Southbound Train

CAMINO FRANCÉS – Tuesday 8 April 2025

Well, I said yesterday that Bayonne is known as the ‘City of Art & History’ but there is actually a whole lot more than these two facets to this medieval commune.  My guide book boasts of the UNESCO-listed twin-spired 13th Century Cathedral, the Botanical Gardens, the Museum of Fine Arts, the Basque Natural History Museum, and a huge range of other exhibitions focussed on aspects of Basque Country culture – from ethnography, photography, contemporary art, architecture, Judaism and bull-fighting through to viticulture, ham-making, apiculture (bees and honey), chocolate production, and even traditional beret-making. And certainly, in the few hours that I had available this morning before my train I had only enough time to see the tip of this cultural iceberg, and to appreciate that a return visit in the future is something of a must. Here are some pictures of my brief self-guided tour of Bayonne.

After my morning’s sightseeing in Bayonne I took the lunchtime one-hour rail journey south, to St Jean Pied de Port in the Pyrenean foothills where my trek will begin. This escapade is really starting to feel ever so much like a holiday. But I am very glad that I decided on this slower start to my Camino as, aside from seeing a little of Bayonne, my schedule has given me an afternoon in St Jean to complete the formalities for my pilgrimage (see below) and to take in the Camino vibe. Despite the casual and relaxed atmosphere there is an air of anticipation in this town, as us backpackers contemplate tomorrow’s walk, and indeed the month ahead.

Tomorrow morning, with the dawn, my Camino Francés trek begins in earnest. Day 1 is possibly the most demanding walk of the whole trail, as it involves a minimum of 15 miles walking and 1600 metres of ascent (think Ben Nevis) to get up and over the Pyrenees. Coming as it does before the ‘Camino legs’ are even slightly developed, the morrow’s day-walk is certainly a challenge within a challenge. Wish me luck, and I hope to be able to report back in 24 hours on my first day of walking – assuming of course that the fatigue has not entirely consumed me!

‘Southbound Train’ is a 1972 song by Graham Nash and David Crosby from their imaginatively-named ‘Graham Nash David Crosby’ album, that followed works by the duo alongside Stephen Stills and, sometimes (when he deigned to turn up), Neil Young. Nash wrote the song and after playing it privately to Bob Dylan and being asked by the latter to play it again, opined that ‘compliments don’t come much better than that’. Which I suppose must be true. Anyhow, the title seemed a suitable choice for my Blog heading today.