 |
| FUNICULAIRE TO PAU STATION |
 |
| BASILICA OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION |
 |
| GROTTO DE MASSABIELLE |
 |
| STEADY STREAM OF WHEELCHAIR-BOUND VISITORS |
 |
| CAUTERETS |
 |
| MOUNTAINS TO THE SOUTH FROM CAUTERETS |
It's Thursday morning. I vacated my hotel room, took the (free) funiculaire down to the railway station and caught the 11.13am train to Lourdes. I'd probably spent a day longer than I needed to in Pau, but there you are. At least my aching muscles have been given a chance to recover and, with luck, the weather over the mountains might have improved.
Lourdes is a major place for Roman Catholic pilgrimage as it was here, in 1858, that the Blessed Virgin Mary is said to have appeared to Bernadette Soubirous on a total of 18 occassions.
I arrived at Lourdes station after about half an hour and quickly found a demi-pension, left my rucksack there and set out to explore. I had three places in particular I wanted to visit.
First was the Pic du Jer, a nearby 948m mountain. I didn't go up on foot though, but paid for a ride on the funiculaire which transports you for all but 60m of the climb - hey, that's two different funiculaires I've used on the same day. Pic du Jer is supposed to be the best local place to get a good view of the Pyrenean mountains, but the mist got in the way yet again. They didn't give me my money back.
Next stop was the famous Basilica of the Immaculate Conception built right alongside the famous Grotto de Massabielle where Bernadette had her visions. The Basilica was very impressive and the Grotto crowded. There were more than the average number of wheelchairs around - presumably occupied by people who hoped to be cured of something.
My final visit was to the top of the thousand year old Chateau Fort that overlooks Lourdes. The Fort is also the home of a Museum about the French and Spanish Pyrenees. Being lower than the Pic de Jer it was clear of mist, so I did at least get a good view of the town.
For me, that exhausted all I wanted to see of Lourdes. It is a bigger town than I expected and very, very touristy with streets full of shops selling religious souvenirs and overpriced tacky junk. Apparently there are more hotels in Lourdes per square km than in any other part of France except for Paris. There is even a Macdonalds here!
Whilst I understand why people might want to come here, I don't understand why anyone would want to stay. With that in mind, I resolved to move on in the morning.
On the other hand, I did sneak back to the Grotto in the evening to fill a small bottle with Holy Water for my ex-wife Sheila. I guess you'd call that hedging my bets. Just hope I don't get too thirsty on the hills.
At 9.50am the following morning I was on the bus to Cauterets, a well known spa town and skiing resort on the northern flanks of the Pyrenees. I was back in the Hautes-Pyrenees again, and although rain and fog initially accompanied my return, the sun made the occasional welcome appearance in the afternoon.
I booked into 'Le Pas de L'Ours' gite d'etape, this time for bed only, then went out to find a Menu du Jour of suitably good value - grilled lamb, a dessert, wine and coffee all for €13. I then stocked up with food from the local Carrefour - enough to last me 2 or 3 days because I was determined to start walking again in the morning, whatever the weather, and I am not exactly sure where I will end up overnight. All I can say for definite is that my destination is Gavarnie.