Day 30: Aroue to Ostabat 23 Kilometers

Bid a fond adieu to our hostess Evelyn, then her husband Guy gave us a ride back to resume our path where we left off in Aroue.  He gave us his business card and told us if we had any problems the rest of the way we should call him and he would help us. Love those people. He gave me some walnuts from a tree in his backyard. We felt like we were moving at a snails pace today but we clicked off some kilometers while the air was cool. Stayed on the path rather than take the popular shortcut and went to a wonderful spot on top of a mountain. The vista was amazing. Enjoyed our picnic and had a long rest.  Afterward, we continued our slow pace until we arrived in Ostabat where we rested until we could check into our Gite which was only a short jaunt away (yes, we were still early...again). This Gite is one of the popular spots where everyone wants to be so it's very crowded. We had been trying to avoid that but we are thankful for our accomodations. The evening meal was traditional and sufficient.  Things were a bit loud with 30 people in a small room. It included some basque folk singing with the owner who loves to perform.  It was interesting but a bit long.  On to St Jean Pied de Port tomorrow!

Gite Gaineko Xteia - A purpose-built facility. Relatively clean except for a sewage smell outside on the deck. Meal was fair. Too many people. 

Day 29: Navarranx to Aroue 18 kilometers (and more)

Awoke with hopes that today would bring good fortune our way. We were not disappointed. A quick coffee and goodbye at our Gite and we were off to explore Navarranx, a walled city. Since we had two options for our travel today, really long or really short, we opted to go short (18 kilometers) which gave us a chance to leave later. A proper coffee and some patisserie goodies were a good start. We then continued our walking tour of the town from the day before. This place was really cool with some underground tunnels which we chose to traverse until we met some bats which made us retreat (haha). We collected some food from a couple different places including one with "produits du terrior" (products of the territory). A super chill morning and we set off.  We stopped once briefly about midway at a so-called "shelter" and had a snack and short rest. Continued until we almost got to Aroue when we found an acceptable pique-nique spot. Finally found Aroue shortly thereafter. This is where things got interesting. Yesterday, we had decided to eschew the earmarked Gite where we heard many Pelerin were going and tried to book a small place. When the tourist office called they were told it was "complete" although the owner said we could stay at his house! We were told to get someone to call him when we arrived at town at the communal Gite and he would come pick us up. Our friend Sophie was there and she called for us. After a bit of a wait, Evelyn showed up. She then drove us a bit of a distance.  We didn't know where we were going but ended up some 20 kilometers away in the quaint village of Laas. They have a wonderful home directly across from a beautiful church.  After we arrived we washed and went for a walk to explore the village. Here we found the Domaine De Laas which contains an old Chateau and these amazing gardens that front the River D'Oloron. This place was very beautiful and picturesque along the winding river. After a rest our hosts served us a tremendous dinner of vegetable and duck soup, "Poulet de Basque" an amazing chicken dish with rice and a delicious tart with custard.  Although Guy and Evelyn speak less English than we speak French, we had a great time conversing with them and learning about each other and our families.  Our adventure has really taken us way off the beaten path and we have had a very good day!

Gite La Tortue (?) Guy Phillipe, and his wife Evelyn are reason enough to recommend his Gite