Easter Sunday Cayac-Le Barp
Dawn chorus through open window, and another grey cloudy day but clouds high. Had thought I was the only person in the hotel, but there was also a minibus-load of Belgians.
Off again to Cayac, where examined what remains of the medieval priory plus the modern pilgrim sculpture, but again there was no sign of life at what was supposed to be the accueil pèlerin - I have to admit I did not really expect anything else at 8.30 on Easter Sunday morning. [Update 2005: the refuge has now reverted to the municipality, so may now be available again.]
I was however very pleased to discover waymarks here: our old friends, yellow arrows. So I followed them. They led firstly along a cycle-path by the side of the main road, then off at Beausoleil (where there is another hotel) into the classic Landes country: pine-trees, sand, bracken, more pine-trees, more sand, more pine-trees . . .
The waymarking deteriorated after a bit but it’s easy enough to find an off-road route along the many tracks which run largely straight through the endless pine forests. Some people dislike the Landes scenery, the monotony of walking on wide straight tracks for mile after mile, but I quite like it as long as I’m not walking on tarmac.
After the hamlet of Peyon I took a short break sitting on a log and heard barking dogs and hunting horns in the distance, though didn’t actually see any huntsmen. Warblers were tuning up, as were cuckoos, and I even saw a swallow.
On a tarmac road stretch further on, where the pine trees gave way to enormous fields of tulips, the sun came out and it even became warm. This did not last though, as it later started to drizzle and there was even a bit of hail, and I decided to stop for the night at the nice little hotel in Le Barp, even though it was still only 14.30. One of the problems with the Landes (apart from the monotonous scenery) is that there are few settlements, most of those are small, and so there is little accommodation. There are a few hotels, and some chambres d’hôte dotted about, but you have to tailor your stops to what is available, which may not be optimal from the distance point of view.
After taking a shower, I went out to look at the sights of Le Barp - which didn’t take very long, as it’s basically just a linear settlement along the main road - now largely bypassed by the autoroute further west. Quite a good selection of shops, but all closed of course on Easter Sunday. I did find a small bar open, with the usual gaggle of bored teenagers making desultory conversation and staring vacantly into their coca-cola. I stared vacantly into my beer, but soon left, deciding my hotel room was more interesting.
The hotel’s restaurant was closed in the evening, but fortunately there was a pizzeria nearby with a very friendly proprietress. So, 2 meals in France: 1 Spanish, 1 pizza - hmmm.
29km