Lourdes

Monday 29 July

Last night there were fireworks in the valley - nice to look at but the strange thing was the noise.  Each sound echoes all around us - bouncing off the mountains I guess - so that the noise is very prolonged and loud.  Later, around midnight there was a thunderstorm and again, the sound of the thunder echoed all around us.  Woke up to a lovely fresh morning and the car looking substantially cleaner than yesterday after the rain.  Another nice lazy morning in our granddad house although Maree and Mel did venture into town to do a couple of errands.  It is sunny and breezy - and the washing is flapping merrily on the line today.  Forecast  - 25 degrees.
After lunch we delivered Jess to the white water rafting depot and drove to Lourdes which is about 10 kilometres back up the valley.  We were a bit hesitant about going to Lourdes having heard some not so good reports about the town, but hey, we are here and why not give it a go.
Our first impression of Lourdes was not really great - it is a dreary looking town, a bit shabby really.  However we persevered and found ourselves down by the river and in the thick of the pilgrim area which looked a bit more interesting.  The town did not appear to be very busy and we were able to park close to the main attraction, the sanctuaries of St Bernadette Soubirous, the young girl who had visions of the Virgin Mary in a nearby cave in 1858.

Sanctuary of Notre Dame de Lourdes

Firstly the river. The Gave de Pau River runs through the middle of Lourdes and in June this year it flooded badly.   Because of an unusually cold spring the thaw didn't occur gradually but happened all at once when the hot weather came in mid-June.  Many towns on this river and on other rivers in the area suffered damage and many of the sites of the sanctuaries of Our Lady of Lourdes were inundated  with flood waters,  Even today the river was still raging, although not at the June levels, and there are signs of damage everywhere.  The Voie Verte cycle path from Lourdes to Gavarnie is impassable in places as it follows the river up the valley and was also damaged.

Flood damaged bridge  and temporary bridge at Lourdes

 The church with its crypt and several chapels is located a short walk along the river from the centre of town.  It is very pretty, in pale grey stone and from the upper levels there are great views back towards the town and its imposing chateau on a hilltop.

View from the Sanctuary to Lourdes town and chateau

 We had a look inside at the crypt where there are relics of Bernadette, and in the chapels.  One had a mass being conducted in English - we had seen several pilgrim groups in t-shirts with the names of English cities on them.  Everywhere there are people, young and old, dressed in blue and white who are assisting the sick and disabled around the precinct of the sanctuaries - many are in wheelchairs.  Apparently the Vatican has recognised a large number of miracles that have occurred here, mostly in connection with healing of the sick.  On the opposite side of the river there are several infirmaries and the visitors to this place seem to come from many different countries.  It is obviously a very special place to many people.  In France, only Paris has more hotels than Lourdes so the number of pilgrims and those seeking miracles here each year must be huge (5 million apparently).

River and Sanctuary, Lourdes

There is a narrow main street directly in front of the gardens that lead to the sanctuary and we took a walk past all the souvenir shops, selling mostly religious items.  They seemed to be doing a roaring trade.  Our mission was to find a café and we were in luck - great ice cream and very good cappuccino (unusual for France).  Verdict for Lourdes.  It is what it is but seems something of a strange place.  The most striking thing about the town where the happy smiling faces of the dozens of "helpers" who are of course all volunteers. 
As we drove out of Lourdes and back up the valley we could see further signs of the flood damage.  Back in Argeles it was a visit to Carrefour for fuel (cheap here) and a few tasty items and then we collected Jess, safely returned from her rafting trip.   The rafting was a success and heaps of fun.  Jess reported that the river is icy cold and fortunately the rafters all wore wet suits.
Dinner was a feast of supermarket treats - crusty baguette, freshly baked and still warm, goat's cheese with fig confiture, full of flavour tomatoes, lovely ham and a generous helping of brie and St Nectaire, all washed down with a cold Picpoul de Pinet wine from the Languedoc region (Caroline - remember that great Picpoul wine in Noosa?).  The finishing touch, a 3 fruits glazed tart - yum.
After our feast Jess went for a bike ride and Maree and I went for a walk, across the Gave d'Azun River and into the countryside. 

Gave d'Azun River near our house in Argeles-Gazost

 We passed barns and fields and little hamlets and wondered if the chickens knew it was 9 o'clock a night - shouldn't they be in bed?  Everywhere there are water channels with swiftly following cascades that start their journeys in the mountains.  The fields are full of wildflowers - it must be a paradise for honey bees.  Such a lovely place for an evening stroll and we discovered a way to loop around over another bridge and make a circuit back to the house. I love the long evenings and daylight saving.

Country walk