I got up with everyone which was a little before seven... the french lady was all packed and ready to go..her pack looked like it weighed a third of mine, (must be nice!)..but she was also just traveling ten days.. we had breakfast together with plenty of coffee... the man had brought last nights cheese back for breakfast upon request although he thought it was odd.. breakfast should be sweet not savory.. the french woman was off almost immediately, she planned to hike 20kms today... I had already decided to only do 11kms in hopes the place would have a post office I could use the following day, monday... my german friend was going to climb some old church ruin, apparently you could camp up there... it would be not far from where I planned to be, so perhaps I would see both of them again in two nights.. I got going last... and took my time... the trail was narrower and trees grew closer.. there was not too much extreme up or down... I enjoyed walking along the moss-covered rock walls, so common here... the weather again did not seem to make up its mind, cloudy more or less, but no rain...and a fine breeze... after a slow four kms, I arrived in a town large enough to have open cafe and bakery on sunday, Saint-Gervais-sur-Mare. Even the tourist office was open here... I seemed to need to top at every open store...wallowing in the luxury of ample food... I got apple torte, croissant, a cheese filled something, candy, chocolate, apple, orange... and a coffee at the cafe..a fairly unhealthy diet. ..but I seem to burn through what ever I eat on this trip anyway.. on the way out I decided to stop at the tourist office to get my credentials stamped... there was a couple in there talking to the man running the office... the old man was worried that I did not speak french because it made it harder for him to help me...the couple spoke english, in fact the man was a professional translator... even though I really did not need the help since I just needed the credintial stamp ..but they chatted with me... I asked if the town that I was goaling for had a post office, no...okay another day of walking with my pack as is..they agreed heartily that my pack was too heavy... it is a consensus across France now...the tourist office man wanted to know if he could call ahead for my accommodations, but he meant the town 30kms away... which I definitely was not in the mood to try...in the end he gave me a little brochure with my lodging options for the eve which did proof helpful since my french guide book did not have anything listed for Castanet.... I continued on the way ….these small towns you say good morning to everyone you meet...its nice... but occasionally some of the older people want to chat with me so I apologize in french and explain I dont understand the language... they nod with comprehension and continue to try and engage me anyway... it's kind of sweet... so this happened here as well....
I went back onto the trail...very picturesque again...narrow... lots of changing green-scapes mostly inside the woods... I ran into a man with a basket, I asked in a composite of french italian if he had mushrooms, he answered in english yes, can I take photo? Yes, he said he did not find much today... he had a few chanterells, a mushroom I only know in german, Stein pilz, and one more variety... my mother had been asking me to take photos of any editable mushrooms I came across ...since I have not seen anything on my own...here was the opportuninity... and on I went... I only had six kms to do, to the village... and I broke that up with sugary snack breaks.. today also water was not a concern since it was a short day... I would run into the couple from the tourist office twice more going in either direction, they were mountain biking through this area.... they told me I was courageous, which seems to be common phrase here... I lumbered on... I would walk along a small river which made pretty sounds... I hit Castanet-le-Haut midday... it was clear that this was such a small town it did not have a cafe or shop.... I did see the municipal building and library... it was small and of course charming...i was almost at the end of this town and I did not see any sign of lodging.. there were two man chatting outside the house.. I asked where the hotel was, and they looked at me puzzled, there was no hotel here... I started leafing through my book hoping to find the address, I panicked realizing it was not printed in my book..then I remembered the tourist office brochure, they waited patiently till I got myself sorted.. I showed them the name and the address... the man called his wife, two women came out... the one tried to explain to me the directions... all I heard was something like the “red house” and the pointing finger.. I must have looked hesitant, but I mustered myself up, hoping to find the place and I was ready to go..then the other lady indicated she would lead me... so I followed her, she walked fast I tried to keep up the steep climbs through mideavel-ville, she was friendly and since she knew I did not understand squat (nothing) she just pointed at the landscape around and said it was beautiful in french, since at least I could understand that and I agreed with her... she dropped me off right in front of the place which was outside of town.. I don't think I would have thought of that...but I was happy to be here.. there were three people outside, the older woman was the proprietress, it was more of a bed and breakfast gite, which I am figuring to mean a persons home with some rooms to rent, some are especially for pilgrims and therefore cheaper some are for everyone like this one and are a little closer to hotel prices if you get a single room... but it was actually not a bad price with dinner and breakfast..there was a young woman with her.. who spoke some english... the older woman seemed a bit nervous having to deal with a none french speaker... but we got the details sorted while the young woman was still there.. the room still had to be made up and I asked for vegetarian food saying cheese and eggs okay..also what time I wanted breakfast... then I showered... I hung out two days worth of varying degrees of damp clothes and still having to wash that days... hoping at least half of it would finally dry out... the grey weather means things dont dry out over night at all right now...i dinked around on my lap top but found I was actually quite tired..yesterdays walk I think did me in a bit...so I took the opportunity to take a long afternoon nap... in the eve I updated photos and journal ...and got my dinner which included salad, wine, omelet, cheese plate, and a really good apple tarte... I was stuffed... I was also glad I had not eaten everything I had bought in the shops that day...since the following day would be a twenty km walk without any place to get anything so I needed something for the day.... I still felt tired... and made it an early night...
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