EN ROUTE FOR THE BEARN

palm trees next to a farm in Béarn

It is a foggy morning in Saint Jean Pied de Port. However we are still under the spell of our beautiful walk to Roncevaux the day before. Also there is history, remembering our school years when we were taught that Roland, an officer leading the rear part of Charlemagne's army was ambushed by Basque forces at the pass near Roncevaux and despite an exceptionally brave fight he was killed with all his troop but managed to save the rest of the army from the attack. The legend says that Durandal, Roland's sword, was so strong that it managed to split a rock in two parts. The ambush was in retaliation of the destruction by Charlemagne of the fortified wall of Pamplona, the capital of the Basque land.
Back to Saint Jean Pied de Port, the main road next to the Charles de Gaulle square has been cordoned off by the police. A man is looking for evidences on the road. I ask a young police lady what is going on? She answers she can't say anything. However at the nearby pharmacy, opposite the street leading to the Citadel, rumours are seriously being debated. A young woman would have been run over by a drunk man at 5 AM in front of the hotel next door. The man has been arrested and the woman taken to hospital in severe condition.

The news is spreading fast in the region. In the evening, our host in Ostabat, a village 20km North East of Saint Jean Pied de Port, is telling us how shocked she was by the incident. Our region is usually very quiet, there is no crime at all. She adds that the woman was Brazilian and had just divorced her husband but with whom she would alledgedly still be on friendly terms. That is perhaps not the case because the next day the man who has been arrested as a suspect turns out to be the ex-husband.
A substantial cat with a lovely dark red fur with long hair lies flat on a large dining table made of oak. As we enter the bar/restaurant of Marité, one of the two in Ostabat, the cat doesn't move an inch. We come for dinner. We are just two of us for dinner and Marité serves us generously some pumpkin soup, duck sausage with ratatouille and a large portion of pasta and then crème brûlée for dessert. As I suggests that her cat must fancy sleeping by the fireplace, she looks at me beaming and say "how did you guess?".

Her room is furnished with wood pieces, probably from the early 20th century or before. There is a large bar, carved in wood, behind which a whole collection of alcohol bottles is displayed. I ask who is coming to drink and eat at her place. She replies that these are mostly tourists, that locals only come on the day of village parties. Here in Ostabat one stays at home for meals and drinks!

The next day, we continue our journey towards Le Puy en Velay, following the Via Podiensis, essentially the Camino in reverse. It has rained all night, but the morning promises to be free of rain. However the path is full of mud as soon as it passes through a wood. Tractors and other vehicles are creating deep ruts and transform the way into an unpleasant and slippery experience for the pilgrims. As we emerge from a forest, we meet two men, one is leading the way for the second one who is blind. The former has to tell the latter about all the obstacles. I find their dedication remarkable. We would meet a few people with vision impairment along the way.

The architecture is changing as we walk past Aroué, especially when we cross the village of Lichos, it becomes obvious that we have entered into Béarn. The roofs are more elaborate with a double slope. From a section it looks like a trapeze on top of which an isosceles triangle has been added. The edge of the roof can be decorated sometimes with metal ornaments. Facades have done away with the rustic white concrete paint and the wood painted in red.

The snow-capped Pyrénées are visible from afar, a beautiful spectacle to be enjoyed not only by the walkers but by all the animals spending their days grazing in the fields, if they are able to see them: sheep, cows, horses, donkeys, etc... The Camino is leading us across the country mostly in pastoral settings which is conducive for meditation and communion with Nature (the mud and the rain are obviously part of it!).
We reached Navarrenx, a fortified city at the foothills of the Pyrénées on the river Gave d'Oloron which has very green waters. The city has obviously spread well beyond fortification walls. It was built as a fortress around 1530 AD to serve as first line of defence against the Spanish. Fifty years later, Saint Jean Pied de Port would take over the role of first line of defence and Navarrenx would serve as a garrison town with back-up military supply to Saint Jean Pied de Port.
Most houses were built in the 16th century. Later in the 19th century they were re-modelled  to bring more lights into buildings. At that time there were signs that the army would stop stationing in the city, which happened in 1871. This allowed houses to have an extra floor which was not permitted before as it would have been higher than the surrounding wall.
Navarrenx also has the one and only cigar manufacture with french tobacco in France. It is sold under the brand Hedon. It employs specialized Cuban workers to produce hand-made pieces. I chose one cigar called "Flâneur" (stroller) as I thought it matched my mood very well. We went to sit at the terrace of a café and ordered a Perrier and a glass of Armagnac, the latter being the cheapest!
Navarrenx looks nowadays like a small museum town, though there are still residents in a number of houses.

Palm trees are often seen planted next to traditional houses in Béarn. It appears that it is a tradition from the 19th century when soldiers from Béarn did campaigns in North Africa and brought back palm seeds. They were originally planted by three as a representation of the Holy Trinity. When I first saw them I thought people from Béarn wanted to give their country an air of California, but those palm trees have nothing to do with Hollywood!

Images
1/ palm trees next to a farm in Béarn
2/ Ostabat after the rain
3/ muddy path
4/ cigar workshop in Navarrenx
5/ Navarrenx outer wall
6/ Navarrenx old city

Ostabat after the rain

muddy path

cigar workshop in Navarrenx

The outer wall of Navarrenx

The old town of Navarrenx