Date: Saturday, 3 May 2025
Day: 6
From: Nasbinals To: Saint Come d’Olt
Start Walking: 617am End Walking: 511pm
Time: 9h29m and totally wrecked.
Distance (Planned): 33.3km Distance (Garmin): 34.5km
Progress: 153.9/765km
Ascent: 670m Descent: 1,415m
Weather: Cold and windy to start and then too damn hot.
Stayed At: Gite de Roumiou – highly recommended.
General Comments:
• Holy cow! Today was one of those days when I really start to wonder whether I’ve bitten off more than I can chew!
• It started out with us heading the wrong direction and adding 700m/20 minutes to our day. Luckily it wasn’t worse than that, but it all added up in the end.
• For the first time we actually started walking in our jumpers and warm gear – mostly due to the wind. That was all dispensed with on the ascents, but it was definitely welcome in the early hours.
• We knew today was going to be a biggun’ and got going very early. Every day we seem to be presented with even more gorgeous countryside and it always appears even more beautiful in the early morning light.
• Today the path took us across private farms, so there was a lot of gate opening and closing. The path were simply first tracks, eroded over the years by thousands of feet. A bit muddy in parts, but soft under foot which our knees and ankles appreciated
• I had to smile that one enterprising farmer had welded ‘tip’ boxes to his gates. A nice little money earner.
• The hills around us were dotted with old stone farm houses and out buildings. It made me wonder whether these larger paddocks were once a series of small farms that have since been combined. It would have been a meagre existence on such a small patch of land, especially in Winter.
• Today was rated ‘strenuous due to the massive descents involved. They weren’t as bad as I expected. It was the ascents that took their toll, especially towards the end when it was hot and we were worn out. It was like pulling teeth and we simply couldn’t go any faster. Thankfully there was always a spectacular view to pause and admire.
• Cuckoos continue to call from the green corpses and I always pause to listen to them too.
• Late in the day we met up with Emily from London. She was craving speaking English and was happy to walk with us ever so slowly for the last couple of kilometres into Saint Come d’Olt. What a patient young woman!
• Saint Come d’Olt finally appeared at the bottom of the last hill. We didn’t crawl in as such, but it wasn’t pretty! 😅
Top Tips:
• A more sensible person would split this stage in two!
• Saint Come d’Olt is a stunning village, really picture postcard stuff. Don’t miss it and do stay at tonight’s Gite. The people are wonderful and the food was plentiful and delicious! Funnily enough, Sophie, one of the owners, spent 6months working on sheep farm at Coonamble! Who would have thought?
Bon Chemin.
Life...one big adventure 
The smooth path through the trees looks delightful, but that rocky one? Ugh, my knees!
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Yep, the knees and ankles have taken a bit of a hammering. I am hopeful the terrain will start to level out a bit now. Ever the Optimist! 😁
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You said exactly what I was thinking! I’d be certain to roll my ankle!
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😁 – yes, you do have to watch where you place each foot sometimes and thank goodness for hiking poles. They save my butt on a daily basis!
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34 km !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! how many days are you planning to get to St-Jean-Pied-de-Port ? are you walking the Camino Frances also ???
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Yes, that was a tad long and we still have a few of those ahead of us. We are planning 30 days plus 3 rest days. And No, it will be home time for us when we getbto St Jean Pied de Port. We walked the Camino Frances in 2013.
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No way we would do that much in one day. Was there nowhere along the way to break the day up? Bet you slept well.
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I think I have come to the realization that +30km days are no fun anymore…that’s if they ever were!🙃 With time pressure, sometimes it is just better to put in a big day than to try to split them evenly. It is what it is and more importantly, we survived! 😁
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Oh my, what a monster of a day! I don’t think I’m up for such big walking days anymore … but hey, the scenery is lovely!
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I have decided that my +30km days may also be over too! It just takes a bit too much out of me to back in again the next day. Surely I can’t be getting old?🤣😉🙃
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Old? Never!! Just wiser 😉.
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I like the way you think! 🥰
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