4th April St Jean Pied de Port

Oh dear it's absolutely freezing here. Cold and wet and the pass over
the Pyrenees is closed due to snow! Apparently pilgrims had to be
helicoptered off the mountain this morning if they were fool enough to try and get through.

To add insult to injury Mo and I have prematurely gotten rid of a lot of warm clothes because we were fed up with carrying them. And it was so hot last week it was difficicult to imagine it would ever get cold again. Oh for the cosy Paramo trousers that we discarded four weeks ago. We have had to go to the only very expensive outdoor shop and buy more stuff! I could weep when I think of the stuff I have left at home that I really need now.

Richard and Pam arriving in Bayonne to join us for a week

I met up with Richard and Pam in Birmingham and we fllew to Biarritz very early on Tuesday morning. As soon as we stepped off the plane Richard commented that we should have gone to Scarborough! Very grey, overcast, chilly wind and not enough clothes! Richard and Pam have come very well equipped cos they checked the weather forecast and assumed we would have the sense to do the same! But no! Having carried fleeces and thermals needlessly around France for weeks we recklessly jettisoned them throwing caution to the wind.

Plans for the next few days are unclear. As it stands, we are going to attempt to do the climb up to Orisson tomorrow where the patron Jean Jacques will advise us whether we can go on, should come back or whether we can take a different but less scenic route.

We are staying in Refuge Kaserna, which is a newly renovated and very comfortable place donated to the parish for pilgrims by a lady who died a couple of years ago and whose photo is on the wall in the dining room. It is managed very well by Jacques and Monique who are volunteer wardens.

We are in a dormitory of 10 - Austrian, Danish and Swiss fellow pilgrims - all very jolly!