Lourdes

[Donald Schell]

Dear Elyn,

More informed experience can take this further, but I can offer the
beginning of an answer.

> How far is it from Lourdes to St. Jean (or Somport) on hiking/pilgrimage
> trails?
> Elyn

Pau is a day's round trip bike ride from Lourdes.  I learned this from a
friend who made the trip some years ago.  Pau is also the 7:30 a.m (mas or
menos) stop on the overnight train from Paris and a place one could begin
walking toward Somport.  My wife and I chose to take the local train to
Oloron and then bus into the low mountains so we had our first day's walk
over Somport Pass to Canfranc.  As I remember I calculated it would have
been about four additional days walk from Pau.  So there's a guess - five
solid days from Lourdes to Canfranc.

Somport Pass, by the way, is a wonderful way to come into Spain.  We also
loved Jaca and found the walk to Puenta La Reina where this route joins the
St. Jean-Roncesvalles-Pamplon route quite wonderful.  We were walking last
May which I'll always recall easily because we were in Jaca from our 26th
wedding anniversary - May 10th.

love,
donald


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