August 27th Loudenvielle

It has been up in the mid 30's each day.
I have walked a few miles each morning whilst it is still cool.
I have had aching knees, and yesterday afternoon I kept my left left leg elevated to relieve my knee. Bad Idea !
I had serious pain in the evening meant I could barely put weight on my leg. I hobbled back to my tent to kip the night.
Online research has it down to a tee. The result of too much exeretion or resting after regular exertion.
So it has been ibuprophen pills and gel, and the warning from the pharmacist, not to go into the mountains for a while. I am fucked for a while
What to do ?
So this walk is over, and after checking out with my mates Elaine and Fred, I am off to Brittany for a bit of rest and recovery. It is nice and flat where they live.

August 24th Loudenvielle

With an early departure and as usual a steep (very) uphill for 2 hours, thankfully mostly in the shade.
It was a very hot once in the sun even at 9.30. Then I could see Loudenvielle 2000'  below.
With these big height differences this area is very popular with paraglyders.
I stopped a few times in the shade on the way down.
As I reached the outskirts of Loudenvielle there was a campsite. It was midday but the steep climb out of the valley was not going to happen in the heat of the day.
During the afternoon I decided I was going to stay for a few days until the weather cooled down a bit.

August 23rd Boursip

I left Lac de l'Oule nice and early, contoured around the head of the lake/resevoir then it was steeply up through forest until emerging above the treeline and Cabane de Bastane.
Soon after this the GR10 met with another well worn trail that contoured the hillside. I met a load of day walkers coming my way. A change in direction and there is a ski centre. The day walkers drive up and park there.
After passing the carpark I was by myself, hot sun and no shade.
Then I could see Vielle-Aure in the valley way below.
It was a hot tiring descent. I came to a large supermarche stocked up and found a cheap and good campsite nearby at Bourisp.
37 in the shade, too hot.

August 22nd Lac de l'Oule

As the walk from Luz to Bareges was parallel to the road, I caught the Bus to Bareges. With hindsight I should have caught the bus the night before and camped at Bareges to get an early start.
I left Bareges 2 hours later than I would have liked to. The first couple of miles were parallel to the road and very steep in places.
When I got to a large car park, for the ski lifts there, I turned south up a valley, that just got lovlier as I gained height. It also got hotter.
The replacement brolly I had bought proved it was not uv resistant as I could feel my head burning under it.
I eventually reached the Col de Madamete, at 2509m it is the second highest point on the GR1O. At this height it was not so hot.
At the col was a grandmother and her 3 young grandsons, each with their own walking pole.
The way down passed lovely lakes with plenty of people around. There is a bus service to a carpark 1000' below the col.
After the carpark I only met a friendly young Spanish couple, who came over to chat when I was getting icy water from a stream.
Their path went of to another car park visible way below. Mine dropped 600m to Lac de l'Oule.
It was nearly 9pm when I found a flattish spot to camp.
By the time I had got water and eaten it was dark.
P.S. no alcohol meant it took a long time to get asleep, even though I was knackered.

August 20th and 21st Luz st Saveur

It rained during the night and again heavily during saturday morning. The clouds were low so I was not going anywhere.
Two young English guys who had been walking the GR10 pitched next to me, and we had a chatty evening.
Sunday morning and there was still low cloud. I did a bit of a walk in the hillsides above Luz.
With a great forecast for monday all was ok.

August 19th Luz st Saveur

All night I could hear music whenever I woke.
I went to the bus station to catch the bus to Irun and there were loads of party people waiting for buses too.
90 percent of the bus got off at Unquera 30 minutes into the journey, it was a lot quieter then.
At Irun I had my last Spanish tortilla and coffee before crossing the frontier to Hendaye and after a short wait took a train to Dax, then another to Lourdes.
A 3 hour wait at Lourdes went soon enough after having food and a look around. So many nationalities.
Finally it was bus to arrive back in Luz st Saveur 14 hours after leaving Llanes.

August 18th Llanes, the return to.

I set off at first light with Brian and Yoko. Yoko wanted.us to go ahead, and I wanted Brian to go ahead. I am slow in the morning.
Yoko soon passed me.
After getting back to the camino at Colunga, it was a tarmac tour along quiet country roads, with no cafe or bar for coffee.
This gave me time to think. I have been pissed off with all the paved walking. After checkinjg online for bale-out options. I decided to.do just that.
When I got to Villaviciosa, I waited a couple of hours for a bus to Llanes a hub for bus journeys.
I couldn't get a bus to Irun and the French border until the morning.
So it was back to the campsitr of a few days previously, for the night.