Monday, May 7 we saw a rare sight: a sunny day! And we decided to eschew the scenic walking path through the woods (and the mud) by walking on the road. (We did walk in the wrong direction at one point, adding 2 unnecessary kilometers, but at least they were dry underfoot!

Overnight we stayed at the picturesque town of Mauleon. As with our first Camino (2015) we have become friends with fellow pilgrims, two Canadians, a Frenchman and a woman from Miami. They are each delightful people on their own spiritual journey. And they are the only pilgrims we’ve seen so far, as this route in the French Pyrenees has been little travelled so far. (Possibly because of the wet spring and the mud…?)

Today (May 8) we shared the road with a flock of sheep whose shepherd rode a mini bike. The sheep were running flat out, their little hooves clattering over the pavement. Ed thinks they were cold because recently shorn. Our road took us over a mountain top where fog blew across thicker and thicker until we could only see a few metres ahead. Signs promised “un vue panoramique” but we saw none.