Last night from my campsite I could hear the village down below partying until 4am, quite the surreal experience being 800m above on a ridge.

Today was a day of extreme weather. Strong winds in the morning made it super difficult to walk—I tried to compensate but suddenly a gust in the other direction would mess me up. Nonetheless the skies were stunningly clear and the higher I got on the ridge the further I could see. Catching a glimpse of the high Pyrénées peaks far in the distance gave me a rush of adrenaline-I would be arriving there in a week!The descent into Saint-Étienne felt like slowly entering an oven. As the winds died, the heat became unbearable and it got up to 97 degrees in the valley. I tried to go as fast as possible, because there was no shade of course.Making it into town I searched for the nearest cold glass of soda. At the café, everyone around me was having a steak frites, so I got one as well. Everything else in town was closed due to the holiday so there really was nothing to do, and it was also too hot to hike onward. Lying down at a park later to cook down, I met a Dutch backpacker who walked all the way from Holland, taking 3 whole months, yet she still had one more month to go in her trek to Santiago.

As i debated whether to keep going today, I saw people jumping into the river. That seemed like a much more suitable activity than hiking in the intense heat, so I decided to end my day here, camp in the town campground, and go for a swim.

The evening ended with a thunderstorm and a rainbow, and finally it was cool enough to sleep. Tomorrow should be a chill day as well. I booked a hostel in Saint Jean Pied de Port, so I’m excited to chill out, not camp, and take my first shower since Paris!

Crête d'Iparla to Saint-Étienne-de-Baïgorry - 17.48km and 730m gained. Happy Bastille Day!