John Finn
Active Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- Camino de Frances - Sarria to Santiago (2013), Burgos to Leon (2014), St Jean Pied de Port to Logrono (2015), Logrono to Burgos (2016), Leon to Sarria (May 2017).
The Orisson Refugio is justly famous as a stop for either a short break before heading on to Roncesvalles or as a place to stay the night.
The magnificent views to be obtained (on a good day!) while sipping a coffee on the terrace is one of the highlights of the Camino Frances.
What very few people are aware of however is that it has a tenuous relationship with two the of the twentieth century’s greatest philosophical and literary figures, Jean-Paul Sartre and his lover Simone de Beauvoir.
(Sartre is probably best known for his saying “Hell is other people”, a sentiment with which anyone who has ever stayed in an albergue will heartily agree.)
It all stems from an incident in August 1964. Sartre, at de Beauvoir’s urging, agreed to accompany her on a walking holiday in the region around St Jean Pied de Port which was then a sleepy little village (this was long before the resurgence of interest in the Camino - pilgrims at the time were few and far between). “You need to get out more, Sartre - you’ve always your nose stuck in a book - it'll do you good", urged de Beauvoir.
Reluctantly, Sartre agreed. This was surprising as Sartre’s idea of relaxation was drinking copious amounts of brandy and smoking to excess while ruminating on the meaninglessness of existence.
They arrived in St Jean in early August and obtained lodgings in a guesthouse. Sartre promptly made a beeline for the local hostelry which irked de Beauvoir no end - this was not in keeping with her plan for
fresh air and exercise. They retired to bed around 11 p.m. with Sartre (as usual) the worse for wear.
The following morning de Beauvoir decided they would try to walk to the Col de Lepoeder which at 1,450 metres is the highest point of the Route de Napoleon. This was utterly unrealistic given Sartre's general physical condition and his bleary-eyed countenance on the morning. They set out at around 10 a.m.
It did not work out well. While de Beauvoir strode purposefully forth, Sartre waddled along, coughing, wheezing and complaining. She had to constantly wait for him to catch up. After several hours they reached a location near to where the Refugio Orisson now stands. At the time there was a shepherd's hut there.
At this point Sartre collapsed in a paroxysm of coughing. His face turned shades of purple and blue and as he crouched on his hands and knees a hip flask fell from his pocket. He was drunk as well! De Beauvoir verbally castigated him for his behaviour but it had no effect on Sartre. His only response, when he recovered his voice was to break into song - a medley of ribald peasant ballads. Clearly, he was in no condition to go on or go back.
As luck would have it, a shepherd with a horse and cart and accompanied by a youth came along. De Beauvoir pleaded with them to carry them back to St Jean. They agreed a price. While they were manhandling the drunken Sartre into the cart the youth who had a simple camera photographed the scene.
And this is where the present-day Refugio Orisson comes in. That photograph is in the possession of the owner Jean-Jacques Etchandy. The youth who took it was his uncle. It is not on public display but Jean-Jacques is happy to show it to those whom he is satisfied has an interest in Sartre and/or de Beauvoir.
Be sure to ask him to show it to you if you are stopping there. But please, do NOT ask to see the photo of “Gene Paul Sartry and Simon de Beaver”. Try to get the pronunciation of their names right. Otherwise, Jean-Jacques will feign ignorance of any such photo.
References:
1. “Mes vacances avec cette petite baise de graisse” - a privately published monograph by de Beauvoir on her ill-fated trip. It was written in anger. It translates roughly as: "My vacation with that little fat fellow" (except that "fellow" is not the right word but I hesitate, for reasons of propriety, to give the correct one. It does begin with "f" however.) It can be seen in the Simone de Beauvoir collection in the Bibliothéque Nationale de France, Paris.
2. “Sartre and de Beauvoir - an unconventional love story” - Jean-Michel Rubillon, Dublin 1991 (out of print). Rubillon details the trip (based on de Beauvoir's monograph) on pages 115-116 and surmises that their relationship came near to breaking point at the time.
The magnificent views to be obtained (on a good day!) while sipping a coffee on the terrace is one of the highlights of the Camino Frances.
What very few people are aware of however is that it has a tenuous relationship with two the of the twentieth century’s greatest philosophical and literary figures, Jean-Paul Sartre and his lover Simone de Beauvoir.
(Sartre is probably best known for his saying “Hell is other people”, a sentiment with which anyone who has ever stayed in an albergue will heartily agree.)
It all stems from an incident in August 1964. Sartre, at de Beauvoir’s urging, agreed to accompany her on a walking holiday in the region around St Jean Pied de Port which was then a sleepy little village (this was long before the resurgence of interest in the Camino - pilgrims at the time were few and far between). “You need to get out more, Sartre - you’ve always your nose stuck in a book - it'll do you good", urged de Beauvoir.
Reluctantly, Sartre agreed. This was surprising as Sartre’s idea of relaxation was drinking copious amounts of brandy and smoking to excess while ruminating on the meaninglessness of existence.
They arrived in St Jean in early August and obtained lodgings in a guesthouse. Sartre promptly made a beeline for the local hostelry which irked de Beauvoir no end - this was not in keeping with her plan for
fresh air and exercise. They retired to bed around 11 p.m. with Sartre (as usual) the worse for wear.
The following morning de Beauvoir decided they would try to walk to the Col de Lepoeder which at 1,450 metres is the highest point of the Route de Napoleon. This was utterly unrealistic given Sartre's general physical condition and his bleary-eyed countenance on the morning. They set out at around 10 a.m.
It did not work out well. While de Beauvoir strode purposefully forth, Sartre waddled along, coughing, wheezing and complaining. She had to constantly wait for him to catch up. After several hours they reached a location near to where the Refugio Orisson now stands. At the time there was a shepherd's hut there.
At this point Sartre collapsed in a paroxysm of coughing. His face turned shades of purple and blue and as he crouched on his hands and knees a hip flask fell from his pocket. He was drunk as well! De Beauvoir verbally castigated him for his behaviour but it had no effect on Sartre. His only response, when he recovered his voice was to break into song - a medley of ribald peasant ballads. Clearly, he was in no condition to go on or go back.
As luck would have it, a shepherd with a horse and cart and accompanied by a youth came along. De Beauvoir pleaded with them to carry them back to St Jean. They agreed a price. While they were manhandling the drunken Sartre into the cart the youth who had a simple camera photographed the scene.
And this is where the present-day Refugio Orisson comes in. That photograph is in the possession of the owner Jean-Jacques Etchandy. The youth who took it was his uncle. It is not on public display but Jean-Jacques is happy to show it to those whom he is satisfied has an interest in Sartre and/or de Beauvoir.
Be sure to ask him to show it to you if you are stopping there. But please, do NOT ask to see the photo of “Gene Paul Sartry and Simon de Beaver”. Try to get the pronunciation of their names right. Otherwise, Jean-Jacques will feign ignorance of any such photo.
References:
1. “Mes vacances avec cette petite baise de graisse” - a privately published monograph by de Beauvoir on her ill-fated trip. It was written in anger. It translates roughly as: "My vacation with that little fat fellow" (except that "fellow" is not the right word but I hesitate, for reasons of propriety, to give the correct one. It does begin with "f" however.) It can be seen in the Simone de Beauvoir collection in the Bibliothéque Nationale de France, Paris.
2. “Sartre and de Beauvoir - an unconventional love story” - Jean-Michel Rubillon, Dublin 1991 (out of print). Rubillon details the trip (based on de Beauvoir's monograph) on pages 115-116 and surmises that their relationship came near to breaking point at the time.
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