St Jean Pied du Port, South-west France

September 2005

We visited St Jean Pied de Port on a weekend tour of Espelette and Biarritz in the south west of France from September 2nd to 4th, 2005. These towns are in the Pyrenees Atlantiques region of France known as Pays Basque (Basque country) and are within 3–4 hour's drive of where we live in Toulouse.

St Jean Pied de Port is a picturesque little town which dates back to the 1100's. The town is one of the most important stops along the Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage route (or the Way of St-James). Pied-de-Port means 'foot of the pass' in Pyrenean French. The routes from Paris, Vézelay and Le Puy meet at St-Jean-Pied-de-Port and it's the pilgrims' last stop before the difficult mountain crossing on the way to Spain. (Source: Wikiepedia)

We went there accidentally on the way to the vineyard of Etienne Brana. We spent a couple of hours wandering around and had lunch at a bistro called Peio's. I ordered melon with ham (a very popular French entree) and Yves had a goat's cheese salad. We relaxed for a while under the giant plane tree in the courtyard before moving on to explore the old town which is behind a partially ruined, fortified wall.

The steep cobble-stoned street in the old town is directly on the St-James pilgrimage path and there are many refuge houses to support this popular trek. Traditionally the people making the pilgrimage tie a scallop shell to their backpack. This is because, in French, the shell is called Coquille St-Jacques, and is so called because it is the traditional emblem of Saint-James the Great.

Not everyone does the trek for religious reasons these days. There are many hiking enthusiasts who do it for the scenery and the sense of achievement. Some people just do a section of the trek (the whole route takes over a month by foot) for a short holiday and others do it just to get away from city life for a bit.

We met one such pilgrim, an Englishman playing Irish jigs on a tin whistle. He was taking a couple of day's break from the pilgrimage because he'd hurt his foot carrying his 20kg backpack. He was on his way to Portugal to find work under an instrument maker. He certainly played well and I hope he makes it.

Pretty, old, grey stone bridge surrounded by bushy green trees, colourful old houses and mirrored reflection of all this in the water.

A pretty bridge in the town centre

Old, greyish red stone wall surrounded by cafes.

An entrance into the old town, through an arch in a fortified wall

Greyish red stone clock tower at the bottom of a steep cobble stoned street.

Clock tower in the old town behind the fortified wall

Steep, cobble-stoned street lined by tall, white houses with red shutters and flowerboxes on the windowsills

On the path of St Jacques

A young, fit looking man taking the St Jacques pilgrimage stops to look at a cottage advertising refuge for pilgrims

A tired pilgrim looks for refuge for the night

A little white cottage with red shutters and flowerboxes on the windowsills and a large, arch-shaped, wooden door surrounded by grey stones

Cottage

A tin whilstle player busking under the clock tower in the cobble-stoned street of the old town

An Englishman taking a break from his pilgrimage to busk with a tin whistle

Narelle and Yves' Photojournal