Wednesday-Thursday, August 13-14, 2014 – Leavenworth to St. Jean Pied de Port

We departed home at 7:30 am. Friends drove us to Kansas City International Airport (KCI), Kansas City, MO.

MT Wednesday, ‎August ‎13, ‎2014, ‏‎8:02 AM – MT and Don at KCI.

We departed KCI airport at 10:00 am, and arrrived in Atlanta around 1 pm. We departed Atlanta around 3:30 pm, and arrived at Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) airport around 6:10 am. We departed CDG at 7:50 am on Air France Coach (21€ each) to Paris Orly, arriving at 8:40 am. We departed Orly (late) at 11:30 am on HOP (Air France), and arrived in Biarritz, France at 12:40 pm. We had a long wait at airport until van from Express Bourricot came to take us to St. Jean Pied de Port.

Saint Jean Pied de Port (pop 1,800) was the ancient capital of the Basque region of Basse-Navarre. It is the departure point for many non-Spanish pilgrims. The original town at nearby Stint-Jean-le Vieux (St. John the Elder) was razed to the ground in 1177 by the troops of Richard the Lionheart. The Kings of Navarre refounded the town on its present site shortly afterward. The town has traditionally been an important point on the Camino de Santiago, since it stands at the base of the Roncevaux Pass across the Pyrenees, through which Charlemagne, Napoleon, and millions of pilgrims have passed into Spain. In French, pied de port means “the foot of the pass.” The pilgrimage routes from Paris, Vézelay, and Le Puy-en-Velay in France meet here, and this was the pilgrims’ last stop before the arduous mountain crossing. Much of this stage is through the French part of the Basque country. The Basque language has been preserved, so signs and place names may appear in French or Basque (or both; across the border, then and in Spanish and/or Basque. The Basque name for Saint Jean Pied de Port is Donibane Garazi.

The Basque Country (Pays Basque in French, Pais Vasco in Spanish, Euskadi in the Basque language) straddles parts of north-central Spain and southwestern France. In the Basque language, the name for the Basque people is Euskaldunak (singular Euskaldun), the adjective is Euskal, and the word for the Basque language is Euskara.) All across Spain, we saw a chain of supermercados [supermarkets] called “Eroski,” which is a combination of the Basque words erosi (to buy) and toki (place).

Because of limited accommodations there, we had reserved ahead of time. We stayed at Pensión Errecaldia, which we had reserved for 65€, including continental breakfast. The name Errecaldia means “valley view” in the Basque language. The pensión is a 350-year-old traditional Basque house nestled below the 17^th-century Vauban Citadelle. The proprietor Tim Proctor said he could send our backpacks to Roncesvalles and encouraged us to do that, since the first day over the Pyrenees would be hard.

Thursday, ‎August ‎14, ‎2014, ‏‎4:51 PM - St. Jean Pied de Port: Pensión Errecaldia – exterior.

‏‎4:45 PM – St. Jean Pied de Port: Pensión Errecaldia – dresser with woodcarving in our room.

Friday, ‎August ‎15, ‎2014, ‏‎8:51 AM – St. Jean Pied de Port: View to ENE from our window in pensión.

We walked around the old town.

5:01 PM – St. Jean Pied de Port: MT and Porte de St. Jacques gate; UNESCO sign in French and Basque: “La Porte Saint-Jacques – Jondoni jakobe Atea.”

‏‎5:02 PM – St. Jean Pied de Port: View of street we would follow in Camino through Porte de St. Jacques gate.

MT 5:03 PM – St. Jean Pied de Port: Don and MT at Porte de St. Jacques gate.

‏‎5:04 PM – St. Jean Pied de Port: MT and part of 17th-century citadel with improvements by Vauban.

MT 5:07 PM – St. Jean Pied de Port: MT drinking from fountain between citadel and Porte de St. Jacques gate.

MT 5:42 PM – St. Jean Pied de Port: MT with large wine bottle.

‏‎5:39 PM – St. Jean Pied de Port: Don on Pont Notre-Dame and Pont Neuf in background.

‏‎5:53 PM – St. Jean Pied de Port: Church of Notre Dame du Bout du Pont (14th century) and Pont Notre-Dame taken from Pont Neuf.

‏‎5:53 PM – St. Jean Pied de Port: MT on Pont Neuf with Pont Notre-Dame in background.

‏‎6:38 PM – St. Jean Pied de Port: Church of Notre Dame du Bout du Pont (14th century) down Rue Camino de Santiago from west.

At an albergue run by the Associación Les Amis du Chemin de St Jacques, we bought credentials for 2€ each and got their sello (stamp) “Acuel Saint Jacques,” but later bought nicer credentials at the Office de Tourisme (Office of Tourism) for 3€ each and got their selllo. We checked several restaurants, some of which were closed or only their bar was open due to the local fete patronal that night (extending from the weekend). We finally ate at one where MT had trout/Don chicken in tomato sauce, with salad to replace pommes frites (French fries), a bottle of local wine, and 2 bottles of water (natural, 2.50€ each) for a total of 32€.