Vallee d'Aspe

We are spending a week in the Vallee d'Aspe in the Pyrenees. We're staying at les Fontaines d'Escot, an old chateau, which is now a B&B with holiday apartments. The Aspe river runs through the grounds and Fiacra and Ailbhe have been enjoying the rocky beach. We like it so much that we have booked to come back in July with our friends, who will be visiting from Canada.

It's a bit trickier travelling with Finian now that he has nap times and meal times. We have been letting him nap in the morning in the apartment and then he has his second nap on the go in the afternoon. He has been great, and has been sleeping really well at night (I knew the boots were affecting his sleep). His favourite game at the moment is knocking Fiacra's cap off. Fiacra, the most impatient child in the world, actually has a lot of patience with Finian.

There are so many hiking trails here, including some of the long distance pilgrim routes. The Chemin de St. Jacques de Compostela (the St. James Way) has branches all over Europe, all leading to Santiago de Compostela in Northern Spain. One of the original routes, la Voie d'Arles, goes through the Aspe Valley, and passes through the property where we are staying.

This is the marker for the St. James Way. The symbol is a scallop shell, reflecting all the branches leading to a single place

Ailbhe on the St. James Way. We walked from where we are staying to the next village, Sarrance

Ailbhe and Fiacra arriving in Sarrance