Day 7 St Jean Pied de Port

It's been a busy day today so this blog is limited to the last 24 hours. I'll catch up on the preceding days omorrow when graham has left for home.  No walking today; no heavy weight to carry on the back either. We arrived at our Chambre d'Hotes "Maison Itzalpea" yesterday pretty weary at about 4.15, had a shower and sleep and set out to find some food - one of the best meals of the trip so far. We slept so soundly breakfast started a bit late and we missed today's patch of blue sky! We've been dodging downpours for the rest of the day but the weather hasn't managed to spoil the fun. I couldn't miss the chance to shop - a fetching red ankle length waterproof poncho with a hunchback to cover the rucksack - a replacement for graham's torn one for his next visit, some earrings to add a bit of feminity to the utilitarian walking gear and low-maintenance hairstyle and a new piece of hand luggage so graham can take home the discarded belongings and reduce my load. The highlight of the day, though, was meeting up with my sister-in- law. Mo is walking the pilgrim trail from Limoges to Samtiago de Compostela and even though our trips have been planned completely independently we are in St Jean P de P at the same time. One of the Camino coincidences? Mo joined us for the rest of the day and together we enjoyed a Pelotte match. pelotte is a traditional Basque sport - a cross between squash and lacrosse except that today it was played with bare hands instead of the usual crescent shaped baskets. Anyway, it was a close game and the excitement left us all ready for an early
night - or perhaps it was the good food, wine and brandy that followed. And the anticipation of a 6am start for Graham who has a bus to catch for the airport!