LIVE from the Camino Voie de la Nive - Day to Day

[rometimed]

Hi everyone,

In the other thread Vacajoe requested I post about the Voie de la Nive as I go. I am using this as a warm up for my Camino Frances.

About 10 KMs right now and stopped as "Paarela Cuinguette" for food. Will post photos and more impressions later on today.

 

[AJGuillaume]

Hi everyone,

In the other thread Vacajoe requested I post about the Voie de la Nive as I go. I am using this as a warm up for my Camino Frances.

About 10 KMs right now and stopped as "Paarela Cuinguette" for food. Will post photos and more impressions later on today.

Bon chemin @rometimed !
It's a walk I wanted to do in 2020, and hopefully will experience next year.

 

[rometimed]

Bon chemin @rometimed !
It's a walk I wanted to do in 2020, and hopefully will experience next year.

MERCI! First day is an almost perfect warm up day for a Camino IMO. About 12 KMs of near dead flat walking next to river then a few ups/downs through a town or two depending on where you stay. Will post more in a few minutes

 

[rometimed]

Day 1 Report: Bayonne to Larressore:
(About 20 KMs)

I started this morning from the new pilgrim Albergue in Bayonne @ 7 Rue Gosse. It's quite close to the cathedral.



The albergue has beds for about 20 but only had 5 others staying there last night: two young French couples not on an actual Camino and a Brazilian woman walking the Camino Norte but starting from Bayonne.

The albergue is comfortable and has a combo laundry/washing machine, small fridge, coffee, tea, microwave, etc.

A young French gent named "Alex" was volunteering there for one more week then was off on the Camino Norte as well.

Exiting the Albergue I turned right and then took a quick left, right and there's a set of stairs that takes you down towards the Nive River just past a few shops and a round about:


Cross a couple of busy streets but stay on this side of the river and you come to a boat launch:


Just passing here you will see the first Camino marker and it's a big marker:



From there... there's not a lot to say for quite a while. You follow the Nive on the path next to it for about 12 KMs.

For the first 9 KMs or so there are water fountains every 1.5 KMs and there are benches more frequently.




I will say that through-out the day I did not see any other pilgrims but the path itself is steadily busy with bicyclists, joggers, walkers, etc.

It becomes quite agricultural and I saw many cows, horses, chickens and the like.

I hoped to go 10 KMs before stopping to have a lunch I prepared for the journey. However, just after 9 KMs I came to an interesting bridge and what looked like a patio on the other side of the river:



This turned out to be a small stall food patio/bar "Paarela Cuinguette" that was just opening for lunch as I got there right at 12 noon:



It had what seemed like a pretty good menu and selection so I stayed and ordered fish'n Chips and a beer for 15 euros all together which is quite a bit less than what I'd pay in Canada now:



......

 

[William H B Mawhinney]

Day 1 Report: Bayonne to Larressore:
(About 20 KMs)

I started this morning from the new pilgrim Albergue in Bayonne @ 7 Rue Gosse. It's quite close to the cathedral.

View attachment 125091

The albergue has beds for about 20 but only had 5 others staying there last night: two young French couples not on an actual Camino and a Brazilian woman walking the Camino Norte but starting from Bayonne.

The albergue is comfortable and has a combo laundry/washing machine, small fridge, coffee, tea, microwave, etc.

A young French gent named "Alex" was volunteering there for one more week then was off on the Camino Norte as well.

Exiting the Albergue I turned right and then took a quick left, right and there's a set of stairs that takes you down towards the Nive River just past a few shops and a round about:

View attachment 125092

Cross a couple of busy streets but stay on this side of the river and you come to a boat launch:

View attachment 125093

Just passing here you will see the first Camino marker and it's a big marker:

View attachment 125095

From there... there's not a lot to say for quite a while. You follow the Nive on the path next to it for about 12 KMs.

For the first 9 KMs or so there are water fountains every 1.5 KMs and there are benches more frequently.

View attachment 125096

View attachment 125097

View attachment 125098

I will say that through-out the day I did not see any other pilgrims but the path itself is steadily busy with bicyclists, joggers, walkers, etc.

It becomes quite agricultural and I saw many cows, horses, chickens and the like.

I hoped to go 10 KMs before stopping to have a lunch I prepared for the journey. However, just after 9 KMs I came to an interesting bridge and what looked like a patio on the other side of the river:

View attachment 125099

This turned out to be a small stall food patio/bar "Paarela Cuinguette" that was just opening for lunch as I got there right at 12 noon:

View attachment 125100

It had what seemed like a pretty good menu and selection so I stayed and ordered fish'n Chips and a beer for 15 euros all together which is quite a bit less than what I'd pay in Canada now:

View attachment 125101

......

I look forward to your journey to StJPdP along the Nive. I am hoping to do it as a warm up for StJPdP to Roncesvalle in Sept/Oct 2022, it looks a lot better than the GR10 I walked in 2000 to StJPdP and with an Auberge!

 

[rometimed]

...
After my lunch I kept moving and almost right away found what I think was only the 3rd Camino marker I had seen:


About 15 minutes later I came to a small parking lot and apparently I took what was not the correct path following the Nive:



Once I got to Ustaritz I checked and I had gone a way near the river where the actual path veers south around a big football field area. I don't know why as both roads/paths meet at a point in the center of Ustaritz and it seems confusing to go around .

Any ways at about 14 KMs I hit Ustaritz and the first incline of any note. Ustaritz had a number of pizza restaurants, small stores, a co-op grocery a couple of churches which were not open and a couple of hotels/albergued which were full for the night, mostly with motorcyclists.







Seeing as the Albergues were full in town I booked an Air BnB in a house in a town a little south "Larressore."

I walked out of Ustaritz along the official Camino route through the small village area of Juxtou:





Where I noticed a Camino marker the other direction:



From here there was a fairly steep, brief incline into the village proper... then I hit another, smaller, church where I had to go abruptly back downhill via a crumbling old road which is no longer in use:





.....

 

[rometimed]

...
From there I entered quite a beautiful village called Halsou but it was also getting sunny and hot:



And at a cross in the road I went off the Voi de Nive south to Larressore:


Now in Larressore the family I am staying with is full of artists and have family in Normandy so have a pile of scallop shells. They let me have one for my Camino:


Tomorrow is much longer but I will try to post at the end.

Thanks for reading about my first day!

 

[Vacajoe]

FABULOUS so far!!!!!!! Thanks for the extensive posting - love it! What a great record for future pilgrims.

PS: perhaps post your photos as thumbnails as the large photos are not loading too well

 

[Vacajoe]

Sadly, people seem to love “collecting” the small Camino markers, leaving pilgrims lost and wandering the back roads of Basque countries! . We asked our French host why there were so few markers and he replied, “Unlike the Spanish, we do not splatter yellow arrows all over our countryside!” A gps route guide or mapping app is extremely helpful on this route. (Even with one we ended up wandering through a sheep pasture and climbing a few fences…)

 

[rometimed]

FABULOUS so far!!!!!!! Thanks for the extensive posting - love it! What a great record for future pilgrims.

PS: perhaps post your photos as thumbnails as the large photos are not loading too well

ill see about the images

 

[rometimed]

Sadly, people seem to love “collecting” the small Camino markers, leaving pilgrims lost and wandering the back roads of Basque countries! . We asked our French host why there were so few markers and he replied, “Unlike the Spanish, we do not splatter yellow arrows all over our countryside!” A gps route guide or mapping app is extremely helpful on this route. (Even with one we ended up wandering through a sheep pasture and climbing a few fences…)

This time out I got a euro sim card with a whole whack of data.

Between the official vdlN maps and Google maps, along with the occasional marker, day one was pretty easy other than the bizarre area coming in to Ustaritz where it veers south (officially) when there is no need to.



You can see the red line as it comes south instead of staying next to the Nive it goes west and bows around a big white area. Those are football fields and parks. I don't know why as a few hundred meters later it joins the path that continues along the Nive.

 

[Vacajoe]

Wait until the last part walking into SJPdP - if you come to a five way stop, STOP!!! Turn around and walk back about 100m to the proper route because all five of those ways there are the wrong way!

 

[AJGuillaume]

Thanks for reading about my first day!

Merci @rometimed ! Thank you!

 

[Vacajoe]

I think that detour around the fields is actually to get you into the small village there. When we walked in 2019, there were signs for an albergue just odd that roundabout route.

 

[rometimed]

Omfg day 2 is going to be titled "going uphill into food heaven."

 

[rometimed]

Day 2 Report: Larressore to Irissarry about 35 KMs

Alright, once again a day filled with no other pilgrims and despite the overall distance and time less overall traffic... though that could have been for other reasons I will explain below.

I started the day with a 2 KM walk from 8:40 AM nearly all downhill back to the turn off I has taken off the VdlN.

From there it was a quick walk into Haltsu:




And continuing along this road lead (after not too long) to the edge of Cambo les Bains:





There's a little uphill into the town proper.

There's also more to this town south but from what I noticed on the route it did have some busy and new looking accomodations:



From then hotel you follow the road south, then across train tracks and east via a commercial area with a large bicycle store:



There's a train station for Cambo les Bains after a few minutes and when you turn south you can see a green bridge. There are two roads going east... I'm not sure which is the VdlN one but I took the 2nd closer to the bridge.

This area is the final area of what I consider the "light" section. From here you start going upwards and for the rest of the day you are going up or down mostly up. In fact I have 800 meters as my total elevation and I think nearly all of them are after this point.



When you see the traink tracks and river to your right bending then you are at the area where you start to go up:



The first real uphill over the first days:



At the top of this hill you interest a busy road.

Turn left and go uphill a little more... cross the street and you will see a sign for "Route Touristique" with a Camino marker under it:



This road leads you past a housing area and then begins the trend of downhill a little, uphill quite a lot, downhill a little, uphill quote a lot.... repeat.

....

 

[rometimed]

...

As mentioned this theme of up continues and at a point you lose the Nive south again below you:



After about 6-7 KMs on the whole day the route takes on a more rural feel. Larger farms, tractors, roads quiet. This isn't the whole rest of the way but it's a lot of it.

Still going up up up eventually around 11 KMs you start moving into a farming valley. This was where I took a break and ate some food.

Unfortunately for me this marked the last comfortable time for me on the day as even though the temperate read about 28 degrees Celsius... omg did it get humid. Closest places I can recall being in humidity like today was San Antonio, Texas and the Mesata in Northern Spain. Locals told me this was a freakishly hot day for mid may but man did it cause me problems later.



After the break it was a bit of a walk back uphill for another couple KMs until I hit the town of Macaye:



I got into Macaye just after 12 Noon and was heading by the first restaurant when I decided I needed at least one beer:



After downing a beer I decided to get some food and ordered the lupin confit and a caramel desert ice cream. Amazing food and very very very cheap compared to Canadian prices for this type of food. 3 beers a gin and tonic a massive lunch for 30 euros. Wild.





From Macaye the route does what it does best this day and leads you downhill a little, as a tease, then back uphill a bunch more and out of town.




I should note here that the next stretch of 12 kms was the best marked area of the VdlN.

Not every sign and sometimes the markers are in weird places but at least findable.

I also saw a goat in a swing:



This is where you need to channel your inner goat as the next chunk is a lot more up and down. Hopefully, if you are reading this and plan to use this as a Camino warm up, you get cooler weather than I had which felt like 35-38 degrees. At one point I pulled out my water and it was actually hot.

Now plodding I continued up and found a sign suggest Hellette was close (it was not):



...

 

[rometimed]

...

I moved onwards and upwards towards fabled Hellette:



At some point the Camino markers were in the same sign polls as another path, black triangle and two circles.



Eventually these did go in two different directions, which was the first area I got lost today but only for 100 meters.

It is confusing for Camino veterans but follow the little markers and ignore yellow Xs:



Some nice views and farmland in this area. Eventually gives way to a major road which you also do have to (Sadly) go up:







Once in Hellete I went straight to the bar.

The bartender agreed it was crazy to walk around outside in this heat. I drank a coke and a beer and went back to walking in the heat.

Looking back at Hellette:



Most people walking the VdlN stay in Hellette but my lodging was 6 KMs south in Irissarry.

As you do in this region to leave the town you walk uphill out of it.

After a little while you hit a major road.

From the road it was only 5 KMs to my Gite for the night. Sadly the official VdlN trail takes you 2 KMs west, along more down and up hills. In the heat I was starting to have real issues and the last of my water was hot.



The marking here also became worse. A little fewer of them and odd placements behind poles led to my wandering into a couple of farms and having the farmer tell me to walk up another mountain (literally). This just meant the next hill over but it was quite a pain and I did an extra 1 KM in the manor.

The other thing here is the farms are much more messy and all seemed to have small armies of barking dogs. Not vicious just dogs that would follow you barking loudly nearly the whole area.

Eventually I popped into Irissarry and I had a young French guy (kids in vehicle) stop beside me and let me know it was a waaaays to St Jean Pied de Port and too hot to be walking (I likely loomed like death). He offered me a ride so I wouldn't be in the heat but I informed him I was within a few blocks of my Gite for the night. He inspected my phone and confirmed. Offered me a ride there but I decided since I walked all this day I'm not stopping a couple blocks away.

I got to the Gite and realized I was having major heat issues. I drank water and was given juice. Still overheating. I also only had 45 mins before the local store closed.
I headed out to buy food and it started raining (thundershowers).

Got back and had a very long cold shower but felt awful/could not drink or eat.

I fell asleep and woke up 2 hours ago feeling, finally, much better.

Whew. Totally different than day 1 lol. If it's going to be this hot I do recommend splitting it up.

 

[AJGuillaume]

Whew. Totally different than day 1 lol. If it's going to be this hot I do recommend splitting it up.

It's a long day under the sun, and I'm glad you're feeling better, @rometimed !

My plan in 2020 was to break the walk into 5 days, as we're slow walkers:
Bayonne to Ustaritz, 15km
Ustaritz to Louhossoa, 16km (couldn't find a place to sleep in Macaye)
Louhossoa to Hélette, 12km
Hélette to Irissarry, 8km
Irissarry to SJPdP, 16km

Tomorrow you'll be in SJPdP!
Merci et bon chemin !
Or as they say in Basque: eskerrik asko, bide on!

 

[Vacajoe]

Fantastic reporting - LOVE the goat swing!!!!! It brought back I so many memories ESPECIALLY that restaurant in Macaye!!!!! OMG!!!! Best food we’ve had over our four Caminos (photo below for future travelers looking for it, though it’s the only place in that tiny village…). We were fortunate to get the Menu del Dia - three courses with wine for €15 each. Not cheap, per se, but high quality and very local; when we asked where the cheese was from, she pointed to the field of cows across the street!!!! . We ended up visiting the cheese factory a mile out of town and bought a small wheel.

Your walk tomorrow was the most challenging stage for us because we lost the path about a mile out of Irissary and then wandered over hills and through pastures before regaining it close to SJPdP. The good news is that your path today is certainly the most physically challenging section, so that’s behind you.

Buen Camino - keep your spirits up and the reports coming!

 

[rometimed]

Fantastic reporting - LOVE the goat swing!!!!! It brought back I so many memories ESPECIALLY that restaurant in Macaye!!!!! OMG!!!! Best food we’ve had over our four Caminos (photo below for future travelers looking for it, though it’s the only place in that tiny village…). We were fortunate to get the Menu del Dia - three courses with wine for €15 each. Not cheap, per se, but high quality and very local; when we asked where the cheese was from, she pointed to the field of cows across the street!!!! . We ended up visiting the cheese factory a mile out of town and bought a small wheel.

Your walk tomorrow was the most challenging stage for us because we lost the path about a mile out of Irissary and then wandered over hills and through pastures before regaining it close to SJPdP. The good news is that your path today is certainly the most physically challenging section, so that’s behind you.

Buen Camino - keep your spirits up and the reports coming!

Thank you kindly

Tough days always remind one to stay humble.

I am interested to see how confusing this last day is today as there appears to be fewer roads to get lost on compared to yesterday.

I'm also excited my Gite includes breakfast in 30 minutes and there's a store I can purchase more provisions for a nice mid day lunch.

I'm hoping my body doesn't have any issues with more heat today during the uphill in particular.

 

[Vacajoe]

I am interested to see how confusing this last day is today as there appears to be fewer roads to get lost on compared to yesterday.

Me too! Our Gite host mentioned that he had accompanied a group of 5yos on a day walk to SJPdP and back the previous week and ensured us it was very easy…and yet we were hopelessly lost less than 30 minutes later! . Hopefully they fixed the waymarking as there was so little of it when we walked.

 

[rometimed]

Me too! Our Gite host mentioned that he had accompanied a group of 5yos on a day walk to SJPdP and back the previous week and ensured us it was very easy…and yet we were hopelessly lost less than 30 minutes later! . Hopefully they fixed the waymarking as there was so little of it when we walked.

Lol I will certainly report back later today. Very excited for SJpdP.

 

[Vacajoe]

If you pass Gite Henrietta and then reach a five way stop with NO signage, TURN AROUND!!!!

 

[rometimed]

Ok! All dons and arrived in SJpdp.

Day 3: Irissarry to St Jean Pied de Port.

From my Gite in Irissary I left at 10 AM To pickup some lunch provisions from a store 50 meters away in the center of town.

Once I was stocked up I headed west then south.



From here a good chunk of time is spent going up up up to the top of a ridge you need to go over to get to St Jean pdp.



A little ways off I stopped under a shady tree area. This was about 1 hour and 5 kms in.



Today was still very hot and humid but until noon there was a very gusty wind helping a huge amount.

Once you head up this road you lose asphalt for track:



Eventually just grass:



You start heading downhill with great views and the road switches back to pavement:







At some point I may have missed a turn for the VdlN as I ended up on the highway... I think a little before the VdlN hits it here:



....

 

[rometimed]

...

From there I followed the main road for a kilometer or so before turning left into a housing area. This
is the left to take:



Follow that road straight for quite some time and you will see a church across a major road:



Cross and continue going straight, past the church, over a bridge, etc.

Following this road will lead you to one last uphill climb to the Gate of Saint James:







Fin! 70 or so KMs over 3 days...
Day one 20 KMs
Day two 33 KMs
Day three 17 KMs
.......

I would certainly recommend this as a warm up for a Camino Frances... however I might put conditions on that.

1. I probably wouldn't start my first ever Camino from Bayonne only because there's very few pilgrims and the excitement is not like starting in Saint Jean PdP.

2. If you are older or having to hike at a time which could have crazy humidity (like right now) I'd recommend adding another day in the middle. I think this would flow better as a 20, 18, 15, 17 KM hike vs that big day in the middle. It's not that it's the most difficult ever it's just with the heat it can be a bit much.

3. I would make a point to try to stop somewhere every day between noon to 1 for lunch. OMG French country food is amazing and continuously sets new bars for me. If I lived here I'd be grossly overweight lol.

Thank you for reading about the Voie de la Nive. If you have any questions post them here or dm me and I'll do my best from experience to answer.

I have a day off tomorrow in SJpdp then a being my 2nd Camino Frances via Orisson and Roncesvalles.

Buen Chemin

 

[William H B Mawhinney]

Excelent writing, I find it most useful and will certainly use it, with shorter distance advice. I agree about the French rural cuisine, I loved it on the GR10 from Hendaye to StJPdP in 2000 and look forward to it again!

 

[naplesdon]

I have toured many parts this route in my car. Great description of the villages in Pays Basque. There are some of the top restuarant in the world here which can only be described as a culinary heaven on earth. It is sad more pilgrims don't find the time to start from Bayonne before their start in SJPdP or chose to take the Batzan to Zubiri or Pamplona

 

[rometimed]

I have toured many parts this route in my car. Great description of the villages in Pays Basque. There are some of the top restuarant in the world here which can only be described as a culinary heaven on earth. It is sad more pilgrims don't find the time to start from Bayonne before their start in SJPdP or chose to take the Batzan to Zubiri or Pamplona

I think it's perfect as a warm up to one's second Camino Frances, especially with a 4th day added.

Hopefully it can grow in popularity as it does have much going for it.

 

[rometimed]

Excelent writing, I find it most useful and will certainly use it, with shorter distance advice. I agree about the French rural cuisine, I loved it on the GR10 from Hendaye to StJPdP in 2000 and look forward to it again!

Can't wait to hear future culinary reports, I'm sure I missed many great venues.

 

[Vacajoe]

Congrats on not getting lost (too much). I agree that it’s not a first-timer Cami o as you have to be able to remain calm and keep moving forward even when the waymarks disappear.

 

[AJGuillaume]

Thank you very much for your detailed description and the photos, @rometimed !
Buen Camino!

 

[Dani7]

Hi everyone,

In the other thread Vacajoe requested I post about the Voie de la Nive as I go. I am using this as a warm up for my Camino Frances.

About 10 KMs right now and stopped as "Paarela Cuinguette" for food. Will post photos and more impressions later on today.

Thank you so much. I plan on doing same for a warm up when I’m able to do the Frances.

 

[rometimed]

Congrats on not getting lost (too much). I agree that it’s not a first-timer Cami o as you have to be able to remain calm and keep moving forward even when the waymarks disappear.

There was also some places where I had to turn around. One, in particular, where I missed a sign and walked into a farm like I owned the place... out into a pasture I thought connected to a road. Whoops! It did not. Que the barking farm dogs running around me as I hastened my way back from wence I came.

 

[Lou Lulu]

Thank you so much for the detailed information. I wanted to do this walk as a warm up for the Frances but couldn't find enough information which was making me nervous but I now have the courage to do it, thanks to you! I will be walking in mid August which I know will be hot but I live in the tropics and am used to constant heat and humidity. I will walk it in 4 stages. Do you recommend booking accommodation ahead?

 

[rometimed]

Thank you so much for the detailed information. I wanted to do this walk as a warm up for the Frances but couldn't find enough information which was making me nervous but I now have the courage to do it, thanks to you! I will be walking in mid August which I know will be hot but I live in the tropics and am used to constant heat and humidity. I will walk it in 4 stages. Do you recommend booking accommodation ahead?

Bayonne likely not necessary but for the other 2 nights I would recommend booking as most of the towns only have a couple of official places to stay, then there are a few air bnbs.

For Irissarry I would recommend Gite Aire-Berria.

https://www.booking.com/hotel/fr/aire-berria.en-gb.html

Staying there leaves about 15 KM walk into st jean.

 

[Lou Lulu]

Bayonne likely not necessary but for the other 2 nights I would recommend booking as most of the towns only have a couple of official places to stay, then there are a few air bnbs.

For Irissarry I would recommend Gite Aire-Berria.

https://www.booking.com/hotel/fr/aire-berria.en-gb.html

Staying there leaves about 15 KM walk into st jean.

Thank you. I will take your advice.

 

[Albertagirl]

Thanks for this. I blush to admit that I laughed most of the time as I read it. Largely because I shall have finished the Podiensis in St Jean pied de Port and shall be heading to start the Vasco del Interior at Irun. So I shall be going in the opposite direction from you, and all the climbs will be downward. Also, by then it will be October, and considerably cooler. Enoy the rest of your walk.

 

[chiahc]

Thanks for posting. I plan to take the same walk this year in September. In the beginning I only have some blurry ideas, after reading your post, it gets much clear. Thank you.

 

[seematt]

...
From there I entered quite a beautiful village called Halsou but it was also getting sunny and hot:

View attachment 125113

And at a cross in the road I went off the Voi de Nive south to Larressore:

View attachment 125115
Now in Larressore the family I am staying with is full of artists and have family in Normandy so have a pile of scallop shells. They let me have one for my Camino:

View attachment 125116
Tomorrow is much longer but I will try to post at the end.

Thanks for reading about my first day!

I think I'm staying at the same Airbnb but I've got 2 hours til check-in...directions not too good so I found a bench behind the church to lie on...