So the day starts with (yet another) steep 2 km climb straight out from the hostel. But it's not the last climb of the day, and not even the steepest. The climb up to the Croix de Galzetaburu is 100 m in a little over one km; one long continuous climb of about 9%. And then there is the "little" climb right at the end of the ride which, although short, is very steep. And then all of a sudden I have arrived in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, my final destination, and my journey to complete the whole Camino de Santiago is over. Done. Here I am riding around the village I started out from four years ago; it's a little like I was here just a few days ago - it certainly doesn't feel like four years.
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| 2018 - Arrival in St-Jean-Pied-de-Port |
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| 2014 - Departure from St-Jean-Pied-de-Port |
Cow bells and church bells, both sounds carrying across the valleys in the otherwise quiet hilly terrain. It's only when I'm obliged to take a bigger road that the constant swooshing of cars as they rush past spoils the effect. The countryside is green and gorgeous.
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| Pyrenees foothills - quite a climb from down there |
I've met Tom and Janet, a Swiss couple who have ridden their bikes from home, yesterday at the hostel. And sure enough, I am sitting for my (late) morning coffee stop at Saint-Jean-le-Vieux and they ride up, joining me for coffee. And as Tom predicts, it's not the last time we cross paths. Later on, after I've arrived in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, settled in to the B&B - the same one I stayed at when I started the Camino four years earlier - and done my washing (a daily and critical task), I head into town for a look around and the they are again, just arriving. We end up having drinks together - a couple of well-earned beers, why not - while they wait for the queue at the pilgrim information centre to get shorter. It turns out to be a three-beer wait, but we have the time and nobody is complaining.
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| St-Jean-Pied-de-Port - the main street |
I have a bit of the same feeling of anti-climax I had when I arrived in Santiago four years ago; a strange sense of wanting to keep going. This time that part is taken care of, since the plan is to more or less retrace my steps and head back to Tours. I'm realising that I could equally continue on to Santiago, which would not be that much more riding, but then I'm left with the issue of getting back from there with the bike. So I'll stick with the plan and head north tomorrow.
For dinner I head to the same restaurant recommended by my host last time (and again this time). Only the town is busier this time and the restaurant is already full. There are 400 pilgrims coming through the town each day and then there's the tourists on top of that. So it's the second choice, also full but with a shorter wait. While I wait I sit at a high table that overlooks the whole outdoor area of the restaurant so I have plenty to look at. In front of me there's a couple waiting for their meals. He has a dog on his lap, which he is stroking. Dogs in restaurants; this must be France. At least the dog is content and quiet.
The clientele is overwhelmingly of a certain age. Although there are a couple of tables with younger people, most of the diners have grey hair. But then again, most of the walkers are older; after all they are the ones with the time to devote to a long distance walk. There are a few younger walkers too course, including a table with two girls, likely from South Korea since that country seems to be the dominant source of pilgrims from Asia on the Camino. I saw these girls in the town earlier, each carrying a rucksack and lugging an enormous suitcase between them along the cobbled streets. I just hope they don't plan to walk the Camino with that suitcase. The dog stroker is having his coffee by now. The dog hasn't moved at all during the meal; not even the enormous steak that its owner was eating was enough to stir it.
The grey hairs and other pilgrims are leaving after finishing their meals and the second sitting is starting; now the demographics are changing and it's the younger locals who are arriving. Interestingly, whereas pretty much every table had red wine with their meals during the last sitting, beer is clearly the drink of choice for the (younger) second sitting. I wonder whether this is driven by financial or generational factors. Mark Zuckerberg, or at least someone who looks remarkably like him, is having dinner here with three of his friends. I seem to be the only one who has noticed. My meal is so copious that I don't have room for dessert, and I head back to my chambre d'hôtes. It's a pleasant walk back along the river. Tomorrow I will be heading north.
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| St-Jean-Pied-de-Port by night |
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