La boue means “mud,” and that is the headline for our first three days of walking west from Lourdes. Day One brought us to Lestelle-Betharam and the whole day was rainy and cold. Day Two’s destination was the hamlet of Arudy; it was cool and cloudy.

On Day Three the forecast was the best yet: sunny and 72 degrees. But the path, running through pastures and forests, was all too often a slippery descent through churned up mud to a slippery stream bed. Locals say this has been one of the wettest springs in memory. The sound of rushing water is an accompaniment to bird song and occasional early crickets!

One highlight was catching up with a bunch of white water rafters fully togged with wet suits and helmets. They gathered on the Pont du Diable (Devil’s Bridge) and, one by one, jumped off with blood curdling yells 25 feet into the greenish cold swirling water below. When they saw us crossing the bridge, they invited us to jump, but we declined.

Jumping from Devil’s Bridge