15. Asson to Arudy

 It was a mellow day on the road today - mild temperature, gentle landscape and conversation.

About 7km in, we had our first stop for cafe au lait and pastries. We also found a lovely rustic baguette for our lunch!!

 ‘Let your choice reflect your hopes and not your fears’. 

We passed an open church, rather unprepossessing on the outside, but when we went in we discovered a really beautiful holding space. The walls were thick and beautifully proportioned, the roof and font striking.

Sarah L discovered stairs leading down to a 13th century crypt, which had apparently been forgotten for some centuries and rediscovered in the 19th. It was a chapel with an amazing acoustic and a spirit of prayer and silence. 

We decided to meditate there and then realised we were meditating at exactly the time that Benedictus would have been meditating in the Saturday service. It was lovely to think we were sharing that time together. 

On we walked, with a lightness in our step.

The clouds hung low on the landscape but there was a peace and stillness in the air.

Everywhere the animals seemed content.

In every church there were different faces carved into the stonework - each with their own expression and character.

And flowers - in pots, window boxes, gardens and along the byways.

Sarah and Sarah discussing Giradian theory - of course!!

The slow way of the piedmont Pyrenean. The slugs seemed content to change colour each day - orange, black, brown…

Our albergue for the night - the three story old presbytery in Arudy.

Ice cream in the afternoon.

And in the evening, a wonderful meal cooked by the hospitalero (Laurent).

 After which the priest arrived - the little abbott. He was so warm and insisted on washing our feet. A humbling and powerful experience.

A wonderful day on the way.

We are blessed.

And may you be too, dear reader.

 🙏