2017-10-06 Aroue - Ostabat (28/775 km)

A small basque village

The pelota wall - so typical

It was a good gite that I was staying in Aroue. And mysterious lady and her friend were there. They came from Montreal i Canada and consequently spoke fluent French but also good English. They had walked from Le Puy, but I don't really know how much. Around the table were also a teacher from Coventry England. He was a language teacher and spoke fluently French, German and Spanish. In addition a lady from Seoul, Korea and a french couple. We had a good night together. It started with the mysterious lady accused me for stealing hear T-shirt after washing and drying. And I had. So I handed it back ceremoniously. She maintained that it was too small for me.

Being a bit sleepy in the morning I followed a road for too long. I discovered that on my GPS and had to turn back - and pass all the others in an uphill. I also met the couple from Navarrenx, that are actually staying at the gite in Ostabat where I'm staying tonight. The recommended me to pick some chestnuts, there are plenty of them on the ground here. Then boil them for about 20 - 30 minutes. According to them they would be delicious after that.

Passed a number of small basque village. All looking fine as usual in the basque countries, but really small and no service in them.

The Gibraltar stone where ways meet

Santiago in the chapel at the hills

Soon Ostabat 

Passed the stone of Gibraltar the marks the point where three of the four Santiago roads merges to one - Camino Frances as it is called in Spain. The fourth goes through the pass of Somport and join Camino Frances in Puente la Reina in Spain. After that the GR65 in a broad stony track goes up over some fine hills. On one of those is the chapel d'Harambeltz with Our Lady (well locked in and difficult to see) and Santiago watching me while I had lunch - tuna. There was no service in today's villages before Ostabat. At the end of the meal "the illustrated girls" showed up. Seemingly, possibly, tattooed all over. The fine view towards the Pyrenees disappeared in the rain.

Then not far from Ostabat. Located a gite in the small village and many of those that I have met are here. Was out buying some batteries to my camera, to which I had borrowed some of my GPS batteries during the day. Waiting for the dinner at 7 pm.

Tomorrow Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. Just some 23 km away.

En la noche pasado estaba relevada, la mujer misteriosa. Ella y su amiga llegaban de Montreal, Canadá. Habían comenzado en Le Puy y – naturalmente – hablaban tanto francés como inglés. Hoy, otro día con lluvia. Pero funciona muy bien entre las colinas vascas.