattle farm

"Foie gras" - alive

Had expected to eat in Miramont-Sensacq. But no, the only pizzeria was closed on Mondays. And there was nothing else. So it became an orange soda and a bread from a bread shop. Not much of a lunch for a 36 km walk. I was extremely tired when I arrived at Arzacq, but recovered after a while.

Last departement in France - Pyrénées-Atlantiques

The landscape got hillier. And had it not been another day with drizzle and mist I could have seen the Pyrenees. But not today. Instead saw a number of the people from earlier days. But my French is too bad for more that a few word and their English is equally bad. Result - not much communication.

 Eventually I passed a small river and finally I have reached "Pyrénées-Atlantiques" the last departement in France before passing the Pyrenees into Spain. This is now or soon Basque land. I wonder what the basque says when they hear that Cataluña has voted for independence yesterday.

Sweden in Arzacq = door to a room in gite

Well the sign of independence I saw in Arazaq is that they have a room with the name of Suede (Sweden). Interesting I got to sleep not in that, but in Angleterre (England). Maybe I should have written this blog in Swedish instead.

After have done the usual mandatory things I went out shopping. I bit more food for days without a restaurant and an envelope for the key card I had forgotten to return this morning. Again, hmmmm...

Dinner was interesting. We were only 5 there. I sat with a Canadian couple from the west coast. They had walked the Camino Frances from St-Jean three years ago and now wanted to continue. A well traveled couple. We discussed Vancouver and Island and Norway.

Este día como los antes. Lluvia en la mañana. Paisaje con agricultura, especialidad maíz. Algunos pueblos, no tan grande. Ahora pernocto en un albergue público en Arzacq. Cuando comía allí encontré una pareja de Canada. Discutimos viajes en varios partes del mundo, como Vancouver, Islandia y Noruega.