Day 37: Stage 31: Hagetmau

23 km, Sun and late cloud, 26°

Feeling The Warmth!!🥳☀️

Last night, we stayed in a simple place, which was basic, but good for one night. It came with very nice hosts.

I was able to pull together a simple dinner to share with Annemarie. It doesn’t look like the restaurant stuff, but it filled us and helped to prepare us for today’s stage. Don’t worry, there’s restaurant food photos further down the page.😋 We carried the remains our our wine today to enjoy with our dinner tonight! Either we are getting cheap or more desperate?😂 I’m not quite sure which one applies, but I carried less water so I could carry the weight of the wine! I believe that I have my priorities sorted correctly!

We woke early to a foggy landscape, but by the time we started, the majority of the fog had burned off.

We went back into town to have a look around and also to have a little bit of breakfast. It turns out that the Abby was also a UNESCO designated building.

We stuck our heads in so that Annemarie could have a look.

And then off we went, downhill and onto a river plain. This was temporary because we are into the hills now and there will be lots of ups and downs all the way to SJPDP.

But first across a long warm plain.

We met an older Dutch woman at the other side of the crossing who was having problems with a tendon in her foot. She was walking a bit slower and was about to take a break, but she had been to a doctor and had some medication. It was just a matter of letting it slowly heal. She’s been walking the route for quite a few years a section at a time, which is quite common with Europeans.

Crossing the edge of a field we spotted the next village.

We went into the village town hall and got a stamp in our credential and had a look around at the church.

I always enjoy walking along a double row of trees, running parallel to the road. Always such a French thing. Often the bottoms are traditionally painted white, but not here.

Just a perfect walking day!

Warm and inviting.

I like both of these poppy photos and couldn’t decide which one to put in, so here they are! I took a third an it may be destined for our wall at home.

We again had to stop to get dinner groceries.

Time for a bite of lunch!

We shared our tapas, and AM enjoyed a glass of sangria while I had a cold glass of blonde beer!

Our appetite and thirst satisfied for the time being, we went to have a look around a little more of the town.

And then we walked out of the south side of the town, and headed for our gîte which is located about a kilometre south of town.

It’s a really nice place where we can cook a meal tonight and our room is really comfortable. There’s even a cat sleeping happily just a few steps from where I sit at this table.

I just heard from Hil and she has walked into SJPDP! Congrats! She is a bit overwhelmed by all the pilgrims. Some have just arrived from the very busy Le Puy chemin, and like Hil from the much quieter Vézelay chemin. But it’s the many pilgrims who are waiting to launch onto the Camino Frances who have caught her eye. She will walk or transit to Irun and then walk the Norte to Santiago. At her pace she should be there in just over 4 weeks. All the way from Amsterdam! Well done my friend!

Tomorrow we walk a somewhat longer stage and it will be a little bit warmer. This has prompted us to have an early breakfast so we can try and beat a little of the heat. However, the downside is that we can’t get into our place until 5 PM. This means we’ll have to hang around Orthez for quite a while when we arrive. Not my favourite thing, but perhaps there is a bar that will be open? Maybe no laundry tomorrow…🙄😷