6-15-10 Murat-sur-Vebre to La Salvetat-sur-Agout day 72

6-15-10 Murat-sur-Vebre to La Salvetat-sur-Agout day 72
I woke up around 7.30 cuz I wake up when others start making noise... I started going through my pack to make piles. I tried to be quiet but it was hard. Unfortunately I found a place with post office that was opening that morning on the same day the two foot sore travelers from switzerland needed a day in... I got a pile of ship-ables together and hoped it was good enough to make my pack lighter than it has been.. then I rigged a rain cover for my back pack since i'd been using a 'not' water proof rain coat till now which added weight and little protection. Then I went to post office, it was starting to drizzle again outside. By 9.30 I had done the deed and had mailed of a package home..sadly including my little painting kit... I hit the road, I had twenty kms this day..and a bit of a late start by pilgrims standards. To abuse the phrase 'Nature abhors a vacuum', I have to admit that I had filled some of the empty space in my pack with food instead.. I noticed I bought more than the usual cuz some how I knew I had room... also with the cooler weather my appetite had returned. The trail today was suppose to go along the lake region.. there was a sign posted on the path in french. Of course, I could not read it..so I kept going.. soon enough I noticed part of the trail was flooded but it seemed manageable...then after a few more patches were I could avoid the water... finally the trail went straight into the lake...i had to face facts.. I had to go back and find the main road where i'd started...i was not one hundred percent sure about the car road necessarily leading me to were I needed to go..but since I could keep seeing views of the lake on the right side...and i could eventually also see signs of towns that were listed on my crappy little book map..

so I knew I was doing something right... I tried again looking near the lake to see if the trail was better..but again it was a wasted excursion.. now my concern was to find were the road connected with the trail again... finally near the end of the second town I found it... I was not making good time today..to many little side trips and uncertainties.. the trail went up into the hills more and was drier...the landscape is still pretty much the same...with exception of glimpses of the lake..but farms, forests and then occasional open fields..there is an increase of old crosses as trail markers with the shell in the middle..the crosses look very old... I arrived in La Salvetat-sur-Agout around 4.30 the municipal building (Mairie) was almost closing..this is usually were you find out about the pilgrims places to stay called Gites.. in this town they directed me up to the church on the hill where I could get what I needed at the tourist office..the town had an ancient feel and although it had some tourism it felt authentic... I got up to the tourist info and the woman did not speak english but she knew I was a pilgrim and looking for the Gite.. I noticed now it's automatic, they see my pack and they already know.. I paid my small fee and got a key and weird paper bed sheets and pillow case. I asked if any of the germans where here and she said only french... she brought me to the gite and showed me kitchen bathrooms and bed room.. turns out I would share a two bed room with the french woman I had met in Mercle, the one who spoke english... also the two german women from frieburg were there... the french woman Ms G showed me how to use the heater to dry my clothes but warned I had to turn things frequently because I could burn my clothes.. I was glad for the heat..the building was cold and damp..also the rain started outside... I would eventually go to the shops when they opened and got some canned ravioli and salad for dinner and bread stuff for next days walk and breakfast.. the germans tried to go to restaurants but came back disappointed... even though this town was not that small...restaurants here are only open thursdays through sunday...so we all cooked in.. in a small kitchen... Ms G had found some wild mushrooms and she cooked them up in some oil and shared... we all seemed to share all our food a bit.. it was nice and cozy..and the mushrooms tasted great... later an older french couple came in and cooked very simple instant soups and ate while standing... figuring out the art of sharing limited spaces with strangers seems to be par for the coarse in pilgrim land...we all retired around ten... although the bed was fairly comfortable and the room warm and dry I did not sleep the best..but that seems to be normal now...the building was as old as the town...and even gentle walking made the floors vibrate through-out.

6-14-10 Castanet-le-Haut to Murat-sur-Vebre day 71

6-14-10 Castanet-le-Haut to Murat-sur-Vebre day 71
I got up about 7ish, I was disappointed to find nothing had dried much over night so I had laundry from three different days now not completely dry.. amongst other things adding weight to my pack.. breakfast was already waiting inside for me. My room was separated by an outside porch area from their main living space and since it was chilly out I ate inside their dinning room... although we did not speak a common language I found out the day would be grey with a just a little rain, and at least while I was walking this proved to be true...the woman still seemed a bit nervous about me, maybe she was uncertain about my paying..it was not the cheapest pilgrims stay .... I had ate and slept well so all was good..i had 20 kms again today. The landscape seemed to be about the same as the last few days... farmed forests, open fields and then more natural woods in various combinations...

. the walk slowly climbed at times but nothing too steep... it was very much the same weather I would expect in the NW US where I lived, cool, very little drizzle and lots of grey, it was actually ideal hiking weather... but I walked slowly as usual... there was a bit of uncertainty with the trail at one point since two different GR trails crossed again and they share the same color markings... and I tried to guess what my french guide book said.... mid morning I came to giant wind turbines in the woods... and at that point I ran into the german woman from Ulm again...she was not certain whether we had made the right decision as far as trails went...i was okay with my decision...but we walked together for a while and finally came upon better signs and proof that we were okay... I let her go ahead since she has less weight and is a much faster walker... I tried to listen to my 'learn french while you drive' while walking, but I have to admit, learning language this way is a bit boring, and I am not sure how much I benefited.... again as the afternoon approached my feet got the now very familiar aches... I arrived at Murat, but followed the trail signs thinking, based on the book that they would go through the center of town..but no, the trail overshot the town so I had to walk back in.. I ran into a german woman I had met two days or so ago and she was telling me about an over night stay at a Gite with really good food... on the way in to town I saw the Gite, and I saw the prices listed, I felt I needed to stay and a cheaper one(later i heard that i misinterpreted the sign the dorm room was cheaper)... so I went into town center... everything was closed even the bar... a bad sign.... I found the tourist office and waited till it opened. I had only a few minutes... the women inside spoke no english but I communicated I was a pilgrim looking for a cheap Gite, I was guided to a place behind a school and given a door code in exchange for six euro...the german woman from Ulm opened the door she had already settled in... it was a place with huge dorm room and many beds..so far it was only us.. in the kitchen she had made some tea and had turned on all the heat...so it was actually quite nice in there.... I hurried to shower and laundry so I could get some food... our cloths were next to the heater so my three days worth of damp clothes would dry quite nicely.....eventually two more pilgrims would arrive...a couple i'd seen in Montpellier youth hostel... they seemed quite wrecked and a little unsocial in the beginning... me and Mrs Ulm went to the supermarket together and both picked lentils as our main meal I also got avocado and bread... then I went back and started cooking my lentil soup... later Ms Ulm would return having done other errands and would take her turn to cook her soup...there was only one pot... then the other couple who was swiss, returned and ironically they had also chosen the lentils..but they made a fancy curry with theirs and added fresh veggies... I ate my soup with avocado sandwiches...delicious... we had also all seemingly bought beer... so we sat around and talked,...ms Ulm saw some of my photos from my trip... and decided she preferred all the ones with stuffed bunny Clark in it...so i found another lover of Clark now...oh and therefore she must be an okay person!! turns out all of us pretty much started walking beginning of April...the man kept to himself in the dorm room mostly but the swiss woman sat and talked with us...she had started in Switzerland, and walked pretty much the same walk as Ms Ulm..apparently there is only one trail leading from Switzerland down... also on the table for discussion...seemed to be what I would finally send home...since as i've mentioned repeatedly my pack is too big...me and Ms Ulm now have an easier banter going between us because we keep running into each other...it's almost like the buddhist circuit between nepal and india... it's best to get along with everyone since you keep sharing rooms with each other along the way, so it's nice when you do get along well...i would not deal with that decision making about what belongings I could part with till the next morning...the couple had decided to stay two nights here because they needed a break...the woman was now experiencing the extreme foot soreness that we all seem to get... somewhat late I went off to do my homework and we all went to bed around 10ish.....i should mention by the time I arrived here, it started pouring rain..so I missed the worst of it again...

6-13-10 Mecle to Castanet-le-Haut day 70

6-13-10 Mecle to Castanet-le-Haut day 70
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...

6-12-10 Lunas to Mecle day 69

6-12-10 Lunas to Mecle day 69
I woke around seven, and got my gear together went down stairs and had my included breakfast which really was just bread butter and most importantly coffee... the hotel was full of naïve art of local landscapes and some more exotic scenes of african people paddling boats... I already knew the artist was the young man who seemed to run the hotel... each painting seemed like it was a struggle and obviously a lot of time was spend with each... he had a very good color pallet but he wrestled with the brush work and anatomy...some were hits others misses... I really respected that clearly he was keeping at it since the place was just filled with work... I told him on the way out that I liked his art... hoping he would continue his solo battle with brush and paint... i've noticed in a number of places such as hotels and restaurants here in France, art that was made by amateur painters and proudly displayed ...leading me to think it is a common hobby here and this makes me happy. everyone should paint...there i said it.... I hit the road a bit before 8. the first three kms went fairly fast since the terrain was mild... it was still a bit overcast but it looked less likely to rain...the first town was Le Bousquet-d'Orb I walked to the very top of what I thought was it, dutifully following the red and white stripe marker...then I realized once again the austier french pilgrims chemin did not go through the market area of town but circumvented it... I had to climb the steep steps down again.. today I had over 22kms to go up and down hills... I had less then a liter of water and no real food... so I walked off the trail direction town, I had to stop and ask to be sure, and got directions from a nice old man..again I mostly follow the pointing fingers and try to catch some words.... the town seemed a long detour but worth it. I needed more cash so atm... most of the towns I think I will be going through often dont even have a cafe or bar never mind a cash machine. Then I found the baker and got some more cheese type pastry... and I got candy, water and another coffee at the Tabac-Bar-Cafe it was a little past nine, and older men were already in there drinking their morning beer and buying there Rapid lotto tickets... then finally back on the road..for the long march...

the first part was actually the most difficult.. it was a narrow road and climbed steeply into the hills... after Italy's Cinque Terre, I could say it was not that extreme but It was still work.. and even with cool temperatures I over heated quick... I took frequent breaks eating a little bit at a time and sipping a bit of water... then up and onwards again... the day would go in and out of cloudy and sunny but as the day progressed it got clearer and breezier...the larger road did appear which meant less shade but that was okay, it also decreased the grade of the climbs I would face going up... I had my french guide book but I could pick out key words as land marks as I went along... about two three hours in, on a longer break, I saw a woman walking towards me it was the woman from Ulm again... we chatted and joked... I told her to tell the place in Melce to keep the door open for me in case I arrived really late... she was not sure yet whether she would over night there or camp along the way... I had kinda drawn the same conclusion...if the walk got too hard for me or it got too late I would find a place to camp along the way... the only problem being of course I would have no water for the night or the first part of the walk the next day..but I slogged on... sometimes out on the open hills sometimes amongst trees... over all, the markers are getting more and more reliable and I am getting more savey about keeping my eyes out for them... you can definitely not get sucked up too much in your own head space...because you will miss them... a great forced wakefulness practice... again I used my ipod and listened to more talks on dharma...and repeating some... this, to help my keep going... I was a little crest fallen when I realized I had only covered 16 of the 25kms mid-afternoon... I was moving forward very slowly...mostly cuz I needed frequent stops still..because about half way through the day the feet start getting sore... there was a part of the path that crossed a road twice, at one of these points I had trouble finding the markers again...and I could tell frustration was rising quick, I was getting tired... but again I found it and started the descend into a valley... it got steeper and steeper.. and the final km was over large loose rocks on a narrow trail... because I was in the trees I could not see a village at all... I had also seen a sign for one of the pilgrims places. You had to call by five to get a bed..it was passed five and I had no cell phone, so I started to fret... finally I saw some roofs... and the path broke into a clearing right infont of a small house with stairs..two people were sitting on the stairs, one of them the woman of Ulm...she had been concerned about me and was glad that I had managed... she had already told the host that I was coming and there was definitely room here.. the man showed up, he spoke no english but was very nice... I got a mint lemonade and sucked down a lot more water...I introduced myself to the other woman who was french and spoke great english.. she was doing the ten day hike that seems to be common..she was doing the compostelle one vacation allotment at a time..she said at this rate she should complete the entired trip by the time she was 80... we laughed.. I showered and did laundry..the place seemed really clean with all new amenities.. there were four bunk-beds with comfy mattresses... we caught up again on our days. Both women had over-nighted atthe same Gite, near the town i'd stayed at Joncels, apparently it was with a very nice couple. The woman from Ulm, had listened to their stories of what kind of pilgrims would show up.. apparently there are all types of pilgrims..one story was that this couple showed up huffing and puffing with very big packs, telling stories of having started in rome etc...the next day after they were packed and ready to go, the husband asked the wife for the car keys so he could bring the packs to the car...when the hosts raised in eyebrow, the couple explained, that they were just looking for cheap ways to do vacation...so these were fake pilgrims...other stories such as people taking and packing everything away from the buffet breakfast.. so if your a host of pilgrims, it sounds like you have to be a good sport... our host here, showed up all in white serving us a fancy wine with good glasses. I just dont expect this in a tiny village and as a pilgrim...the food was a pasta alfredo with chicken on top, I passed my chicken on to my friend and ate the pasta... there was also very good cheese and bread... and again a really great desert, berries covered in a white crème sauce..we had gotten keys to visit the little church in town, so we stopped by after dinner, it was small with white wash interior..very sweet energy... I did not stay as long as the others.. the day had taken it out of me and my legs needed to stretch out on bed..... after wards we all retreated to very spots to get ready for bed.. pack...journal etc... everyone was tugged in by 9.30... I slept fairly well.

6-11-10 Lodeve to Lunas day 68

6-11-10 Lodeve to Lunas day 68

it was not raining but definitely still gray... even though I got up fairly early again with all the chatting and breakfast time flowed quickly... I tried to get directions to the next place and the host tried to start telling them to me in french, because he was continuing to jank my chain about not speaking the language, even though he spoke both of mine and could totally help me... I got serious with him and told him he had to explain in english or german or else if I got lost it would be on his head...so he did...this section of the Chemin St Jacques is a lot longer than the road...the first 12 or so kms are on the walking trail but then there is an option of walking 6kms on the road which they referred to as dangerous, or continue on the trail which was 12kms... 'real' pilgrims of course take the long way... I on the other hand still building up stamina again and having a late start decided to take the shorter version. I said my good byes and first went to the cathedral because I had been told it was worth it, and of course it was. It had a lot of stain glass which shown in contrast to the dimly lit interior... then on the way out of town I stopped at the bakers for lunch pastries with the usual cheese fillings... then finally I hit the trail..it is surprising how quickly these trails lead into nature. It is actually quite nice that I am finally on the real trail even though the distances between places to overnight are sometimes daunting and finding water is near impossible en-route...but to be out in the country away from car roads is great. The path climbed into hills some where used for grazing sheep.. at times it was various types of thin forest... it looked like it would threaten to rain all day but never did while I was walking. I met a couple walking the other way, but again I was alone on the trail for the rest of it. I am still taking frequent breaks and kms just take longer when going on trails then when on flat roads..so I fretted a bit at my slow progress but I felt good again about being a pilgrim on the path and that I was able to continue towards Santiago. I listened to more dharma talks that a friend had sent me a linked to ...and took photos of the landscapes as I passed..taking frequent short breaks to snack and rest. This time I planned the water well. Also it was overcast for most of the day so I wee bit cooler. I hit the car road portion eventually ...i had to orient though since the walking trail seemed to go in direct opposite from what the street signs were saying the town was... I did not want to make a mistake... and I did not... the car road was winding and as warned had no real bank for me to walk in.. but traffic was low enough that I was okay and I could switch sides periodically when the visibility was not in my favor... so the last six miles were not as stressful as I had been warned. Mostly because I had much worse roads under my belt... I arrived in Lunas around 3;30, there was no real pilgrimage here so only option was hotel or keep walking. I was quite content to stay... I went to the cheapest hotel in town and they had a deal were dinner and breakfast was included for pilgrims for the same price usually just the overnight, so I took the package after I was assured that being vegetarian was no problem. My room looked vaguely exotic with a St Martinique batik on the wall and a satiny pseudo mosquito net over my bed. I also had tv with french channels. I did the post walk grooming thing and rested my feet a bit..it started raining again... I had a bit of time till dinner so I decided to walk around town.. even in the rain it was quite charming, it had a river running through it and pretty bridges linking the two sides.. I had already gone to the tourist office to get my credentials stamped. I went into the little church as well, I ran into the same french couple from the night before. They tried to communicate with me and the man showed me some of his photos from the same walk I had done... since they leave at crack of dawn, he had some cool fog photos from that day. The shop and the post office were closed so I could not buy anything for tomorrows walk..nor could I finally send stuff home... something that has been nagging at me and weighing me down now for a while.. the walking is no longer mostly flat roads... and I finally finally after two months have to admit that if I really want to make it anywhere any time soon, I need less weight on my back... also I don't seem to be gaining speed due to fitness I seem to be slowing down and having more probs with the feet...also pretty much ever experienced pilgrim i've met has recommended I loose several kilos off my back...and as much as it pains me to send things like my paints home.. it is time..but now it is a question of timing as well. Since the post office was closed here, I had to wait through the weekend and find a big enough town with a functioning post office that does not close at noon. So it would be several more days...i returned to my room and waited for dinner... which seemed to be for ever... 7.30... I was quite hungry by the time I could eat... I went to the dining room and the man there made sure I was the pilgrim from room 2, who was vegetarian. There was the french couple again, we would sit together at the same table. My meal included a small carafe of wine which was nice. There was a buffet style salad which was great since I could laden it with protein such as beans which I did not have in a while... and the main course was omlette.. mine had mushrooms..thier's had meat. Of course despite language barrier we tried to communicate. The woman had taken some spanish classes so would try to speak spanish to me at times...with not much greater success..since i dont remember much from my two semesters of spanish a cillion years ago. but some things did leak in... they had several pins from other times that they had walked the Camino they explained which they got where. They tried to explain the next days terrain to me.. .i would be climbing in altitude throughout the day the path would be mostly wide road through forest and there were five peaks and flat areas which I could use as markers of progress. They had a son in law who traveled a lot including Chicago. I guess he had brought back some Jack Daniels which the woman quite enjoyed. I had to laugh since they both were very sweet and even had an innocent air to them, so imagining her with a hard drink like that was funny... They were both very curious about Maine... she apparently read a lot of Steven King.. and I guess there is some residual french still in that region.. they are convinced that the energy of the people in Maine is like that of the french people based on his books.. I guess there is also some connection with the immigrant populations that settled there and in Quebec... I would not have thought that Maine would be a tourist destination for french people.. they had asked what it was like for me to be alone, was it hard on moral? I said actually I was fine, I had good days and sometimes bad but not demoralized... after I tried to transmit how kind and friendly everyone in France had been to me. They assured me, that in France people actually were a little cool about pilgrims, I would see that in Spain people were even nicer and even more supportive of pilgrims... it seems as I travel through each country..the momentum of local pilgrim support will grow... in a way I cant imagine people being even more giving...but it is encouraging to hear that things will get even easier... of course this type of communication where there is little common language is a bit exhausting and soon we were each off to bed... they were going to walk 30kms the next day and plan to leave by six am... It is probably a good idea now to start getting up that early especially since I am still slow but I am not ready yet... I went to my room and dinked around a bit and then to bed by ten... sleep okay including the weird random wake ups...

6-10-10 Aboras to Lodeve day 67

6-10-10 Aboras to Lodeve day 67

I still had enough food for breakfast, but sadly no coffee... and I had eleven or so miles to go before the next village.. the rain had stopped, I got going fairly early by my standards 7:15... now that I was taking frequent breaks I was worried that I needed more time to cover distance..also in order to stay at pilgrims places it was better to roll into towns mid afternoon...so I had to change my schedule. There was a lot of fog... at times so much so that I was worried about missing the markers..but the path was well enough marked so even in sometimes thick fog I did not miss the anything.. the trail started out with a lot of up hill, it was a slow grade..but since I could not see far ahead it seemed like it was endless.. my calf muscles were very tight, probably because I walked funny the day before trying to avoid getting the sensitive areas on my front pads more sore... also I was body tired in a way that seemed different... so the town with coffee and more food could not come soon enough... and it eventually did... I found the baker and got some bread, apple, and chocolate there, and then at the cafe for the much needed coffee and a sandwich... also a break from walking of course.. I had another 15kms ahead of me... when I hit the road again the coffee seemed to work like magic... the body tired was gone and also my calf muscles seemed to have relaxed a bit.. I put on my ipod and listened to some dharma talks to distract me from the foot pain a bit, since I still had some.. the walk continued through mostly woods...at times the trail got quite rocky and narrow but was manageable.. I came to a place that seemed to be a historic site and tourist attraction, I had lost the trail marker signs here so I just walked in..apparently there was another neolithic site here and an old church. There was a shop with drinks and local honey and wine.. eventually the proprietress came in and I got a coke, glad for more caffeine. She disappeared again, I noticed on the wall a photo of the Dalia Lama, he had been here, in the photo he was shacking a local man's hand. When the lady came back in, she spoke some english and I asked her about the photo. Apparently he had been here in 2002 or so, and there was a buddhist center outside of Lodeve about 20kms but sadly not along my route...she also redirected me onto the correct path but warned me the road would be better since two days rain made the trails bad.. she gave me a brochure of the place in case when I had more time I could come back and see this place... it did look interesting Prieure Saint-Michel-de-Grandmont especially the old burial mound. I tried to find the tar road she talked about but could not... so I continued on the trail hoping for the best...the rain would get harder and harder and harder.. the trail was okay for a while but then it became a little river and eventually my left shoe made that tell tale soggy noise... totally wet... the right would not fair much better... I came to a road and I knew from there I had another six kms to Lodeve... I continued on for another two hoping I would not get even more blisters from walking in wet shoes...when a car pulled over, an older woman rolled down the window, and although again I spoke no french and she was going in the opposite direction she offered me a ride to Lodeve... I took it without hesitation.. I was worried that my wet gear would get all her seats wet, but she just shrugged it off...the last four miles even by car seemed to be long..she did speak a few words english, she asked me if I knew where I would stay in lodeve, I said no, but I would go to tourist office...so she dropped me right in front of tourist office... I thanked her for her kindness...in I went and asked about pilgrims place.. I gave my excuse of no french, and after the woman showed me a brochure of the place, I asked if she would mind calling to find out if they had room.. she did and no problems, it was a short walk from here across the river... when I left I stopped in doubt on this street trying to find it's name to make sure I was doing it right, and this little woman started directing me in french..she too knew where I needed to go...pilgrims are common here.. what surprised me I actually understood her instructions...i found the place and the man was waiting at the door for me... he helped me get the wet gear off.. and showed me where to put my wet boots.. I got slippers instead and we went up.. he gave me a tour, showed me a nice clean room with three beds, I would have on room mate and the common room..there I recognized someone, it was the german woman from ulm...so instant conversation. We caught up on the last few days of each others walks or lack there of. I got a shower, and although it was a bit prize-ee, given that a lot of my stuff was wet already... I splurged for laundry services. Non of my things had been washed in a machine for over two months so I was very happy. In eve we had dinner included.. I had gotten wet and my feet of course still sore so I had no interest in leaving the place to try and get food elsewhere or explore the town. The host made omelet for me while the others got meat. I was surprised how nice the place was and also the meal considering this was a place the price of a youth hostel.. a big salad for starters, red wine, then pasta alfredo with omlette and mushrooms on the side, and even desert a sweet white cheese crème with wild honey on top... besides me and the german woman, there was also a sweet older french couple who did not speak english, so most of the evening was in french with no translation. The host was pestering me to repeat things in french after him.. he insisted that one month with him, i'd be speaking french...as the evening progressed and I proved to be a slow student he kept adding a month...in our room me and Ms.Ulm shared some travel stories, she'd traveled extensively when she was younger... and we talked about having to rely on the kindness of strangers at vulnerable times and especially with men, having to trust our gut, or else having to extricate ourselves from uncomfortable situations...but we both agreed when the need was really great it seemed then that we only dealt with the most ethical of men...she also told of a funny story on this trip, when she put her pack on the side of the road with her walking stick and went in the bush to pee, she heard a car, but decided to just trust fate...when she came back out of the woods, the pack and the stick was gone... of course she was a bit panicked..she could understand why someone would take the pack, but why the simple walking stick,she had just found it in the woods.... she flagged someone down, and this person was willing to drive with her and every time they passed a car they looked inside it to see if there was a pack inside..finally they went to the police station, when they got into the police station to report the theft, there was her pack and stick...someone had been worried that it would be stollen and had put it in their car, and in their confused need to help had brought it to the police station...this was definitely one of the funnier travel oops's I had heard in a while...I got too caught up with the social stuff so I did not journal and rushed to do my mantras before bed.. I slept fairly okay although I still have that strange 'wake up in the middle of the night for a while' thing going...it's as if I never fully switched time zones, which is odd after two months.

6-9-10 Saint-Guihem-le-Desert to Aboras day 66

6-9-10 Saint-Guihem-le-Desert to Aboras day 66
I woke around seven and tried to pack up quietly so as not to disturb my friend, but she seemed to sleep soundly, it was her day off. I went back into town in hopes that at least one cafe was open, and I was in luck, there was... so I had the requisite coffee before hitting the road. I had my instructions on how to leave the town and what markers to follow and which to ignore, so I got out of town without getting lost... and as I had been warned the trail went up into the hills ..but the trail was wide enough and the grade was not too steep for someone with a back pack (unlike some of the trails I had taken in Italy)...i went slowly up... this being the first time in three days of starting to hike again on healing feet... I also took frequent breaks.. I had almost too much food today but I took my elderly friends advise and snacked each time I stopped to keep my strength.. the sky was grey, with threatening clouds, but with the exception of very fine rain here and there it, did not ever get raining hard... but it was humid enough to build a sweet. The landscape was pretty, forested with grey cliffs accenting the landscape... near the top I met the only hikers of the day... two german girls from Freiburg, with much lighter packs and faster gait, they were just walking 15 days of the walk...the tall red head said in german, isn't it wonderful to get across this landscape totally by your own power? she had great energy, i could only agree mildly still feeling uncertain of my own powers.. Then I was alone again... the trail took a very slow descend first on a dirt road which was also used by the water company... a man in a truck drove by, he did not speak english but still wanted to know my country of origin, and when he found out I was traveling solo, he seemed surprised.. then on I went.. the trail went off this road to narrower walking trails with quite sharp rocks so it hurt my still tender feet and I had to take the descend slower than I would have liked. I passed rock walls with signs saying that this was prehistoric settlements.. and then an interesting castle wall ruin...i saw small villages in the valley bellow.. again the GR trail for pilgrims did not lead through the towns but outside of them...so if there was any profit to be made on pilgrims, with coffee or water or food, this was safely avoided at the loss of both village and pilgrim... me and the italian had both wondered at this oversight. I went through a village called Montepeyrouy, it was beginning to drizzle rain, a woman jumped out of her car and asked me if I needed a Gite, but I did not know what she meant, I thanked her but said no.. I did try and find an open cafe but after going opposite direction of the trail for half a km I just assumed this town did not have much.. so I headed back to the trail and continued walking.. the town Aboras was suppose to be only 15kms from the start of my walk this day, but it seemed like a very long 15kms... since this was my first day back to pilgrimage I was a bit anxious about how hard I was finding it..i came to a bridge which went over a revine it had a trail marker for the Compestelle only 1474kms left to go! I wondered how many ions that would take me... then I climbed up into a small village, I was not sure..but as I went through it at the end of it I saw the sign for the town this was Aboras... so I headed back into it... having forgotten the information from the day before I mistakenly thought this was the town with two hotels... as I headed back through a man called for me, I turned around he was on a cell phone so it was not clear he meant me.. I pointed at myself..still not clear so I walked towards him..he spoke to me in french... and I said the usual pardon, I dont speak french, in french... he asked me in french if I was a St Jaques pilgrim, I said yes... he then took a moment of silence...it was clear he was pulling internal resources together to focus his energy but I was not sure to what end...it turned out he was trying to pull out rusty english just for me... he asked “are you in need?”, what a question! I asked if there was an aulberg or hotel here.. he said no, I made the international symbol for sleep two hands together against my head.. and asked where? He said come with me... he brought me to a building I had passed with the word Mairie on it..so town municple building, he then used the german word and explained to me he was the Burgermeister of this town.. he brought me into a big room bellow the Mairie, it looked like it had formerly been a ladder with meat hooks now it looked like a converted meeting room with modern windows and fairly clean, he said I could sleep here.. I though he meant on one of the tables..why not..then he showed me were the toilet and a sink was, he warned 'no warm water' and showed me a closet with a giant foam piece the size of a mattress I could use that for my bed. He asked if I needed anything else.. the town also had no shops..he asked me if I need food or had enough..he seemed a little reluctant at this point.. I assured him I had enough food..which I did thanks to my friend from yesterday.. so I decided instead of going back four kms...or trying to walk another 11kms or so forward... that I would spend the night here... good decision too, because it started pouring..after he had given me the small tour he was done with me and went back to being a burgermeister in the offices above... I took a cold-water sink shower as best as I could and had myself a picnic, it was late afternoon.. I journaled etc... then a cat came in and kind of took over.. I had had a dream that morning of me walking down a narrow street in a village and two perky tail-in-air cats walking ahead of me, I saw this as a good omen to start to walk as pilgrim again..and in fact that morning I did see a cat walk in front of me in narrow lanes of the village, but more in a slinking manner non the less there was something satisfying about having reality mirror the dream...but the cat this evening was like the perky one in the dream...she was inquisitive and affectionate.. and made herself quite comfortable on my bed...also she would periodically come up for petting ..and pretty much walk all over me... she would be my companion through out the rain until my bed time... then she started crying for food which I did not have... it had mostly stopped raining so with a little guilt I had to kick her out so she could find her owner and some cat food..she was well kept and had a collar so I am sure she would find what she needed... I actually slept surprisingly well in the room with meat hooks..