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FRANCE - Walking in the western Pyrenees
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About the Pays Basque:
Pays
Basque: Geography - Pays
Basque: History
The Pays Basque, South West France: Geography
Etxexuria is situated right in the
middle of the Pays Basque (Basque country), with good
walks in every direction, even to the north, where the
land flattens out in the sub-region known as the Béarn.
The Pays Basque is part of the Pyrenean chain which
extends way into the Iberian peninsular. The landscape
is complex and varied. Over most of its 400 kilometre
length, the Pyrenean chain is formed by a continuous
core of old massifs raised up by the collision between
Europe and Spain. This occurred long ago in the Tertiary
era (up to 70,000 BC), and gave birth to the Pyrenees,
hemmed in to both north and south by secondary, folded
limestone ranges created by this phenomenon. Needless
to say, not all geologists agree about the timing of
the creation of the Pyrenees!
To the west of the chain, in the Pays Basque, the orderliness
of the folded ranges vanishes. The area is split up
into a series of isolated distinct areas, which are
made up of rocks of very different types and ages. These
are separated by valleys with fast-flowing rivers, basins,
and depressions. Once the climate warmed up, five or
six thousand years ago, people ceased wandering, settled
and altered their surroundings for ever. Shepherds destroyed
some of the forests to enlarge their grazing lands,
blacksmiths plundered it for their fuel, and carpenters
and mariners stole its timber. The outcome is long,
bare ridges, crests invaded by ferns and wide grasslands
that hallmark today's landscapes. Nevertheless, there
is no shortage of trees and the area still boasts the
largest beech forest in Europe. Oak, birch and sweet
chestnut woods also provide interesting and varied walking
environments at all altitudes.
Towns and villages have grown up over the centuries.
The Pays Basque has a very ancient, lived-in feel. The
scenery is superb, incredibly varied as a result of
the complicated geology, and the number of walks possible
is literally limitless.
Although the primary focus of the week is on the walking,
we will be visiting a number of these small villages
and towns during the course of our explorations. At
the conclusion of each walk, we will more than likely
end up in a village café or bar for a coffee,
beer or other thirst-quencher. Every village has its
church, pelote fronton and centuries old housing.
The historic old capital of the area
is Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, set against soaring mountains
rising rapidly to 1500 metres and crossed by once much-feared
passes. Pilgrims en route to Santiago de Compostela
had to navigate these bandit, wolf and bear infested
areas if they were to attain their objective in far
off Galicia in north west Spain. We will be visiting
this lovely town during the course of the week. Nowadays
the bandits, wolves, and sadly the bears too, have disappeared
from the area.
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