We’ve arrived, safely and without incident. The plane, twin propeller and painted a fetching shade of deep purple flew swiftly, albeit a little noisily to Biarritz arriving a fraction ahead of schedule. Our one item of baggage containing our poles and my clothing got to us almost as quickly. We picked up a bus directly outside the main entrance which took us to within 400m of Gare Bayonne. The train left a little after three o’clock and an hour later we arrived in SJPDP, as experienced Camino walkers recognise it.

We checked into our little pension and headed into the old quarter of SJPDP where we found Herman in the pilgrims office. His version of the Compostela was substantially smaller than ours and at only €2 each, a bargain, we bought two, entered our details and with a smile, Herman deftly stamped our new pilgrim passports.

A young Scottish lad who admitted to voting leave “as a protest vote against Sturgeon” and who was horrified to find himself on the winning side chatted to us outside the pilgrims office. He’s planning on walking to Santiago De Compostela and then on to the coast at Finisterre – I’m sure we’ll see him again en route if only to find him hurtling past as we wind our way along the 27km and 1,200m of ascent that constitutes tomorrow’s little jaunt.

Dinner was a 50/50 mixture of pizza and salad, 500ml of decent red wine and followed by a brownie with créme anglais. We prayed that didn’t mean custard and thankfully our prayers were answered – this pilgrimage is getting off to a fine start.

Back at the hotel now. Mum is exhausted and is having a nap – I’m cheerful and looking forward to a walk amongst the mountains tomorrow.

Bon nuit everyone.