Day 14 – Etsaut

September 11, 2019

Resting today, and giving my muscles, knees, hips, and shoulders a break. I am not exhausted, just tired, but otherwise in good physical and mental shape. While on the path I try to keep my mind free from thoughts and focused on what surrounds me. With medium success I must say – if I was so attentive I would not miss turns! But overall it feels good and I am reasonably relaxed.

I started the day with laundry – by hand in the sink. Later on as I had put my clothes all soaking to hang the cleaning lady approached me and offered to put them through the centrifugal extractor so that they would dry faster. It’s something I have come across several times during this trip – people offering to help, even without being asked. People are so nice here!

I also spent some time visiting the villages – Etsaut is maybe less spectacular despite a tower from the middle ages. Borce is prettier with lots of stone houses dating way back, a very curious lavoir, and a small hospitalet that was catering to Camino pilgrims on the Via Tolosana. They have converted the hospitalet into a small exhibit about the Camino which I found quite interesting. I was also hoping to visit the Maison du Parc National des Pyrénées in Etsaut, but unfortunately it is open only during school holidays. But there are numerous signs and maps throughout the village that clearly indicate that we are in a hiker’s heaven.

The rest of my day was spent reading, and preparing the five next days which will take me to Lourdes.