GR653 Via Tolosana / Camino Aragones, Day 16: Bource - Col de Somport- Canfranc Estacion

Man's real home is not a house, but the Road, and life itself is a journey to be walked on foot.

― Bruce Chatwin, What Am I Doing Here?

IN SPAIN!!!

A long, steady climb up to Somport Pass, a photo break at the top, and then another eight kilometres downhill to the village of Canfranc Estacion.

We started out with some road walking, where the GR disappears and the Fédération Randonnées recommends you take the bus for a few km. It being Sunday morning, there was very little traffic, so we simply walked along the shoulder of the highway. We had no trouble at all, even where the road narrows under Fort Portalet. 

Then we left the road for the path and began to climb steeply in the woods. We were glad we had continued on the road for a stretch instead of taking the path when we were rejoined by our companions at the pass, and heard that one of them had been threatened by dogs and the other had gotten lost for a while! 

But all's well that ends well, and we all made it to the top! 

Somport pass at 1632 metres:the border between France and Spain! 

After waiting to make sure everyone had made it to the top and taking the ritual photos, we began the descent toward Canfranc Estacion, following the famous yellow arrows of the Camino de Santiago! 

Only 857 km to go! 

¡Mi primera flecha amarilla! 

We passed the ruins of the medieval pilgrim hostel of Santa Cristina. 
And a series of ugly modern ski resorts which I did NOT photograph! 

Canfranc Estacion is rather a strange place. A giant international railway station was built here, where all the passengers and freight had to be offloaded onto a different train back when Spain and France had different gauges. In 1970 a train derailed and destroyed a bridge on the French side of the Pyrenees, and the libe was never repaired. Now the enormous station stands empty, except for the central section, where a tiny single-carriage train stood waiting for the few passengers who still come to this remote place.