Today was my last day of walking, going from Anoye to Morlaas and then taking the bus to Pau. There were 8 in my gite last night--5 French men, one German woman and her Dutch partner, and me. I was the last one out this morning concerned about missing the bus to Pau, but no worries. I ran into a tall Belgian man walking in the opposite direction from Morlaas to Annoye, who asked me about the gite there that I had just left. He had been walking the Voie du Piémont Pyrénéen (GR78) and was returning via the Voie d'Arles, as far as Auch.
Morlaas had certain sections torn up with road and other construction so the bus wasn't doing the whole route, but I made it into Pau by mid-afternoon. It was warm but not unbearable, with a sizeable amount of road-walking.
Unfortunately I was so concerned about finding the bus to Pau, given the road construction and rerouted bus route that I didn't really take time to appreciate the town.
Morlaas is the second capital of Béarn, transferred from Lescar, was the seat of power from 1080 to 1260. From what I understand, Gaston IV "the Crusader", (whose nickname refers to his wars with the Saracens in Jerusalem and Spain, where he helped Alfonso I of Aragon in the conquest of Zaragoza). In 1088 he improved the reception network for pilgrims in the town and concluded the construction of the church of Sainte-Foy, a major landmark along the Via Tolosana. The main pilgrim hospital was that of Sainte-Lucie, created in 1154 by the order of St. John of Jerusalem. The church was burned in 1569 by the Huguenots but has restored, beginning in 1870.
I will be staying in Pau for two days before returning to Paris, etc.
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