What does “Gave” mean? It isn’t in the French-English dictionary, but the “Gave du Pau” is a wide, fast-flowing river on its way to the Atlantic. There was an indication that part of it may be used for white water rafting. But not today!
Having succeeded in joining the Anglophones of Pau-Pyrenees, I signed up for a walk twice round the Lac du Larion, a group of gravel pits accessible from the river bank by the footbridge in the picture.
To make sure I could get there on time this morning, I came out on a local bus yesterday and timed the walk from bus stop to meeting point. I then walked back along the river to Pau, just under 8 km / 5 miles. There is a long distance footpath all the way.
So I reached the starting point this morning with 20 minutes to spare. But no Anglophone walkers turned up! (Could I have been mistaken about the date or time? Would they have rung me if I had given them my English mobile phone number rather than my French number in the flat?
Never mind! 10 minutes after the start time, I set off on one circuit of the lake. There were camping/fishing areas between the wide path and the water. Seeing no point in a second circuit, I returned to the river, and continued north-east to the point where the Riverside path crossed the Camino from Arles to Santiago, GR 653.
I crossed the river on a cycle path beside a busy main road.
Fortunately, once across, a footpath led back to the river bank and later joined a quiet lane into Lescar, a medieval town where many buses from Pau turn around. Arrived in the old town just as everything was closing for lunch.
emeritablog: life after work 