Day 33 September 28 Aire sur L’Ardour

4 km 24⁰C

Breakfast was between 7-9am, so being our day off, we slept in as late as possible without missing breakfast. When we got there, there were two fellows, we assume from Africa, grandly bedecked robes and head pieces of their culture. One was a brilliant blue, the other a more monkish looking beige. As we sat eating a steady parade of pilgrims passed. We didn’t recognize any of them. Note that by now it around 9am, so they must have been coming from Barcelonna-de-Gers, or places even farther. We also noted that they weren’t actually following the GR65, although the markings through here are very scarce and confusing.

After breakfast we followed the actual GR65 from our hotel through to the centre of Aire-sur-l’Adour. The picturesque city lies along the Ardour River. 

From our hotel we passed down to the river, through a park full of stone picnic tables, and up via a ramp to get onto the grand bridge over the river. There were many shops of all kinds you’d expect in a relatively large city that was a tourist destination.

From a tourist point of view, its’ main attraction is being a village along the rue de Sainte Jacques with two churches that have a UNESCO heritage designation.

We visited the Cathédrale Saint-Jean-Baptiste d'Aire, a national monument of France with UNESCO heritage status. It was abolished as a cathedral during the French Revolution but restored in the reforms of the early 19th century.

The cathedral dates to the 11th and 12th centuries, but was subject to much alteration between the 14th and 17th centuries and its present appearance shows a variety of styles.

The painted murals were restored in the XIXth century, and provide a remarkable example of the art of religious buildings of the period.

The church had inspirational sheets in both French and English at all the chapels in relation to the Chemin de Misericorde (Holy year on the Way).

One said: When you open up to God you receive the gifts of the holy spirit-wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord

Another one quoted Pope Francis ‘Forgiveness is the way which has been put into our weak hands to reach Peace in our hearts. To give up bitterness, anger, violence and revenge is the essential condition for happiness’.

Amen to that.

The Cathedral hosts a pilgrim meet and greet between 3 and 6pm on Tuesday to Saturday, and we went back around 5pm and got our passports stamped. Interestingly, the stamp says Sainte Quitterie. This is the other church in Aire-sur-l’Adour with UNESCO heritage status. We plan to visit it tomorrow as we leave the city. It is further out of the city along the GR65.

To make a long story short, Quitterie was a young virgin Visigoth warrior princess who was beheaded in the 5th Century because she refused to marry an Arien prince. It is said that the place where Quitterie's head fell, a spring of fresh water miraculously sprang forth which can be found on the church grounds today.

The modern site of the Church of Saint Quitterie was famously built over an older Roman temple dedicated to Mars, which is where Quitterie was executed. Years later, the temple was demolished & rebuilt as a Benedictine Monastery when Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire, then later still rebuilt as the Church of St Quitterie. One original feature from the Roman temple that has survived to the modern era is a stone alter which was used to sacrifice animals on when it was a Roman temple dedicated to the god of war.

There is a very long but interesting story about Saint Quitterie at: 

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g1727247-d9986624-r350800805-Eglise_Sainte_Quitterie_d_Aire-Aire_sur_l_Adour_Landes_Aquitaine.html

We wanted to get Russell a shirt and went into several men’s clothing shops, but 50 to 100 euro for an ordinary shirt seemed a bit steep. I got a few things I’ve run out of at an Yves Rocher, one of my favorite stores in Europe.

We had lunch at the picnic tables along the river. There is a campground on the other side, full of camper vans.

There is a cat at the hotel that often seems to be imprisoned in a room across an atrium in the hotel. It looks so forlorn.

We are experiencing a definite lack of spiritual experiences on this Way, compared to other pilgrimages we have done. It might be because we aren’t journeying toward a spiritual center, like Santiago or Rome. I also didn’t have a spiritual quest as an underlying motivation to embark on this pilgrimage, like I did on the other walks. That isn’t to discount how moving the scenery and the interactions with the other pilgrims is.

It is a bit depressing to witness the decline in the churches along the Way. This decline is quite more noticeable than it was 3 years ago, although the churches in France may be suffering more than those in Spain due to pillaging and destruction associated with the French Revolution. It is very heartening to go into a church that you can tell has a thriving congregation, but that is the rare exception here.

The dinner tonight was excellent again. We both had a steak with a grand assortment of vegetables and a pineapple/coconut/bing cherry baba. Way too much food.

We got a note from our friend Jim, the Irish pilgrim. He has been having a problem with shin splints, and had to advance by cab for a day or so. We are praying for his speedy recovery. He is walking all the way to Santiago, and then going on a walking holiday in Machu Picchu, so he has many more kilometers ahead of him.

I called the hotel we stay in on Friday. The arrangement was that we walk to Pomps, where they pick us up and take us to Morlanne, and then they return us to Pomps the next morning. I had a speech all translated into French. First I said a few words in French to the lady, who said, ‘wait I’ll get my husband’. Then the husband, who told me he spoke a bit of English (and had a very thick German accent) got on the phone. First he thought I had already stayed there, then he thought I wasn’t coming until October 30, then he went to his book of reservations. Long pause. Finally he found I was coming on Friday, Sept 30. I told him we were coming from Miramont, and right away he said ‘oh, that is very far’. It is 38km. I told him it was too far for me, and he said he would pick us up at Larreule instead. He said to call when we got there and to wait in front of the church for him. I was going to ask him to pick us up 7km before that, but decided it was better to simply agree. So we walk 30km on Friday, instead of 38. Hopefully that will be okay. It is forecast to be 30⁰C tomorrow, 29⁰C on Friday, and then cool off again. Great timing for another heat wave!