Day 165 – 167

Km 5120 to km 5205, Lescun (France) to Burguete-Auritz (Spain).

Day 165

05/10/2022 – 36km

A big climb this morning up and out of the Lescun valley. Just over the pass I came into an interesting maze of karst. I’m no geologist, but even I’ve been intrigued by the variety of different stone types I’ve passed through in the last few days.

Coming down the other side I exchanged dramatic peaks for big soft grassy mountains. After the slow climb, this felt like I was just floating along.

Day 166

06/10/2022 – 42km

So, almost no sleep last night due to high winds. I couldn’t tell when I set up, but I think I camped in a bit of a wind tunnel. Thankfully the the tent was well pitched, but it was still too loud for me to sleep.

I was treated to some infamous Basque country clouds, which shrouded me for most of the day. I was also accosted by a Patou (the big dogs used to guard herds here). It appeared as if from nowhere and was barking at me and ramming me with it’s nose.

At the end of the day I joined the Camino Frances superhighway and suddenly started seeing many other people (pilgrims). I got a bit swept along by how good the path was and ended up at the pilgrim hostel. It’s huge, and whilst I was a bit overwhelmed at first by all of the people around, it’s been nice to have company. I even got my pilgrim’s credential (to stay in the pilgrim hostels), so I too am now a pilgrim. Sorry Dawkins.

Day 167

07/10/2022 – 2km

A short stroll from the abbey to the nearby village, where I hoped to catch a bus to Pamplona. When I got to where the bus stop should have been there was no sign, no timetable, nothing. I asked a local if a bus stopped there, and they said it did. An hour after the stated time on Google (which unsurprisingly wasn’t up to date) a bus did show up.

In Pamplona I found a current timetable. It turns out it’s a one-per-day situation, so thankfully I caught it, and didn’t have to wait too long. The bad news is that the only bus back tomorrow is at 4pm (arriving at 5pm). Perhaps I’ll try to hitch, and if I don’t get anywhere after a few hours, I’ll just wait for the bus.

I also bought what I hope to be my last pair of shoes. There is a really great trail running store (called A4XKM) here in Pamplona with a great selection, and I was surprised and happy to find that they had some Altras in my size.