Luppé Violles to Aire sur l'Adour 12k

Down for breakfast (nice breakfast) at 8am, packed and ready to go. Slight confusion over our bill as our reservation had in fact been recorded for tonight rather than last night and we had been presumed to be additional guests, but all resolved amicably and we were on the road by 9am for this very short day. we are making rather a meal of covering the bit we left out least year but it does give us a gentle start to get us back in shape. But it will be good to have a bit more of a challenge.

A bit of a false start as we sought to rejoin the route (LP is a kilometer off it) without backtracking. The passage from Nogaro to Aire turns out to be a succession of variantes including yesterdays circumnavigation of Nogaro. Initially today we were in mixed farming country with huge pieces of irrigation spraying equipment obviously taking advantage of the readily available river water. We saw even more vines freshly planted, presumably for even more Armagnac. We admired the small, unused and partially restored chapel in Lelin.

Our approach to Aire was also changed from the usual route by the closure of the bridge at Pont sur l'Adour - damaged in last year's heavy deluge which we so much enjoyed. So a fresh route, which actually is a reversion to the traditional medieval route has been carefully baliseed more or less direct into town which makes the walk shorter but less pretty. So after some kilometers of a dull track by a disused railway you cross over the main road to continue in the same direction along a straight drainage ditch, albeit surrounded by fields of some sort of purple vetch, a pure cerise colour. This brought us to Barcelonne du Gers, a dull suburb of Aire - although with an historic cathedral of its own dating back to earlier pilgrims. There were two pluses. Halfway along the railway track, surrounded by unusual poppies, bright and cheerful, we found a restful and fully equipped bench in the shade, kindly provided for pilgrims by 'Elizabeth' of Barcelonne according to the information provided. Indeed in season fortunate travellers are apparently invited by Elizabeth to help themselves to 'seasonal fruits' but alas we were out of season. But we duly sat and drank our water and took a photo and left our thanks. I then had to go back to retrieve the walking pole I had hung up and forgotton.We met more fellow travellers in the 10 minutes in that hospitable spot than for a long time.

And secondly by coming this way we stopped in Barcellone for a beer and then lunch Chez Alainn, a cheerful amiable man who obviously enjoyed his village business. The set lunch was a much bigger meal than we wanted but it was Sunday and everyone was fairly relaxed. An extended local family turned up from some family occasion - I would have thought first Communion rather than funeral, and were notable for the splendid Moorish noses that were following through the generations.

After a dull walk into Aire we found our hotel without difficulty.Les Relais des Landes while modest is a considerable improvement on last year's place and we have a comfortable stay. Our photograph on the bridge this year shows very different conditions from last time.There was a'pilgrims welcome' facility at the cathedral where we were given a very warm reception and a cold drink while we had our creanciales stamped. While examining on a wallchart the implications of our forthcoming hike over the Pyrenees I learnt from the cheerful attendant that the "Route d'Arles" which is the pilgrimage route from Italy which we will link up with in Spain now actually goes under the Pyrenees following the opening of a tunnel. I wonder if that will have any inpact on pilgrim traffic through Aire. We passed the cheap 'n cheerful Maison Itineraire which provides basic overnight accomodation for pilgrims. According to the statistics posted in the window they have about 2,500 overnight visitors per annum of whom 80% are French but dozens of other nationalities are represented.

Later we went back to the cathedral for a lay form of Benediction said nightly for the pilgrims and including a couple of rousing choruses of the pilgrims song "Ultreia" ("Onwards"). This is a somewhat informal version of the same and for those of a more musical disposition this version is bit more melodious! And these are the words if you feel like joining in (Paroles et musique Jean-Claude Benazet) :

Ultreïa

Tous les matins nous prenons le chemin,
Tous les matins nous allons plus loin.
Jour après jour, St Jacques nous appelle,
C’est la voix de Compostelle.
Ultreïa ! Ultreïa ! E sus eia Deus adjuva nos !
Chemin de terre et chemin de Foi,
Voie millénaire de l’Europe,
La voie lactée de Charlemagne,
C’est le chemin de tous mes jacquets.
Ultreïa ! Ultreïa ! E sus eia Deus adjuva nos !
Et tout là-bas au bout du continent,
Messire Jacques nous attend,
Depuis toujours son sourire fixe,
Le soleil qui meurt au Finistère.
Ultreïa ! Ultreïa ! E sus eia Deus adjuva nos !
A chaque pas, nous devenons des frères
Patron St Jacques, la main dans la main
Chemin de Foi, chemin de lumière
Voie millénaire des pèlerins.
Ultreïa ! Ultreïa ! E sus eia Deus adjuva nos !
Mr St Jacques écoutez notre appel
Des Pyrénées à Compostelle,
Dirigez nous du pied de cet autel,
Ici-bas et jusqu’au Ciel.
Ultreïa ! Ultreïa ! E sus eia Deus adjuva nos !

We had supper in town at the Comptoir d'Adour which seems to serve as the local Cafe Sport where cyclists were gathering after their day in the sunshine. Indeed after we walked home in the gloaming our washed socks were nearly dry. What a difference a year makes!