I woke up at 5:30 am, expecting to take an early bus to my next stop, but Jost, a guy from the Netherlands convinced me that the terrain was not as difficult as yesterday's and the extra 2+ kilomètres wouldn't be as bad. I had heard that the last 2-3 kilomètres into Sarrance would be difficult because the terrain was actually a narrow edge above the Gave d'Apse stretching slong for some distance. It was a bit scary at times as it was slippery and wet, with some showers filtering through, but I survived. I'm glad that a German lady from Stuttgart accompanied me most of the way.
The Monastery of Sarrance.
Sarrance is the oldest Marian sanctuary in the Pyrenees, dating from the end of the 12th century. According to legend, a shepherd discovered s statue of the Virgin Mary, which marked the start of Marian devotion there, From this beginning, masses were apparently given there regularly and people came to venerate this Notre-Dame de Sarrance. The first Premonstratensian Brothers arrived in Sarrance in 1314, coming from the abbey of St Jean de la Castelle (Landes). Today the Monastery of Sarrance is now home to the community of Premonstratensian Canons Regular, an order dependent on the Saint-Martin de Mondaye abbey.Six brothers live in Sarrance, welcome pilgrims and those on religious retreats, run the sanctuary and serve around twenty villages in the surrounding parish.
I stayed at the monastery's pilgrim lodgings with Rebeka, the German woman, and others. I would later walk several hours with a French woman, Sylvie, and her niece, Marie-Sol, who stayed there.
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