You walk into Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port and it feels strangely ordinary. There’s no finish line, just a little town full of rucksacks and walking boots, at the foot of the Pyrenees. And you’ve come all the way from Le Puy.
The walk here is a gentle one. From Ostabat, where the routes from Paris, Vézelay and Le Puy come together, you walk about 20 kilometres through rolling countryside. Small climbs, small descents, nothing that forces your hand. It gives you room to feel how far you’ve already come.
Tomorrow you choose: the Camino Francés, or the Voie Nive-Bidassoa to the Camino del Norte. Both lead to Santiago. So start thinking about which way is calling you.