George & Mostyn - Walking the GR10

Monday, 18th September 2006

George: We paid the bill and left the hotel hoping to get breakfast at a café in Aïnhoa, but they were all closed. We bought a croissant and a Basque cake from a baker and ate them before starting out on the day's walk.

The climb up to the chapel was steep and tedious. Both of us were feeling quite tired from the previous day. Mostyn had also picked up a bit of a cold. The three crucifixes at the chapel were arranged as a Calvary with life size figurines of Christ and the criminals. The criminals were in quite grotesque poses.

We continued the climb, less steeply, to the col. The weather was not bad. It was still very cloudy but the sun occasionally broke through. The rest of the walk to the farm and Gîte d'étape at Esteben was quite pleasant with the weather improving all the time. As we got near to the farm Mostyn slipped on some mud and fell quite heavily, trapping his walking pole beneath him. He was a bit winded but was able to continue down to the farm after a couple of minutes rest.

We stopped for a meal at the farm, which was very good and substantial. We discussed the next day and decided that we would be as well stopping where we were for the night and walking into Bidarray tomorrow. Mostyn had a sore chest from his fall and a bit of a cold and both of us were quite tried.

We had a siesta and a quiet time sitting watching the view in warm sunshine. The gîte itself was very basic; bunks for 14, an eating area with a cooker (but no gas cylinder) and a washing area with two sinks, a shower and a basic loo. It would do us for the night.

We walked up to the farm for our dinner, which was as substantial and good as usual. Mostyn turned in while I stayed outside to look at the stars for a while. It was a clear night and the Milky Way stood out clearly. I could make out the Mizar double, the Great Galaxy in Andromeda and the globular cluster in Hercules through binoculars.

Mostyn: Our intended breakfast bar was not open so we bought provisions at the Boulangerie and sat outside the shop to eat them.

I was not feeling 100%, I was hot and clammy and did not have a lot of energy. The route out of Ainhoa was long and steep and provided the setting for the Stations of the Cross, finishing at the Col des Trois Croix (in other words "Calvary"). It was an extremely taxing climb and we had some long rests on the way. There was a long plateau before the next arduous climb and long descent to Ferme Esteben, a gîte that offered an excellent lunch. About 2k before we reached the farm I unfortunately stumbled and fell heavily onto one of my walking poles. This caused considerable discomfort to my ribs. Having had an exhausting morning we decided that we would cut today's schedule short and stay the night at Ferme Esteben. It was an interesting gite because the accommodation was a partially converted barn in the corner of a field, unseen from the main farmhouse. It had a good roof, thankfully, plumbing (of sorts) and there were holes of assorted sizes in the walls. The beds were strong and adequate and plenty of blankets were provided. The views from the accommodation were fantastic; we spent the afternoon sitting outside in the sunshine admiring the vista. Not strictly accurate as I went to bed for a couple of hours and had a sleep in view of my battle scars.

Tuesday, 19th September 2006

George: We had breakfast at the farm and started our day walk with the climb up towards the radar station at Méhatché. The weather was clear and sunny - the best day we've had so far. The next kilometre or so was over springy, level turf with great views of the mountains.

We reached the top of the steep descent towards Bidarray. I had been a bit apprehensive about this bit, and it was certainly very steep but we managed by taking it very slowly and carefully. We stopped part way down to admire the Vultures. They were using a thermal at the foot of the ravine to gain height. The most we saw at one time was about fifty but, as they were continually arriving at the bottom and leaving at the top, we reckon we saw at least 100.

We continued to walk down to the river Baston and into Bidarray. After a couple of beers and a sandwich at a bar, I phoned to book the gîte for the night. We were given the access code for the door and went in to stow our stuff.

We walked down to the station to check train times to Bayonne. We will have to catch an SNCF bus in the morning but it gives us plenty of time to make the connection with the train.

Back at the gîte, we both had showers and changed into our dry, evening gear. We walked down to a nearby hotel to get dinner. When we arrived, just after 7 p.m., there was nobody in evidence so we sat and waited. Two men arrived with luggage to stay at the hotel and they eventually called out for service. After the hotel owner had showed them to their rooms she asked us if we were there for dinner. We replied that we were but she said that would be fine, but not before 7:30. We went back outside to wait. While we sat there 20-30 youngsters turned up outside. At the moment the church bell chimed the half-hour they all went in for a meal. The waitress asked if we would like to eat outside and, given the large party that had just gone in, we decided we should.

The meal was nice enough and after it we walked back to the gîte. A large school group was staying at the gîte. They were very noisy until 10 p.m. when all went quiet.

Mostyn: We had a good breakfast served by our hostess, who we christened Mrs Overall because she was exactly like the Julie Walters character, aged, partially deaf and continually trotting between the kitchen and dining room having forgotten basics like bread, jam, sugar etc.

Day five commenced with the steep, but not unduly difficult, climb up to the Col de Mehatche, before which we were relieved to find that there was a track from the farm (Col de Veaux) leading to the commencement of the ascent. We had thought that we would have to descend into the valley to get us back on track.

After a short section of flat walking we came upon an extremely deep ravine that appeared daunting and needed careful planning while descending. There was one slippery section that we had been warned about by a walker travelling in the opposite direction. The bonus afforded by negotiating this difficult path was the sighting of somewhere in the region of 100 griffon vultures circling up from the valley below in search of a thermal which seemed to be attracting more and more of them from around the region. Some of them were as near to us as 7m. Luckily, Christine's new camera has a video function and we were able to make a short movie of their progress; it was fantastic and a sight we do not expect to see again. it was probably the highlight of the entire walk. We continued on down the ravine until we reached the riverbed, which we followed for about one kilometre. On the way we stumbled upon (not literally) a trackside grotto with a small metal cross, which must have had certain significance because it was full of tokens such as coins, messages and mementos left by supplicants who would have had a considerable climb to reach the grotto. Then came what was becoming the obligatory climb that seemed to be the culmination of each day's walking. We reached Bidarray after a good day's walking and found the Gîte d'Etape Aunamendi, a welcome haven with the best rooms we have encountered so far. Having said this, it was rather sterile and the least "homely" accommodation of our trip. The other guests were a party of schoolchildren who, obviously, were fairly lively until what appeared to be lights out at 10.00 pm.