Le Pays Basques

September 8, 2010
Navarrenx- Uhart-Mixe 32km
Gite Escargot, Uhart-Mixe

Navarrenx is reputed to have been the first town in France to be fortified with Italian style ramparts, in the 16th century. These are still largely extant, and you can walk around the town on the top of the wall. The town is charming, although you are followed everywhere by the same broadcast music, an initiative of the mayor. We were fortunate enough to be there during the American R&B hour.
During the 7+ hour walk to Uhalt-Mixe, the landscape changed from the gentle hills and extensive cornfields of the former Kingdom of Bearne to the larger hills, more frequent forests and livestock of the Pays Basque.
Gord wrote this blog because I didn't walk today. Instead I spent more time at our wonderful Gite with our host and Hospitalero Genevieve. It was perhaps one of the friendliest places yet and Genevieve was a big part of that.