{"id":21544,"date":"2026-05-18T12:55:42","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T19:55:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/camino\/?p=21544"},"modified":"2026-05-18T13:23:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T20:23:11","slug":"via-lemovicensis-from-via-lemovicensis-to-camino-frances","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/camino\/via-lemovicensis-from-via-lemovicensis-to-camino-frances\/","title":{"rendered":"Via Lemovicensis: From Via Lemovicensis to Camino Franc\u00e9s"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A<\/span> long breakfast with Herve and our hostess, Madame Due\u00e9.  We didn’t leave until very late. The first stop was the village church at 8:30. Not only was it locked, which is a thing I’ve gotten used to, there’s a sign on it that says it is closed to the public. I’m pretty sure that sign is a violation of Canon law, but what do I know?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was perfect walking weather this morning: temperate with a small breeze and mostly overcast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We saw two pilgrims before we even left the village. One of them might’ve been Michael \u2013 he was too far ahead of us to be sure. The other was Christophe, who we spoke to briefly before he strode off ahead of us. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We crossed over a stream called the Le Lauihrasa a few moments later. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here, two other French pilgrims that we met the other day caught up with us. I think this is the largest number of pilgrims I’ve seen walking in a day so far. It’s likely to be a lot more today, as this afternoon we will pass a point where three of the principal four French pilgrimage routes converge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By 8:45, the Camino had turned onto a gravel road through the countryside. About five minutes later, the Camino turned off onto a only slightly muddy dirt trail into the woods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the top of an unexpectedly steep climb, we both removed our fleeces. It was difficult for me to catch my breath for sometime after that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At 9:05, we passed a medieval boundary stone. We were now within lands of the medieval Kingdom of Navarra. It felt like a weird sort of homecoming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After this, the Camino followed a gravel, and then a narrow asphalt roadway. The terrain was much the same as yesterday: up and down hills through woods and farms, with frequent houses and farmsteads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About 9:30, we passed through the suburban hamlet of Sussaute (Zohota). The houses look very Basque now. Just past the village, the landscape opened up into rolling farms. In the distance, the Pyrenees loomed large.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At about 9:50, the Camino left the road entirely, and we walked a narrow muddy path between two fields. We regained a new asphalt road on the other side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About 10:20 we entered the Basque hamlet of Suhast. They were picnic tables here, and even a public restroom. Surprisingly, there was also a church. The little church was locked, but we took advantage of the other facilities here for a little break.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was 10:45 by the time we finished our second breakfast \u2013 some slices of apple cake prepared by our host last night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At about 11:10, Camino turned onto a bike path under the trees. Just a few minutes later, we took a bridge over the River Bidouze. From here, it was through wide open farmland. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just about 11:30, we left the bike trail and turned down the road into a residential neighborhood of the town of Saint-Palais (Donapaleu). We turned down a busy major road to walk into the town center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here, we stopped for lunch until about 12:50. The way out of town was along the busy commercial street.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We visited the 19th-century neo-Gothic church of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine. I was struck by the magnificent paintwork throughout the church. I can’t imagine the level of skill and precision required to create this. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I prayed there before we left about 1:10 PM. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The way out of town went through a narrow alley that might once have been a medieval street.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We turned down a major street at a small church, which was alas locked tight. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We then went down a quieter street through a residential neighborhood with many new houses and a lot of new construction. This took us right out of the town and back into the countryside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At about 1:25 the Camino took a sharp turn up a very steep concrete path. There were cows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was only ten minutes to the top, but it felt like an hour. At the top, the Camino became a dirt path up and down through the woods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At about 1:40, we crossed our first stile \u2013 these are designed to prevent cows from leaving an enclosed area but still allowing people to thread through a narrow maze or over a little bridge to get past. We would go through five more before the day was out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The path soon joined a muddy dirt road through the woods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The skies are now fully overcast, and the temperature was definitely climbing. And so were we, up a series of uphill stretches through forest and through open areas looking out onto the valley far below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At just about 2:10, we came to the top. There’s a marker here, three great pieces of timber standing vertically at the hilltop, called Le Reflet du Ciel, which means “the reflection of the sky”. Around this, there is roughly a 300\u00b0 view of the surrounding valleys. We took a little break here after all that climbing, realizing the only way to go from here was downhill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We started the downhill at about 2:30. This was on freshly cut grass. The way down was surprisingly easy, and at the bottom the Camino joined an asphalt road going further downhill. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This took us through a hillside hamlet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At roughly 2:50, we arrived at the Stele de Gibraltar. This is the marker that indicates where the three of the four French Camino routes converge. The Via Lemovicensis was finished. From here on, we are walking the Camino Franc\u00e9s. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don’t mind saying that this was an emotional moment. Two and a half years ago, I stood on this exact spot having walked from Le Puy en Velay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At just about 3 PM, we began the next climb. I remembered this section, and I remember thinking that it was more difficult than it looked. Of course, I was walking in a heat wave last time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The road was asphalt, and then broken stone to the top of an immense hill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Twenty-five minutes in, and the route flattened out and even dipped briefly as we made our way through scrubby Alpine Meadows towards the chapel at the peak. The air was humid and still.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We reached the top, with the little Chapelle de Soyartz, at 3:30 exhausted, but absolutely thrilled by the view. We rested here for quite some time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At 3:50, we began the rough rock scramble down the other side. This eventually took us back down into the forest, where the Camino continued down a dirt and gravel road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Camino turned off the road eventually, and instead it followed another steeply descending path, mostly dirt and loose stone, down to an asphalt road through the forest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This took us at length through the Basque farming hamlet of Harambeltz at about 4:15, where we met a freshly cleaned and laundered Christophe at the local g\u00eete. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The road, now concrete, took us down and up and up through the woods and occasionally mountain meadows. Eventually it transitioned back to asphalt. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The last kilometer into town was a rough trail, mud and rocks. We arrived in the village of Ostabat-Asme (Izura) a little after 5 PM and stopped briefly for a celebratory beer, where we met Michael.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I headed over to the church, which is a beautiful, simple place with distinctive wine-coloured sanctuary and ceiling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I prayed here and lit a candle for Francine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then we finally began the last kilometer to our g\u00eete at Izarrak. I stayed here three years ago after a trying day where the g\u00eete I had planned on was unexpectedly closed. I have fond memories of the place and the people who own it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Herve and I arrived about 5:45 to find that they thought I had checked in an hour ago. It turns out that there was a second “Tom from America” here already, and he had taken my bed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was soon straightened out, and everyone had a bed in the end. What are the odds?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are 28 pilgrims here tonight, roughly three times the previous record in any g\u00eete I’ve been this Camino. This is just a preview of things to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Date:<\/strong> 18 May 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n