How will we get on carrying so much on our backs?

Day 1 St Jean de Luz to Sare 12 miles
We feel as though we've been catapulted from the start of a very delayed spring right into a summer heat wave. It's probably not as extreme as that but the contrast is incredible. Fortunately my plan for the first week involves fairly easy stages to give me time to get into the swing of things and stregthen up a bit before attacking it with a vengeance. The first half of the walk s easy going but largely along country roads. Lunch was a delicious baguette bought earlier in the morning which we ate in a woody clearing in the company of the locals - the pottocks - the local wild horses. The second half of the day's walking was a bit more demanding across more undulating ground on rough tracks and cobbled pathways. And the heat was rising. We were glad to reach the chambre d'hotes soon after 4 and collapse for a while. The delight of the day though was to be walking through the lush Pays Basque countryside surrounded by wisteria and roses in full bloom and to be almost deafened by the croaking of frogs in the ditches all along the side of then paths. When we came to cross a little stream it was black with tadpoles. Sare is a pretty, traditional basque village. We enjoyed sitting by the central squpare savouring the view of the mountain backdrop and downing several beers before eating and returning to our bed for the night.