Today was 9 miles. We now have 439 miles walked. Tomorrow is another shorter day and will bring us to our third and final rest day of this journey.

The day began with our fifth river crossing of this trip. We’ve crossed the Allier, the Lot, the Garonne, the Adour, and now the Gave de Pau river. 

There is (we think) one more river to cross before St. Jean Pied de Port.

Of note, we saw our first “fresh” field of sunflowers today. 

First, of pigs: Probably the most photographed porcine by Pelerins, “Rachel” (like “Welch”), is the permanent greeter at Arret et Aller Chambre d’Hotes.

She is a most gentle and gracious hostess, but wow can she snore! For the cows and horses around here, they attach bells to keep track of their whereabouts. For Rachel, just let her sleep and you know exactly where she is!

People: While the Camino Frances is probably more cosmopolitan, this Chemin does a fair job at representing a good representation of mankind. Beyond the usual suspects; French, German, American and Australian, we’ve met: Austrian, Norwegian, Swiss, Swedish, Danish, Japanese, Korean, Bolivian, and Canadian peoples.

We’ve seen children as young as 1 and women who are in their mid-80’s. We’ve seen families, friends, colleagues, father- daughters, mother-daughters, and just plain couples (like us).

It helps to speak some French and to be willing to learn a bit on the way, but it is definitely a life experience in meeting new peoples and having a new adventure or two.

Au revoir