LIVE from the Camino A and B on the Via de Bayona

[Takahiwai]

A good week after my planned start date, I am finally here in Bayonne, with my very old friend, who shall be A in this thread. We have had quite the adventure in even getting to the start of our walk. My journey started in the peculiar capital city of Nay Pyi Taw, in Burma, and, four flights later, I joined up with A in London. Neither of us wanted to fly down to Biarritz, so we decided to take the ferry to Caen, and then use the train to get to Bayonne. Of course, nothing went to plan, and it took a bus, an underground train, an overground train, a ferry, another bus, a tram, yet another bus, a train, an overnight stop in Tours, and a BlaBla bus to get us here. The weather throughout France is absolutely dreadful. Our BlaBla bus had to stop for some time in a lay-by because the rain was so heavy that it was literally impossible for the driver to see where he was going.

We have been here for 24 hours now, attempting to see the sights of Bayonne. The incessant rain and gale-force winds are very dispiriting, I have to say. A, a complete camino virgin, opted to stay in a private refugio here. I, a hater of dormitory life, am in a hotel. Neither of us is in great physical shape, but we're gamely ignoring that, and pretending that we're both about 25 years younger than we actually are. We're not totally stupid, however. Tomorrow's Gronze stage is around 30km to St. Jean de Luz, and we're going to break that up, and try to ease ourselves a little more gently into this walk. If you've read this far, and have a kind heart, please say a prayer that the weather will ease up a little for us, tomorrow morning.

I seem to have forgotten the necessary cable for transferring photos from my phone to this laptop, so I'll try to add some directly from my phone, in a separate post.

 

[jprogers]

Buen camino.!! Enjoying your travel journey hope the weather gets better!!

 

[Takahiwai]

So, these are, from left to right: Tour LeRoy in Caen at first light; the cathedral of St-Gatien in Tours; the Loire, Tours; miserable weather at a pit-stop on the way to Bayonne; the River Adour in Bayonne; St. James in the Sacristy of the Cathedral of Ste. Marie in Bayonne; detail of a mason carving, main entrance of the cathedral; a pilgrim, main entrance of the cathedral; a particularly decorative (and delicious) galette, Bayonne; the cathedral towers as seen from the cloister (one of the largest in France), Bayonne.

 

[naplesdon]

It appears there will be a week of perpetual rain ahead for you in Pays Basque.

 

[OzAnnie]

@Takahiwai
Hi to A & B. Wow … weather !!! What a start. I’m hoping it blows over soon for you both and will be very interested in your journey.
Buen camino.

 

[jcat]

Can't wait to hear more about your trip! I did the Vasco in December in the rain, and it was very muddy and slippery (especially between Beasain-Zegama).

 

[Takahiwai]

Can't wait to hear more about your trip! I did the Vasco in December in the rain, and it was very muddy and slippery (especially between Beasain-Zegama).

Rain I don't mind too much, but the howling winds are another thing!

 

[jcat]

Rain I don't mind too much, but the howling winds are another thing!

I hear you! The wind on the walk up to San Adrian Tunnel was brutal. I had my eyes on the trees, ready to dodge any that came down. Luckily none did, it was just cold!

 

[Takahiwai]

Day 1

Bayonne - Guéthary

Tempĕte Louis - it's always good when a storm has a name - it adds a certain gravitas. Little did we know, when we set out on our first day's walking that we were going to have a monstrous weather day. I had been waiting, shivering, outside my hotel, for nearly an hour, when an apologetic A finally arrived. We quickly went over the bridge of the River Adour, and in short order crossed that of the Nive too, where we made a sharp left. My arthritic knees were already protesting, so we stopped for coffee and croissants before following the trail along the right bank of the Nive. At this point, an almight hailstorm began. Soon, the hail was lying 2 or 3 inches deep everywhere. We then had a rather terrifying display of thunder and lightning right overhead before it began to rain torrentially. We were soon made aware of the shortfalls in our equipment, but continued to make our way, as best we could.

For anyone contemplating starting the Via de Bayona in Bayonne, give serious thought to plotting your own, direct route towards the coast. Did the 2.4 km stroll along the right bank of the Nive compensate for the hours of wasted time wending our way through unattractive suburbs and a never-ending industrial estate? I'd say no. As with most cities, the way out of Bayonne is not the most wonderful experience. You can make it much shorter by just plotting a more direct route through the city streets.

I don't want to end Day 1 on a negative note, however, so let me introduce M. Jean-Luc, the man responsible for the absolutely wonderful mini-refugio in Guéthary. Gîte de Pèlerins GEO is the first pilgrim place that I've stayed in on this camino, and it's set the bar high. It is a tiny place on the first floor (second for American readers) of a house at the very beginning of the village. There is just one dormitory, with three bunk beds, each of which has its own little light. The beds are equipped with pillows and, whisper it softly, duvets (or quilts). There are two showers, two toilets, a well-equipped kitchen, and, best of all if you're travelling in cold weather, a fabulous wood-burning stove in the common area. There's also usually WiFi, although it wasn't working when we were there. A, not a lover of the online life, didn't care, and neither did I. Just a couple of doors up, there's a decent pizza takeaway place, which also sells a small selection of beer, wine, and ice-creams. It's open 7/7, all year round. Further up the road, there's a very well-stocked Spar supermarket, and a fabulous boulangerie, which does a fine selection of breads, and also sweet and savoury pastries. If you're on this route, Jean-Luc is a very knowledgeable chap, and will give you lots of good advice about the road ahead. Highly recommended.

 

[roving_rufus]

I agree that the Guethery gite des pelerins is quite lovely! But very sorry to hear of the horrendous weather! As for the route out of Bayonne as far as the Biarritz train station- it's not brilliant- but I would take it (with a few tweaks) rather than walk the more direct main road, - the other option would be to head to Biarritz and the coast directly from Bayonne. But I did prefer the route out of Bayonne than the route coming in from the Littoral.
But things only get better after that Bayonne stretch

 

[Takahiwai]

I agree that the Guethery gite des pelerins is quite lovely! But very sorry to hear of the horrendous weather! As for the route out of Bayonne as far as the Biarritz train station- it's not brilliant- but I would take it (with a few tweaks) rather than walk the more direct main road, - the other option would be to head to Biarritz and the coast directly from Bayonne. But I did prefer the route out of Bayonne than the route coming in from the Littoral.
But things only get better after that Bayonne stretch

I saw your entry in the pilgrim book! The weather truly is horrendous at the moment, but we may get a day of relief from the rain and winds tomorrow, which looks a bit brighter.

 

[Takahiwai]

A few pictures from our first day of walking - I didn't take many, due to the foul weather! From left to right, a sign in a travel agency window in Bayonne which I found quite amusing, given the weather; heading over the river Nive to take a left turn along its right bank; the first sign that I noticed for the Via de Bayona was this one, indicating three different caminos - the Baztan, the Nive - to SJPdP, and the Voie Littorale (ours); view back towards Bayonne, from the hailstone-coated riverbank; signs were few, but well-placed; they often took the form of small stickers, which were sometimes scarcely bigger than postage stamps - fun to try and spot them!; there were also occasional shells nailed to trees. Finally, a quaint storage space for various types of kindling.

 

[Takahiwai]

Day 2 Guéthary

A had placed a lot of confidence in the combined abilities of her backpack cover and her rain poncho to protect the contents of her bag. Unfortunately, however, everything was soaked through, so, as time is not an issue for us, we decided to stay an extra night at GEO and dry everything off completely, including ourselves. It was very nice to spend the day relaxing - the effort of walking through the storm of the day before made us feel as though we'd been walking for a week, and deserved a rest day! I didn't really venture out at all, other than to the Spar and the boulangerie, but A took a wander down to the beach, and reported that the sea was quite wild.

 

[Takahiwai]

The first picture shows the exterior of GEO. Contact Jean-Luc beforehand, and he'll get the fire going for you, and tell you where to find the key. The second photo is a map of the town. The other two photos show some of the interesting artwork in the refugio.

 

[roving_rufus]

Enjoy all those French baked goodies! (One of my favourite things of caminos/pilgrimage in France)

 

[naplesdon]

Gee, at the rate you are going it might take several days to reach Spain.

 

[Takahiwai]

Apologies for not updating this thread for almost a week. For most of the time, I haven't been able to access the internet to any great extent, and did not bother getting a phone sim card until I arrived in Spain.

Day 3 - St. Jean de Luz

Jean-Luc advised us to rethink our camino plans and consider abandoning the Via de Bayona for a route much further south in Spain, due to the ongoing situation with the weather. There is widespread flooding in south-west France and the Basque country, and it's brought down bridges, caused landslides, and disrupted rail and road networks. We are both stubborn, however, and decided that no matter how long it took us, we would try to complete the route we'd chosen.

With great reluctance, we bade farewell to GEO and the friendly village of Guéthary, and set off on the coastal path to St. Jean de Luz. The pilgrim facilities in SJdL are seasonal, and therefore not open in February. Jean-Luc told us we needed to go on to Irun, in order to find an open refugio, but I think we both knew, given the howling gale that accompanied us, that we were going to be lucky to reach St. Jean. The coastal path from Guéthary is absolutely stunning, with awe-inspiring views of the sea with every step. I will post a few photos, but they hardly do justice to the scenery. The path was well-marked until the outskirts of St. Jean de Luz, where the signs seemed to disappear. A had also disappeared, somewhere in front of me, bearing the only functioning telephone we had between us, so we ended up staying in completely different hotels, and I was only able to contact her via WhatsApp after checking into the Ibis Budget, over the river in Ciboure. I was so cold and saturated by the time I'd checked in, that I couldn't be bothered to trudge back over to SJdL and meet A for dinner. Just to compound my misfortunes, I managed to drop and break the half-bottle of wine which I'd bought at the tiny hotel bar, so dinner was a packet of crisps and an Orangina, as there didn't appear to be any kind of restaurant anywhere nearby in Ciboure.

 

[Takahiwai]

Some scenes from our route along the coast. The second photo shows the beautiful art deco building which used to be the casino in Guéthary, whilst the third shows a house for sale, with fantastic views of the coast (a girl can dream!). It was quite strange to walk past all the vast, closed-for-the-season campgrounds and leisure facilities on this part of the coast.

 

[Takahiwai]

Days 4 and 5 Irun

After great struggles with the weather, we finally arrived in Irun. It may be that I imagined this, but as we reached the middle of the Puente de Santiago, it was as though France spat us out in disgust - the driving rain suddenly diminished to a light drizzle, and the wind died down completely. Welcome to Spain! A wanted to stay in the albergue, but once she caught a glimpse of my hotel, she changed her mind. I think it was the venerable lift with its sliding wooden doors which persuaded her. I've been through Irun many a time, and always stop in the Hotel Alcázar on the way up from the bridge to the main street through town. I had some work-related matters to attend to in Irun, so we spent two nights here, rather than one.

 

[Takahiwai]

Only one photo for these two days! I'm including this as I always enjoy seeing what other folk eat on their caminos! This is a delicious plate of monkfish, as served at Vinoteca, across the road from the hotel.

 

[Takahiwai]

Day 6 - leaving Irun

Let me just say that I am deeply impressed by those who manage to knock out the first 'official' stage from Irun in one day. I was forewarned that it was surprisingly up-and-down - what the Spanish would call a 'rompe-piernas' day in the Vuelta cycle race. Right from the off, it was a series of steep climbs and descents, the latter of which caused my arthritic knees no end of problems. It didn't help that I misread the map in my haste to get started and took a wrong turning at a roundabout near the end of Irun. A., putting her trust in Google maps, took the correct path, and was soon far ahead of me.

As much as my woefully inadequate preparation hindered me, I really enjoyed the day's walk, with spectacular views of Irun and Hondarribia all the way. The weather was also kind, with the rain holding off until the afternoon. There is also the pleasure of walking through the countryside, with its shade of green which is unlike any other that I've seen. Perhaps it's the contrast with the highly-industrialised parts of the Basque country, but the green pastures are the most vibrant shade, and very pleasing to the eye, particularly if you live in a dusty, brown setting, as I do for most of the year.

I'm not a fast walker, but I can plough on forever if needed. Just as the rain started to come down heavily, however, to my great good fortune, A. contacted me to report that she'd had enough for the day, and wanted to stop at Gurutze, where there's a large hotel. A. is restricted in how much walking she can do, as the various medications she has to take wipe her out for hours afterwards. This is fine for me, since my feet are still getting accustomed to wearing shoes after over ten years in jandals (flip-flops/thongs/whatever you call them), and I'm well out of shape. The hotel is clearly a very popular and busy place in summer, but in winter it has a bit of an 'Overlook' feel about it, and the landlord/owner doesn't even switch on the lights in the bar. It was relatively cheap at 50 euros for a double room, although the menu del dia was the most expensive I've ever come across at 32 euros. I think this is because the wine which comes with it is of much better quality than usual.

 

[Takahiwai]

A few photos from the day. Mud would prove to be our greatest enemy over the next couple of days. The last photo in this group shows a 'trillo', a device used within living memory for threshing grain. It looks somewhat like a large wooden sledge with pieces of sharp stone embedded on the underside. I have a Spanish friend who can remember using one of these when she was a girl - it was pulled by the family ox.

 

[naplesdon]

I loved that walk along the Corniche from Biarritz to St Jean de Luz, it was my normal "go to" Saturday morning exercise preparing for my Caminos. Breakfast on the square in Bidart and lunch on the plaza in SJdL. Parfait!

 

[StephenChad]

The cliffs between Biarritz Milady and Bidart are now in very poor condition and only passable on the beach at low tide.
I agree the coast is the best way to get to St Jean de Luz from Bayonne. From Bayonne station cross the river Adour and walk down to the sea then along the beaches to Biarritz and beyond.

 

[jcat]

A few photos from the day. Mud would prove to be our greatest enemy over the next couple of days.

Can't wait to hear how you guys get on. Between Beasain- Zegama and also coming down from San Adrian tunnel were my worst slippery and muddy parts in December. Looking forward to hearing about your experience. Great times, but I definitely won't be going back to the Vasco in the winter.

 

[Takahiwai]

Well, I am treating myself to a night in a nice hotel, so I will try to get this up to date while I have decent internet...

 

[Takahiwai]

Day 7

Before I leave Gurutze behind, let me note that this was the first time that I was locked out of a hotel on this trip, but not the last. Something that A. stipulated before we began was that we should share rooms when staying in hotels, in order to save money. This is a fair point, but not something I was looking forward to at all. I need my space at the end of the day, and I was really dreading this, which we'd largely avoided in France. A. also has a thing about keeping hold of the room key. She is very reluctant to give it up under any circumstances. So, very early on the morning of Day 7, I exited without the key, in order to smoke a cigarette on the patio of the hotel. Although I'd wedged a brochure in the door, to keep it open, a couple of workers came out and dislodged it before speeding off. I probably spent about an hour in the cold and rain before another worker emerged and I was able to get back in. It didn't help to begin the day that way.
In any case, after a coffee, we both departed, and A. soon surged ahead, as usual. The weather was cold, but fine, and I enjoyed myself climbing up through sheep pastures. I got an account with Orange in Irun, and haven't been mightily impressed with it so far, but it does allow patchy communications with A. via WhatsApp. She messaged me to alert me about a dreadful stretch of mud that was coming up for me, and tried to persuade me to take an 'alternative route' that she'd identified. I did try this, but it ended in a patch of brambles, so I gave up on it, and resigned myself to the muddy stretch. I don't know how long this part of the trail was - it felt like miles, but was possibly around 1km long. The trail was almost impassable, and in places a bit dangerous. The mud was so thick, deep, and viscous that it was very difficult to move forward. With every step, my shoes were sucked more than halfway off my feet. It took me about an hour and a half to negotiate that section of the camino, and when I finally emerged, I felt totally exhausted. In the meantime, A. had reached the hamlet of Frantxilla, where there is a well-disguised casa rural, and had decided that we were stopping there - a decision I was quite happy to go along with. I believe we were charged 75 euros for a double room. When you arrive in Frantxilla, the first thing you come across is a bar-restaurant. The folks there know how to get in contact with the owner of the CR. They also do very nice food!

 

[Takahiwai]

Some photos from the day...I think I took the first, just because I've seen that particular group of buildings various times on other people's blogs/videos. Unfortunately, A. was so far ahead of me that I wasn't able to include her for reference! The second picture gives a vague idea of the scale of the mud over the unpaved section. It was a very trying, and tiring, day.

 

[Takahiwai]

Day 8

Frantxilla was not the stop that we'd hoped to make, but we were both so exhausted by the mud that we were happy to find somewhere to stay there, and the locals were so friendly and helpful to A., when she arrived, seeking shelter. The following day, we set off in foul weather, and continued that way until we gave up at Astigarraga, a few short kilometres further on. Ignoring the weather, the walking was lovely, and we both enjoyed the views all the way up to Santiagomendi, which is where I'd hoped to finish the day before. The albergue there really is in a lovely spot, with fantastic views to the coast and San Sebastian. It's a shame that it's covered with graffiti, and that the whole area at the top of the hill has a general air of 'descuidado'.

We hung around for a while, hoping that the weather might improve, but eventually we decided to try to get down to Astigarraga. Anyone who's done that descent will know what a strain on the knees it is. Imagine it with a river of water cascading down, and you will know what we faced when we made our way very gingerly down. This took me an age and a day, as I have arthritis in both knees, but A. kindly waited for me before the end, and we took refuge in Pension Txingurri, which was the first place we came across when we got to the very bottom of the hill. Be careful if you come this way in February - this is the month of cider festivals in the Basque Country, and Astigarraga is at the very centre of all that. All that being said, I paid 100 euros for a double room in the pension (I always try to deal directly, rather than going through 3rd party companies), but later found the same type of room being advertised for 45 euros. It somewhat put me off the town, and the attitude of the folks in the attached taberna didn't help much in that regard. I went and did some laundry (I do love the creeping influence of ECO-Laundry), and then A. and I watched 'The Name of the Rose', whilst eating snacks. Quite a pleasant way to finish a drenched and knee-strained day.

 

[Takahiwai]

Absolutely the best thing about today was encountering gorgeous farm animals such as the beautiful donkey, just before Santiagomendi, and the two splendid billies halfway down the other side.

 

[Takahiwai]

Day 9 - Andoain

I don't remember anything much about the day's walk, except that I'd promised A. that we would be able to stay in a pilgrim refuge at Andoain, and so that's where we headed. I can't speak highly enough of the Andoain refuge, and the town itself. The people were uniformly friendly and helpful; the refuge is simple, but has everything that you might need, including excellent WiFi, and the warmest blankets I've ever come across; and the bar opposite the church, which might be called Elizonde (or not) has excellent pintxos and raciones. I recommend the mushrooms, in particular, but everything was delicious. They also do great sandwiches (large), and are open early in the morning.