Jour 11 - Saint Jean Pied-de-Port--the final sprint

I left early the next morning in a light rain after a restful stay.  I followed a couple of pilgrim walkers for  a short while but soon lost them.

 From time to time I spotted other walkers, but concentrated on the lovely green landscape around me.  I admired the Basque architecture--the whitewashed houses and their dark red, brown, dark green or black shutters and the stonework on the corners of the houses--the newer ones often having cinder-block instead of stone left unpainted, or painted around to resemble stone.

  One highlight was passing by this little historic pilgrim refuge, still in use for those needing shelter.

  I continued on through some wooded areas,

  but a large portion of the way was paved. I passed this little wayside cross, then through more scenic countryside and farmland before reaching a little "pause-café" where a number of us stopped for a coffee break and to use the dry toilets made available for us.

Briefly the weather cleared, but started raining again, and I stopped at the Hotel Mendy in Saint Jean Le Vieux for a lovely lunch.

And  then not long afterward, there is was-- Saint Jean Pied-de-Port!

  I dropped my pack off at the Pilgrim Office as it was still too early for my gîte to open, and had a look around the town. 

It was a touristy place and a bit much after spending days in the countryside.