- Written in chalk on a rock in Sarrance
Woken up with music and chased out of the hostel in Oloron-Sainte Marie before eight o'clock. Our hospitalier was full of useful information about the trail into the mountains and over the pass at Somport - provided you could understand his French and tell when he was joking and when he was not! He also taught us how to tie our shoes (double-lacing for the descent on the other side). But he and his partner hospitalier kept iron discipline and turfed us all out onto the street in the rain at eight o'clock on the dot.
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| View of Quartier Notre Dame in Oloron in the morning |
After crossing the town we followed the path into the forest, but it was quite muddy so we descended onto a small road and followed it for most of the day, winding up the Aspe valley further and further into the mountains. At the end of the day we are still at an elevation of only 362 metres, but surrounded on both sides by steep walls of rock.
When our little road joined the highway we took the trail through the woods above the river, where we had to be very careful not to slip in the mud after the rain and end up in the river below! Slowly and carefully we proceeded until we came out at the village of Sarrance, where we were to spend the night in the monastery.
We attended Mass in the monastery chapel with Frère Pierre and were served dinner along with him and the members of the community who are living and working in the monastery.
Molto bello
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