Which Route?

[Robert Ward]

Last fall, I took the train from Lourdes via Pau to Oloron Ste-Marie, which is on the road to the Somport Pass. (It's a short and lovely train trip, incidentally.) From Oloron, you can walk up to the pass in two or three days (this is a guess), or take one of the several daily buses (which is what I did). At the time I travelled, the buses were going through the tunnel to Canfranc due to highway damage, so anyone who wanted to cross the pass had to get off and hike the last few kilometres.
But Bob's right. If you have the time (a week or so) you could readily make your way from Lourdes to Somport on foot.


> From: Robert Spenger <rspengeraEARTHLINK.NET>
> Date: Fri, 6 Feb 2004 18:34:23 -0800
> To: GOCAMINOaPETE.URI.EDU
> Subject: Re: Which Route?
>
> I am sure that you can get from Lourdes to Pau very easily, since Pau
> is a large city and less than 40 kilometers from Lourdes. There is
> probably both train and bus service, but even if there isn't convenient
> public transportation, it would only be a half hour taxi ride.
> Alternatively, it would be an easy days walk. The nearest access to a
> major pilgrimage is through Lescar. a suburb of Pau. From Lescar, on
> the GR 653 (the French designation of the Arles route), it is five easy
> days to Somport, although it can be done in three.
>
> regards,
>
> Bob Spenger
> rspengeraearthlink.net
>
>
> On Feb 6, 2004, at 1:19 PM, Jeff Mayor wrote:
>
> > Any comments about the routes from Somport  though Canfranc or
> > Portalet though Sallent?
> >
> > How do they compare with the San Jean route, i.e. difficulty/crowds?
> > I will be in Lourdes in June and I wonder if I can get to any of
> > these routes by public transportation from there?
> > Sincerely,
> > Jeff Mayor
> >
>