The mountains south of St-Jean towards the Spanish border are sheep country, and if you're interested in getting an idea of what the old pastoral life was like, this is a good place to do it. For walkers, the last French leg of the GR65 pilgrim route starts from St-Jean and follows the line of the old Roman road across to Roncesvalles in Spanish Navarra, an easy day's walk.Follow the Route de St-Michel out of St-Jean, soon adopting the D428; the typical yellow waymarks of the Chemin St-Jacques show the way. Though the climb is initially dull, on a tarmac lane, there are attractive farmhouses to look at, with immensely broad roofs, one side short, the other long enough to cover space for stalls and tools; it's all very quiet and rural, with long views out across the valleys. After a couple of hours you reach the tiny hamlet of HONTO, which for late starters in particular offers excellent chambres d'hôte and hearty evening meals at Ferme Ithurburia (tel 05.59.37.11.17; 3). Beyond Honto, the grade sharpens, but there's only one brief path shortcut from the D428 before you finally leave the latter for a proper trail at Pic Urdanarré (1240m), some four hours along and just before the frontier.
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