| Douglas Streatfield-James's 1998 guidebook, Trekking in the
Pyrenees, which I carried for part of the journey, includes rustic hand drawn
maps, with cartoonish indicators for places to find food, water, hills and landmarks.
Time and again, I found the maps to be distorted. Somebody's distilled versions of a
non-existent reality. If a bridge was noted in the area as a landmark, I would have
to decide which of three bridges in the immediate area to use as a turning mark. I
spent time searching and backtracking for the next red and white blaze to verify which
bridge or turn to follow. A ruined sheep corral would actually be on the opposite
side of the trail from where it was noted on the map. Later on, I ditched the
guidebook and used large scale topographic maps exclusively.
Early in the walk, I hadn't yet decided that whomever drew the maps probably hadn't walked
the walk. Or maybe the author's map notes were imperfectly sketched.
At this point, I still believed in the book, anticipated that the "venta" (a
market selling various artisanal goods) at Col d'Ibardin would be a promising place to
stop for a break.
The purported attractions of the venta depressed me. I saw a couple of dozen
warehouses offering liquor, cigarettes, summer sports gear, garden vases, lawn chairs and
statuary. Lines of parked cars with license plates from all over Europe spelled out
vacationing tourists hunting for bargains among the mass-produced bric-a-brac.
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