Day 1: Handaye to Col de Joncs

Well, I'm happy to report that I made it safely through the first day of trekking! I managed not to veer off route and I survived the really intense heat which made the going very sweaty! I can also report that despite being the lightest I've ever packed for a trail, I'm still travelling too heavy for the terrain, and the terrain is only going to get more severe than the foothills of the Basque Country leaving the shores of the Atlantic Ocean! I seem to have a great skill for underestimating the cumulative weight of things, hence the pack seems reasonable when putting it on my back in my flat at Norwich (England), but when actually trekking in the Pyrenees it brings up some question marks! I'm definitely a 'I'll put this in just in case' kind of packer! Therefore, on reflection during the days walking I decided that I would slowly slim down the pack where possible. However, after the first night I can't decide what I can accept to let go as I'm a nostalgic person for things, so it could take a while to lose the weight!

Anyhow, the day started with a 02:45 alarm at Stansted Airport, an on-time plane journey to Biarritz, a bus from Biarritz Airport to the train station, a train to Hendaye, and a walk to the seafront ... I finally found myself at the start point of the GR10! Wow! A bit intimidating looking at the map showing the roughly 2 months ahead!

After devouring a plain, but delicious baguette, it felt strangely comforting to get going on the trail. This helped offset the nerves of the fact that I would hopefully be trekking from one side of a country along a mountain chain to reach the other side some weeks later, with just a backpack (far too heavy!) and a tent (2 person one of course!). The route out of Hendaye was fairly pleasant. It took me along the town walkway of the estuary of the Bidasoa river, and then into some steep residential streets which led to a country lane. The lane arrived at a junction above Hendaye which signified the first section of off-road paths of my GR10 expedition! The heat was brutal by now, and the break at Birratou came just at the right time. I had crossed two very busy roads via underpasses so scenery was yet to get going, but Birratou was an OK first taste of a mountain village/town. I couldn't find the water source, but luckily a very kind manageress at a fancy hotel filled my 1.5L bottle to the brim with chilled tap water, so rejuvenating!

Half an hour later and with batteries recharged I started up the climbing path of Xoldoko Gaina, a 486m peak. Paths weren't too bad, but the onslaught of the heat made it tough. After bypassing the peak and checking out the views back to Hendaye, I passed a French guy whose dog was not in a good way at all due to the heat. I gave him some water which I thought I could sacrifice as he had none left. Not a pleasant thing to see, but I had to carry on. I briefly chatted with an old German couple who had only decided to attempt the whole GR10 two days ago after sailing here from Hamburg! Might see them again, who knows? Maybe one day I'll have such a life I thought whilst walking slightly up and past Osingo Zelaia (392m), through the unattractive pass of Poiriers Lepoa (316m), and along the slopes of Faalegi (484m).

I called it a day at Col de Joncs (421m), a small pass with nice views North and South, that looked good for a wild camp. I set up my first camp relieved that it was so quiet, so I couldn't be seen practising how to get things right! I hung out my sweaty gear to dry on a convenient little tree, and then cracked open the large, family sized Cassoulet tin I'd carried up. It was pretty damn good for a couple of Euros! I sat in my tent door, admiring the day cooling down. The tranquil evening was fantastic, admiring the beauty of even these small Basque foothills was humbling. I had just arrived from flat as pancake Norfolk though! 

When it was time to retire to bed, the distant bells from the cattle hugging the steep valley sides started to send me into a nice drowsy sleepy state. I had also seen that there were quite a few mountain horses keeping the cattle company (and vice versa!). After the mega early start, and trekking in such heat, I was hoping to sleep peacefully, & maybe dream a bit about slimming down the HUGE pack!