Day 2 - Asson to Arudy

Another beautiful day with unbelievable scenery!

This was the morning sun,

waking me up and saying, 

"Time to go WALK!"

This little market is right off the path 

and opens at 8 am.

We managed to grab a quick breakfast here.

Bread, nutella, pistachios (from California!) and apples

 Much of today's walking was in gorgeous countryside with views of the mountains in the distance. You could hear the tinkling cowbells long before seeing the cows.

I'm having difficulty choosing photos

because they're all so wonderful!

Do you know what this X sign means?

It means DO NOT GO THIS WAY!

I couldn't help but feel sad for the feedlot cows back home when I saw the fat happy cows in the rich green pastures of France. Theirs is such a happy life compared to the cows in California. You can actually taste the difference in the milk and cheese.

The second half of the day was along a river through woodlands.

I lost my fleece somewhere along the road. Joe went back to look for it but it was not to be found. Later that night a French pilgrim said he had found it but left it behind. I couldn't blame him. Every ounce makes a huge difference when you are walking such distances.

 I find two years had made a difference in my endurance level.
I feel my pack is much too heavy
and I have the dreaded 'pilgrim ankles' that plague pilgrims the first week of walking.
It's a shocking red rash that slowly clears.
It's painless and is caused by small vessels breaking
and luckily it goes away after a few days.
I've hobbled into town the last two days.

We reached this beautiful little church,

and I believe it was St. Michael's.

This is a VERY old altar, from Celtic days I'd think

We arrived in Arudy without reservations and found lodging with the Priest Pierre at the presbytery.

All the rooms have names 

and I thought it was sweet that he named mine 

Chambre Portugal,

knowing I was Portuguese!

The room was very pretty with its antique bed and heavy curtains.

We had a lovely community meal with a group of German pilgrims.

Our Priest and host

The priest here does not answer your email but I would email anyway and expect to stay. 

It's a sweet place, donativo. 

The priest has a cat named Tiago 

who he bottle fed three times a day when it was tiny. 

He wrote a book about the cat,which I purchased 

but gave to a child along the way

because I didn't want to carry the weight.

He also keeps white doves out on the veranda. 

Please leave at least 10-12 euros per person. 

Breakfast is also served.