Day 5 – Bidarray to Saint-Étienne-de-Baïgorry

September 2, 2019 – Departed 8:05 – Arrived 16:30

Things got more serious today with the crossing from Bidarray to Saint-Étienne-de-Baïgorry. The first three and a half hours were a steep and continuous climb from Bidarray (elevation 140 m) to the Pic d’Iparla (élévation 1,044 m) which is the first time the GR 10 has been above 1,000 m since the start. Great views from there, all the way to the ocean and to higher peaks in the Spanish Pyrénées. The path followed the edge of the cliff to a couple of other peaks, then dipped to lower peaks before starting a continuous, strenuous two and a half hour descent to Saint-Étienne-de-Baïgorry.

In the mountains various animals were grazing, mostly sheep an pottoks. I also saw (and smelled) my first goats, impressive with their big horns. Because of all these animals the ground was in places literally covered with dung and probably in relation to this I saw quite a few beetles today.

This was of course very, very tiring – not only because of elevation differences but also because of the length of the hike. But I was rewarded with truly beautiful sights – the mountains, the cliffs, and the sheer majesty of it all. I spent also some amazing minutes watching birds of prey gliding effortlessly along the edge of the cliff, right below me. According to a local couple I met at the top these were vultures. They seem to be able to glide for hours without ever flapping their wings.

There were lots of folks on the trail – some through hikers going both directions, some day hikers, also quite a few runners. Individuals, couples and teams of two, and groups. Except for the descent, I was never alone for more than an hour. The weather was great – so great in fact that I had unzipped the bottom of my pants and got a sunburn on my legs as a consequence. I’ll be more careful tomorrow.

Tonight I am staying at an auberge in St-Etienne. This one is a commercial operation adjoining a small restaurant where they will serve dinner. Yesterday’s was of a different kind, an old parish hall that had been converted first to house summer camps and then to house hikers and pilgrims. It was run by a very dedicated woman from the parish on a semi-volunteer basis. I found this quite impressive and was certainly grateful for the service, so were the other five people staying that night – four who were walking the GR 10 in the same direction as me (we passed each other several times on the trail today and they are staying here tonight as well) and one who was doing the Camino and going the opposite way.

Tomorrow is another big day with again a peak above 1,000 m between here and Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port.