Mio el Camino de Santiago de Compostela - 4

Day 4 Oloron Ste Marie -> St. Jean Pied de Port

I learned an important lesson from yesterday-- it's not wise to start cycling in the dark. So I had my breakfast at 7 and left the place just as the sun was about to rise-- at 8am. After riding for about a kilometer, I noticed that the rear wheel of my bicycle was wiggling. I hoped I would get to my destination without breaking my bicycle. So this time, I took the bigger roads, which were mostly flat. The route I chose was longer but I thought it's a safe choice, better than the shorter but mountainous road. It would be safer for my bicycle.

It's a sunny morning but there was coldness in the air. But it's a nice ride. At midpoint of my journey, I stopped in a local town. It's midday so I looked for a place to eat but could not find an open one. I was convinced; it's not in the French tradition to eat lunch at noon. So I ate the leftovers I brought along with me from Lourdes.

Moving on, I enjoyed the long peaceful ride chasing the afternoon sun, until I reached an uphill road with a long gradual ascent. It's still a few kilometers to my destination. It took me a while to decide but I chose to ride my bicycle up. I thought that walking my bicycle would take much more time. When I reached the peak of the hill, there was a guy who seemed to have been watching me climb up. He cheered me up in French. I wasn't sure though if he said that I was almost there or if he said that I would be enjoying the road ahead. Whatever it was, I found out that awaiting me was a long, smooth and effortless ride down. It felt like a reward for that hard uphill climb.

I reached St. Jean Pied de Port at about 4:30pm, the sun still high. I asked for a cheap accommodation at the tourist center. When I showed my credencial, I was instead directed to the pilgrims' information center. The old guy I met in the pilgrims' information center was very helpful. He was surprised to learn that I started all the way from Lourdes and took a long route to reach St Jean Pied de Port. He mentioned that the Refugio, the common cheap accommodation for pilgrims, was already full. After stamping on my credencial, he gave me a shell. This shell meant that the wearer is a pilgrim to Santiago de Compostela.

But the old guy did not leave me without shelter that night. I was referred to a pilgrims' B&B next door. The landlady spoke French only but it's okay because I was given a room with two beds. The room was big enough to accommodate a couple or even more. But this B&B was old. My room, although it's big, was a little uncomfortable. I can see the wooden floor sunken in the middle. I kept sliding down to the center of the room unless I took off my socks and walked barefoot.

While strolling around for food later, I met two ladies--Miriam from Ireland and Meredith from Hungary. They were also at the pilgrims' information center earlier. I thought they were in the same group with all the others who arrived earlier than me in the center. Having recognized each other, we ended up eating together in the same restaurant. It turns out that we were also in the same B&B. They were going to walk the camino.

I decided to spend 2 nights here. I needed a day to have my bicycle fixed and that's a chance to have a rest day as well.

I thought the room was creepy.

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