6-8-10 Montpellier to Saint-Guihem-le-Desert day 65

6-8-10 Montpellier to Saint-Guihem-le-Desert day 65
I got up and packed I was not feeling that great, after having wrestled a bit internally, I knew I had to move on fom Montpellier.. I just felt it was necessary or else I would start feeling discouraged...i had also decided take the suggestion of the tourist office and just bus it.. since there were no guaranties of a place to stay in-between and the destination was 39kms by foot which I perhaps could cut into with the tram decreasing it to 29kms but I could not do that either today..so as much as it rankled my pride I took the bus.. I had a coffee at the same place I had my salad the day before, the man there asked concerned if I had enjoyed the food, I assured him it had been great. A young man approached me and when he found out I was a pilgrim sat down and asked me questions, he wanted to know which route I was taking so I showed him my new book, He had done part of the walk last year and was hoping to do the whole walk soon... I was saying how in the book there were days were you were expected to walk 40kms and how I thought that was crazy, he assured me after a while the walking gets addicting and you want to wake up earlier and earlier so you can walk more.. my sore feet disagreed with him, my heart hoped it was true...we wished each other respective luck...I found the bus stand..but was confused by the contradictory info I had on the pamphlet and what was posted... finally 'my bus' came.. even though he only spoke french he explained I had to change buses in another town... the first ride was about half hour..then he dropped me off at a bus stand and directed me to one of two other buses..it was the wrong one.. there was a lady outside of it talking to the driver... the right bus was pulling away... the wrong bus driver honked at him to wait.. and the woman took my pamphlet and ran to the other bus for me to confirm it went to my destination..this gave me a chance to actually get my bags on and walk over there... I thanked her much for help...again if she had not, I would have had to wait another three hours for the next bus.. this ride was even shorter...only ten minutes...and I arrived at Saint-Guihem-le-Desert around 1:30, on the way I had seen the older french woman who could speak german hiking up the street with her friend... it was cheering to see pilgrims even if I had not gotten here by foot... the town looked charming as all, perfect old village.. at it's beginning where two restaurants in full lunch rush...they were too expensive for me so I just had a drink and waited till the tourist office opened.. then when I went in, I found the french lady with her friend. I had just wanted to go up to the counter to ask about pilgrims place to over night when she came up and said her friend had to bus back to Montpellier because another friend had just lost her parent, this meant that I could take her reservation at the pilgrims place, so I did not have to ask the tourist office anything... my french friend was limping too..she had had a bandaged hand when last I saw her, because she had fallen..the hand still looked a bit swollen.. apparently she had fallen again and hurt her foot a bit...i admired her will to keep going, I found out later she was 75. I walked with these two women to were we were suppose to wait for the place to open, we had a little over an hour.. we found one place, it later turned out to be the wrong spot, but it had a nice garden and tables and chairs so we sat... and I looked at their guide books and maps and had some of my cheese and crackers... and got a little of their story... they had met each other in Nepal, when my french ladiy's husband was still alive about ten years ago and have remained friends since...even though the one lady had to go back to the city overnight, they would meet up again the following night and walk together for about ten days. They then discovered that this was the wrong address, so we gathered our stuff and walked in the back of the town, were the nunnery was and waited a bit more.. the one lady took a little walk and came back and told me my route tomorrow, which is definitely helpful, since I did not know and I would leave before businesses open...she also warned that there were two trails with the same markings but they had different trail numbers mine was GR653, so watch out...again had I not gotten that little bit of info, I would have been confused the following day..a nun who told us she was from Madagascar, registered us and stamped our credentials and gave us room keys. If we were just walking part of the way they would charge us 18euro but since we were doing the whole compestella we only needed to pay 10. again since the nun spoke no english the translation was helpful. At this point the other french lady left her bag there, and headed back to the bus stand leaving just the two of us.. we went to the room unpacked a bit and took turns showering..we decided to head into town again. I got some snacks from the bakery for the next day, she tried to find a newspaper but could not. We checked out the inside of the church and then found a restaurant were we both ordered green salad and mushroom pizza and a beer. She told me she was a mother of 8 and had 14 grandchildren..her husband had died about four five years ago, they had had a very good relationship so it was very devastating for her. He had had a heart condition, but it sounds like they kept active and walked a lot. She had decided about two years later to go on pilgrimage from her home, there are three main routes from france, she took the middle one, we are now on the more southern one. Her kids and family thought she was crazy, but she felt she needed some time for herself. It sounds like the family is very close knit and she is constantly getting visited by everyone. Last time too she took four months to make the journey which was her goal this time. She said she was still very grief stricken when she took off on her first pilgrimage. Near the end of that trip she met a swiss man who sounds like he was quite a character and adventurer himself. He'd done the pilgrimage already ten times.. he had been married to a woman who had had cancer already for a while, and they decided to do the pilgrimage together, knowing that she would die along the way and she did... I believe he had her cremated and continued the pilgrimage in her memory, but the way he worded it was that he left his wife behind on the pilgrimage...when I heard this part of the story I got dejavu, I never get that anymore... he told my friend that now she can let go of her husband it was now finished. When she first heard this it was a blow to her gut, but soon she would realize he was right... they met again in Santiago at the church..and have stayed in touch since then.. via letter and email. She has visited him and he her... it's a platonic friendship but the pilgrimage and being widowers created a bond between them. He apparently had gone to asia and had been a monk there for a while and had explored different world religions. She said he was a spiritual searcher like me... I thought inside well I have chosen a faith, but I am still searching for the best tools for me, so in that sense yes... as she talked about him and her own journey, and as the other stories i've heard came to mind... I began to draw the conclusion that the pilgrimage to Santiago, the compestella is it's own practice... and what is so uniquely beautiful about it is it is a path for westerners...therefore your not going into some exotic traditions were everything needs to be taught to you from the ground up... and it's not even like you have to read books or study... you just have to take on the role of pilgrim, what ever that means to you and walk...the path will unfold itself... you just have to show up...she too echoed what the austrian man from two months ago had said...no one leaves the pilgrimage unchanged...she said too after she returned home..she had healed and recovered from her husbands death. Her children too recognized she was happy again...and for the first time since her husbands death she could enjoy classical music again..this had been something they had shared and when he died she had developed a temporary aversion to hearing any of it.. so now again...she feels that she needs to take a break from the demands of her family and take these four months to herself. Each week one of her children phones her and gets an update, they then email it to the rest of the family. This way each child has a one to one with her and everyone still knows what is going on with out bothering her constantly ...she just radiates warmth and I think is a person who's been a giver all her life and now she has come to that point in her life were she needs some of her own time. She says her friends who care for her, think she is crazy, why do you need to walk? You have a nice house, a good family, you have everything you need, why take on this hard ship? And she just says, 'because I have to'..which makes me feel like being a pilgrim is addictive... my italian friend said, for most people who finish the compestella, it is only the beginning... my french friend then proceeded to encourage and inspire me to go on...she said if a little 75 year old lady can do it so could I... also she encouraged me to start slow again and only walk 15kms the next day since there was a big hill in the beginning. She could not eat all her food so she had them wrap up the remaining quarter pizza for take away she gave it to me for tomorrow, so this was on top of the food I had already bought and half a baguette she had given me.. she said I needed to eat more while I walked, because I told her I had lost my appetite during the day. Again this extra food proofed fortuitous the following day. We went back to our room, I did some mantras and we talked about about the one daughter who was born my year that need more support and encouragement because she had made some bad choices with men but still feared being alone...i was trying to imagine managing and supporting such a large family... she said her and her husband where with the church all their lives, but the church has made a lot of mistakes. So none of her children are in the church, but she said they are all honest and caring so that is all that matters. We were both tired.. she had walked a hard 25km. And I found out that there had been a stopping place with refuge along the way..apparently my book is not that good... and even the tourist office did not know... but I still think I needed that third day rest. We went to bed at 8pm. I slept through most of the night, I woke up for a while in the middle but slept again...so I got all I needed...

6-7-10 Montpellier day 64

6-7-10 Montpellier day 64

there was a breakfast offered of sorts at the youth-hostel big chunks of bread and butter or jam, and a bowl of coffee..i've seen a few times now cereal size bowls being used in lieu of mugs here in france..well I like my coffee in quantity so it suites me fine. I got my stuff together...i asked the friendly receptionist if she could call the pilgrims place at this town which was a possible destination for me today if I could manage. She did call but was told by the lady that she no longer takes pilgrims because her daughter had moved back home...so the receptionist suggested I try the tourist office...and again still gimping I walked across town to the tourist office... there again much friendliness and attempts at helping me.. I showed them the route I was suppose to take and they too could not find any lodging info for me along that route within a manageable distance... so I decided to stay one more day in Montpellier since the little walking i'd done today did not feel good.. this was a hard time to find lodging in town, but they found a cheap room for me slightly outside of the old center..the youth hostel I already knew was fully booked that evening...they also gave me a bus schedule just in case I decided to bus the next leg of the journey since there was no midway point to stop at or so it seemed.. I kinda liked the idea of having my own room for the night...again I walked across town to this hotel... I had been encouraged to rush since she was only holding the room for me for a little while..so I got there, and yes I could check in and pay and leave my bag in the room but I could not stay...it was now 10.30 and I was told to come back at 3pm because she made it sound like the place was being scrubbed down from top to bottom...the woman did not seem very friendly but the room was kind of charming...and there was a garden area as well.. I tried to say my feet were sore could I stay in the garden... No!...okay so I left my bag and hobbled back out.. I went to the big cathedral and again got a credential stamp... then I sat in there for a while... running through thoughts and emotions.. having had to stay an extra day frustrated me.. the fact that my feet were worse again worried me... I knew I could not do this pilgrimage the normal or fast way... I just had to admit I had to go slower, and I had to extend my end date of pilgrimage longer than expected..basically I felt a bit discouraged.. I had also gotten a lot of information and advise and some of it was not integrated with what worked best for me.. After I had some of my angst diminish, I felt better and left.. I tried to go into these public gardens but they were closed on mondays..so I found a restaurant advertising salads.. so I had a giant meal size salad with baguettes and melted cheese in the salad.. the wait staff there was also super sweet.. then I walked back to another park area and found a bench under trees to while away the last hour of wait... finally I hobbled back to the room stopping at a little market for fruit to delay some more time...i arrived at the hotel 15 minutes early... and got kind of yelled at by this old dyke who spoke to me in german but let me come in anyway even though the floors were still wet...apparently they were dead serious about scrubbing down the floors... this place too had internet so for the rest of the afternoon I lay in bed resting my feet and intereneted...including a skype-phoning my mom a day early for her birthday and caught another friend too who I was able to do the video phone with via skype...so I got to see the ginormous pregnant belly she now sported...and her fast growing little boy...so it felt nice warm and cozy to connect with home like that... it was getting late so I hit the street again for dinner... I found a gyro place and had a real fallafle...again the guys there were really friendly... chatting with me a bit... then back for the evening.. the hotel lady asked me if my foot was hurt but it did not seem out of any form of compassion... she seemed to be huge exception to the friendliness in this town..even the little hotel dog was friendly … so I thought she was kind of funny... the room turned out not to have a real window..so it was a bit hot in the room and I did not sleep that well...

6-6-10 Montpellier day 63

6-6-10 Montpellier day 63
I had already decided I would stay an extra day I had a secured place to move to for the evening, the youth hostel. I woke around 8.00 half of the pilgrims were gone already. I definitely did not have enough sleep that night but I could not sleep anymore for now either... the older french woman with the grand daughter was there, and I asked her in german how late she thought I could stay here...she came over to me and sat by me for a while assuring me I could stay as long as I needed, the place was empty now we chatted a bit more..she just exuded so much warmth and kindness... later she would leave too ..and I had that abandoned pilgrim feeling...all others hit the road except for me... I discovered they had free wifi coming into the kitchen from somewhere so I used it to update blogs...I felt a bit weird about staying too long because the hostess the night before had made it clear pilgrims can only stay one night...so around noon... I left with my gear, I definitely limping.. I had gotten a new set of blisters and they were under calluses now... I found an indian restaurant less than a block away and made that my first stop.. I had not even had coffee yet... so I had bean type dish and friendly kind service and of course my coffee... from there I continued a very slow walk towards the youth hostel I got there an hour early there was not place outside it to sit... so I headed back to a cafe I saw.. I sat under the awning and had a beer which I nursed while again playing on laptop...it started pouring rain...all the fine dinners who'd sat outside had to run in and waitstaff bustled around...i had picked the perfect spot..i was still outside able to enjoy the rain without getting me, my gear, and electronics wet... and the rain stopped just as it was time for me to go to the hostel... the door was open and a line of young backpackers were already waiting outside... it felt like a long time for each person to check in..but finally it was my turn.. I did not have a hostel pass but I had my credentials which apparently work the same way here.. I got some linens and a bed assignment... the room had bunk beds perhaps for 12 people...these were not mixed dorms.. I ended up having only two room mates which is always better. I only met one, a young swiss woman traveling with her boyfriend..they were also walking but not as pilgrims they had come from switzerland and had also walked along the italian and french coast ...they headed inland a bit but soon they would turn towards the coast again, their destination was Barcelona... after shower, I went back out again and found a gyro place run by a friendly young Bangladeshi... I got something similar to a fallafel with really spicy sauce... even the french fries came with three diff dipping sauces: A curry sauce, a tamarind sauce and a hot sauce... then back to the hostel … I hung out in the common room and did some mantras and writing...then by 8.30pm I was already in bed...i slept with waking but slept through till 8am in the morning. I still had not really seen much of anything of Montpellier

6-5-10 Gallargues-le-Montueux to Montpllier day 62

6-5-10 Gallargues-le-Montueux to Montpllier day 62

the guys were already awake and up at 6;45 so I made myself roll out of bed.. I grabbed laundry and packed things up.. there was some made coffee waiting for me...and by seven we were leaving the place.. the french man stayed behind he would be leaving a bit later... on the way out of town we stopped at the bakers and I got pizza slice and a small veggie quiche for later... then we followed the red white markers out of town... at an intersection were the greek had left me the day before was a man with a pack and he had the tell tale shell on it so we knew he was a pilgrim too..he seemed a little uncertain about the trail start so we all walked together...he spoke french only so..my italian guide switched from english to french with periodic confusions which were funny... it was clear that the pace at which he wanted to go was slower than me and the older mans... I stoically tried to keep up..in the beginning it was easier because when the french man engaged him in conversation he would slow down while they talked... so secretly I was wishing for lots of conversation that I could not understand.... again as the day progressed despite language barrier there was a growing connection between me and the older french man... he too had made a lot of fuss in the beginning about the heaviness of my pack...again I felt the shame of the inexperienced stupid pilgrim...but after a while when he ascertained...that somehow I had managed to travel by myself for two months walking and from assisi...i seemed to gain some street cred...especially because after the pilgrimage I would continue on by myself to other countries...with some mystic, like maybe Tunisia... he wanted to know where in Provence I had walked and stayed since he was from near there..by the way, the italian would of course translate... I showed him on the map where I had circled the places I over-nighted in red...because to tell you the truth I could not remember the day before never mind several days back, where i had been... perhaps because this pilgrimage presented enough conditions to keep me in the present...back to walking: I wished for more breaks and longer..but I had signed my deal I really wanted to keep up with him since last bit seemed confusing and merky to me and I had run out of map..our french friend would turn off near Baillargues.. I think, he had a sister there and he would stay with her, and he would get to Montpellier by bus the following day...he too was only doing a 15 day portion of the path... and he too was a veteran pilgrim... I was beginning to wonder if I would meet any first timers...now the two of us alone and the day was waning... my friend started pushing ahead... he'd been slowing himself down a lot for me..and I think it was hard for him...so we pushed on...and we both ran out of water ...it was a hot day..with sporadic shade... he speculated somewhat frustrated why the people who created this path did not have the trail get closer to villages...they were all another 3 or more km diversion off the route which is not helpful on such a long stretch.. he said a lot of old people do this journey and this part was the more difficult part because the distances between pilgrim points where so far apart and then there was no place to stop for safe drinking water...i in fact had been low on water way too early, I really thought I had planned better but no...although truthfully I could have drunk four liters that day...and I could never have carried that much... he helped pass the time by talking to me about conspiracy theory stuff, he works in a video store and sees a lot of documentaries...so he talked to me about the plot of a series called Zeitgeist which to me sounded in part 'conspiracy' but also reminded me that for perhaps too long I have not looked deeper into the controlling powers of the world and what is happening to the environment and to civil liberties of all humans. Interestingly this all seemed so much more compelling as I was struggling physically to keep walking..….finally we stumbled into Vendargues, both very foot sore... we came in through the residential side...thirst had made him bold and he asked a man outside his yard if we could have some water... he called his wife and eventually she came out... she agreed and to our happy surprise it was not just a small glass of water but a big cold 1.5 liter bottle, she wanted no payment for it... we split it and downed it in a minute...then we walked to what we thought was a bus stop..after a while a man passed and my friend tried to find out if the bus was running, we were told no..not on a saturday....so we got our things and moved further into town...then we found what was to be the 'right bus stop' it had a schedule and we had 45 min wait till it came.. at this point I was of the impression that it stopped 4kms outside of montpellier so the walking would not be over quite yet.. .we'd cleared about 25 so far and it was 2.30pm ...since we had such a long wait he went to look for a shop with water... I waited under a tree by the stand with our bags... he came back with two more small bottles ..again we both seemed to suck them down immediately...we were so happy about having water... then it turned out despite schedule and despite further confirmation from a local..the bus did not come... my friend said we still had 12kms to do and we'd better get going...hopefully to find another town along the way with tram or bus...so I was trying not to panic..cuz his pace quickened.. and I was dying... I was trying to figure out plan b for myself... one of the probs was I did not have the info to were the pilgrims place was and if he went off ahead I might come in so late it would not be open... so I tried to keep up...but kind of keeping an eye open for hotels or anything... then I saw another bus stand a different line... I think the bus was coming in only a few minutes...but he was concerned we would waist more time waiting for another non-existent bus... ten minutes later it whipped passed us...we were walking through some park and there was a truck vendor for food and drink so we got more water.. .and information that was a blessing to my ears...yes there was a tram station about one km away..and yes it definitely was running.. I almost felt like my friend had given up hope ...he was saying something like if the tram is not running I am going to some place with a lot of people until I get information about taxi which I will then take.. he had a tight 15 day schedule and he did have to meet his marks each day... while he said it we saw a tram coming from the opposite direction so we knew it was still running... I was still limping after him having gotten blisters again today... it had been a while... and sure enough running tram ..even better than bus, because it went into Montpellier completely and it was not running every two hours but every 15 minutes or less, there was a little electric sign giving the times..... we only had a five minute wait..luckily he knew Montpellier so he knew which stop to get off... the ride was air conditioned...he too was complaining about fatigue and foot soreness... it had been a hard day for him too... I found that surprising... when we got into the town...he lead the way with dead certainty through a maze of humans and streets..again I felt lucky to have him as guide... we were both tired enough that the fact that we had walked into the middle of rainbow bright gay pride celebrations...as stinky dirty pilgrims got only weak giggles from ourselves..we came to the pilgrims place and it was already open...there seemed to be a lot of people there being friendly and talking to us..it felt a bit overwhelming .. I just wanted to sit down...the lady who ran it spoke french and spanish so I had to wait for explanations... upon arriving I decided I would stay two days in town.. I was only allowed one night here as a pilgrim but that was fine... there was also a youth hostle in town...so we got things sorted with the lady and credentials stamped... there was no required donation here.. but we could leave money if we wanted.. there was a dorm room and one bathroom which was being used...so because it was getting late we decided to run errands first..he needed after sun lotion since he was getting a reaction from too much sun... he helped me get a french guide which I was dubious about for the pilgrimage for the french part of the trail... he insisted I would not need one in spain because it is so well organized there.. .he showed me a little how to use it..it had maps ...it showed how far things were apart in segments so for someone like me who wont do 30kms in a day it's good to know the in-between stops.. and also phone numbers to make arrangements for overnight stays...he insisted he used the same guide before he spoke french and it proved helpful... so I got it instead of my usual road map..then we stopped at a mini market so he could get some food supplies for his long walk tomorrow...then back to the pilgrims place. We tried to use the bathroom to shower etc..but again some late comer was in there so we waited around..it turned out it was the french buddhist ...when he came out..it turns out he had walked a mere 4kms today and had taken the bus the rest of the way here...he stuck his tongue out at us teasing us for having walked a hard day as we did, we laughed.. I perhaps should have gone with him...but no, the suffering was purifying... ha ha.. .i talked to the hostesses daughter who came in and spoke english..she lived in paris and was just down here to visit child hood friends and her parents... she talked about her adventures travel she had biked through-out asia...including five months in china... she had also traveled from the east to the west of canada … she said she had not traveled much in a couple of years because of work..but it sounded like in the not too distant future she was looking for another long adventure.. I realized that I had developed this tremendous thirst for talking to women... which later in the night would continue.. it just arose without any signs..i just realized as I talked with them that it was almost like sometimes when I come out of retreat and I need to talk too much.. I kept it in check..but I guess the conversations i've had up till now were mostly me learning and listening and perhaps not sharing that much.... an older french lady pilgrim came from the german border so I could speak with her in german...she was very kind and gentle, she too had done the camino...she was here with her teenage grand daughter who had walked with her for a few days but is going back by train now to her home... then a german woman came.. .she again had that extra energy of someone who really engaged in life...so somehow with all this blah blah going on both me and my friend managed to squeeze showers in...and then we went out to dinner it was now passed 8pm..we found a cheaper place... he again ordered steak but got something that looked more like a hamburger paddy... I got some egg cheese thing with veggies in it... perhaps it was in the omelet family? And fries and salad...then we both limped back to the rooms... he was soon heading off to bed...and I thanked him again...for company, conversation, and encouraging tips about my trip... he actually never said anything about my pack being too big...in fact he kind of defended me a little..pointing out that I had made it from Assisi and that as a first timer you just learn as you go..since he too did not know what he was doing the first time.... I went into the kitchen area to plug in my lap top and do mantras, and the usual...when the german lady joined me so we started of course to talk...till really late... but I could sleep in sort of... so she was from Ulm Germany, it's between Stutgard and Munich and therefore southern... she said when she was younger she traveled a lot... but in the last few years she had just worked... she had been on spiritual quest for a while..also traveling in asia...she had looked into many traditions but decided to return back to her roots and became a christian...she is catholic by family but she is joining now collective groups in germany where there is no leader but it's circle of people sharing as peers.. think she called them vineyard groups... because of this rediscovery of her Christianity she wanted to do the camino to see what she would examine her faith and what it really meant.. she seemed to have a lot of common points with me...struggles with a heavy pack...feet problems...she said for a month and a half she was fine (she had also been traveling for two months) but then she hit a wall, I could relate to this...and also she had some issues with getting lost... she talked about weeping in the woods for two hours... we both laughed because that so resonated.... and she felt a lot of practice seemed to be around developing patience...especially when it came to finding places to sleep for the night...i had told her about todays march and chasing after young men...she said she'd seen male and female couple hikers were the man is way ahead and the woman is struggling to keep up.. I laughed because that's kinda what it was like...she said, and this really clicked 'it is a different trip for men, this camino, than it is for women' perhaps that is why I had this thirst awaken in me this day..to talk to women and share our experience... I felt there was a missing component.. I had talked to a few men about the pilgrimage and these were all men who'd done it before.... I felt like their experience though helpful was not quite mirroing mine... not that anyone's would ..but now talking to women not that we were the same either...but there is a piece of their experience that helps complete the picture for me a bit more.... also I think women are better able to express the psychological aspect of their experience to me... she said that for having a bigger pack walking 20kms a day was quite impressive actually...well thank you!... I blabbed on about me as well..but we already know that story..one thing that I talked about that seems to be a continuing thread is this mixed feeling of being both american in some of my traites and world view but also still identifying very much with my european side . When I travel I find that it important to identify myself as both because it is a more accurate description of who I am..in the past I felt like I had become uneuropean and never american enough so I had no real place in either world..now I see with surprise how american I am in some things and not in other..it just is an observation now not a struggle.. simply I get influenced by the places I live in.... after our talk, I still had to do my homework and stayed up way too late... but it was not a quiet night anyway..there was a courtyard with bars and cafes out our windows and gay pride seemed to be going on right outside..with very drunk singing and yelling into the predawn hours... I had my little static on my mp3 that blocked out the noise...but someone in the room closed the windows.. and it got too warm... oh well... I had no walking to do the next day...

6-4-10 Vauvert to Gallargues-le-Montueux day 61

6-4-10 Vauvert to Gallargues-le-Montueux day 61
I knew I had to get out of the school room before 9am so that made me not do the usual slow start..i got out of there and stopped at the bar from last night to have a morning coffee than into the church... I stayed a little longer perhaps even than necessary.. I saw some man whip in who looked to be a pilgrim as well. I went on my way and followed the now fairly easy to find markers of my walkers path...as last time.. it started out along the road leading out of town and then turned into the countryside more..today I would be a lot more vigilant about fallowing markers also the occasional town distance markers meant for us walkers seemed accurate and no broken signs with important info missing, like some from the day before... I knew it would be a short day... only 12 to 13 kms..but I needed a half day... this time I had enough water and weather was again warming up, so it felt good to drink.. the trail forked, I followed sings to Gallargus, apparently there was other towns one could go through instead of this one for the pilgrimage route, but I stuck to the town names I had on my list. The path then seemed to end on a very busy highway...i realized it continued on the other side...after a giant mote...so I crossed the crazy street..had to walk along it for a bit till I found a road the led me back to the continuation of the trail... as I joined it.. I saw a man on the other side of the highway with a bicycle and a lot of gear and he seemed confused by the trail as well I tried to flag him in case it would help but I did not think he saw me. I continued walking..now going back into the countryside... I found a spot of shade and rested ..sure enough the man on bike came along.. he had figured it out... he was obviously a pilgrim he had a perfussion of shells in necklace form and on his bike bags etc... he was short, Mediterranean looking, pony tail and black cap... he spoke english and sat next to me and rested... he said he'd gotten lost twice today, I told him about my experience yesterday... then we got to talking about our origins... he was greek, he had started from Mt Athos his home about 14 months ago.. he had traveled through 10 countries already, he was greek orthodox christian. Apparently he had walked till Rome..but in Rome he got mugged in the middle of the day and was in hospital and respite etc for three weeks... he lost his money and phone etc..but it sounds like he found some patron to take care of him. He showed me a certificate he'd gotten in rome showing his proof of pilgrim and of course credentials... he gifted me one of his shell pendants... and a short while later when I had told him I was buddhist a little bead bracelet that could be a mala in a pinch... he said he had been a greek orthdox monk up till about five years ago, then he fell in love with a canadian woman and left everything...but she moved back to canada leaving him heart broken and of course without his carrier... he said he is over it now but thinks he cant give his heart like that again.. this was the second time he'd done the pilgrimage the first time was just the spanish part... he spoke italian and french very well and of course english...he had taught himself most of it... he said he so loved the french language that he'd become fluent in it.. he insisted when we got up to go again that he carry my big bag on his bike as well... and he would push it as we walked.. the terrain here was such riding it,would have been difficult anyway.. at ditches we had to carry the bike across etc... he said he had developed a blood stone in his leg, I am not sure what it is, but he had to take injection in his stomach daily? Anyway that is why after rome he switched from walking to riding... he said the first time he had a pack close to 30 kg and would walk on a good day close to 60kms... I could not imagine... this time it sounded like he was taking it slower... and his route through italy involved some bike rides in the alps..which sounds impressive... when we came into Gallargues-le-Montueux, it was lunch time and I offered to buy him a coke at a bar there... we had gone to the Mairie, which I finally figured out thanks to him, was the town hall, he spoke french for us which is always helpful because at first the cop at the door made it seem like we were in the wrong place but the ladies inside welcomed us in because they knew who we were..pilgrims.. so I was told after the stamped out credentials that the lady who runs the pilgrims place would come at five o'clock it was around 1pm...i had no problems waiting in the bar till then. He insisted we should try and get some food... but the restaurants here close at 2pm for afternoon break we had started to look too late.. he seemed frustrated.. then he tried to have me share a hotel room with him because it was his birthday and the info on the pilgrimage here was that it was just an old school room...having had last nights experience I thought how bad could it be? We went walking to look for other food options because even though I did not feel hungry again I knew that I should just eat anyway... he then left me on a park bench in he shade to wait while he checked out the hotel situation... the bench was next to a circus which was not open yet..but they were grazing a little pony and a llama outside... I whiled away some time playing on my lap top...then it seemed my greek friend was not returning ..perhaps my lack of enthusiasm to share a hotel room had caused him to loose interest in my company. So I headed back up to the bar... I saw a young man waiting out in the sun where the pilgrims lady was suppose to come... he still had two hours....apparently he had already waited one, he made the fact that she would come less certain.. he said he had been told in the Mairie office that he needed to call her... he had but she did not answer...so he would wait here till five, and if she did not show, then he'd try the camp ground... I went to the bar and found there was some pay-per-use wifi I could access so I played again with lap top and hydrated..to make up for all those days I did not... then I too joined the young man outside the door.. he had light luggage... and seemed like he was more experienced hiker and pilgrim. This was true... He was from Rome Italy and he had done the pilgrimage before.. this time he only had 15 days so he was doing only a part of the french section... he seemed like a really nice guy and I asked him questions about the pilgrimage in spain.. the greek man had made it sound very competitive and had said he chose to spend most nights outside because you had to call ahead each day to guarantee a bed. I got the sense that without a(mobile) cell phone I would be screwed. But this man made it sound much more manageable... he said the spanish part was really easy... the markings were everywhere to follow the trail...the villages lived for the pilgrims...and you met lots of cool people..the greek man warned me of 100 plus people in a dorm and worry of being robbed.. also apparently your credentials were your most valuable asset so dont ever let them out of your sight... they were the key in the door.. the italian man agreed with this piece.. he said especially the last 100kms you had to make sure to get them stamped twice a day since if you did not.. all the other stamps did not count because apparently some people started taking buses and that meant they were cheating and to avoid that they had the two stamp per day policy now... he had taught himself french, english and some spanish on the last pilgrimage...i was impressed meeting these self taught language geniuses... the woman did eventually come... she was very bubbly and very nice... and spoke really fast french so that even my new friend had problems following her..but he'd been here three times already so he more or less knew the procedure... the dorm room was actually quite nice and so was the kitchen... we got our orientation, explanation about the keys and where to leave them the next day.. even which restaurant was better and where to buy grocery food..my friend acted as translator... she helped also in explaining the next leg of the journey apparently you walk a lot and then take a bus or a train for the rest.. this surprised me but apparently this was common practice for this stretch since it was so long and no real possibility of break in between.. after she left we went looking for the restaurant.. the owners were there but not open till seven so we got reservations, pilgrims get special discount in some places like here... then we stopped at the little market and picked up some snacks and beer to wait out the dinner..when we returned a new pilgrim had arrived a friendly wiry french man that had already met the italian at another point.. so they knew each other.. he spoke no english... I went and showered and soaked my laundry then joined them for some beer and my delicious snack a small can of lentils.. I am worried about protein... then we went up to the restaurant leaving the french man behind who would cook his own dinner... the restaurateur was really friendly we got our food..the italian got his steak... I got some sort of salad with a giant cheese thing in dough crust baked... almost too much cheese if that is possible.. after dinner we both headed back to the room... the french man had a bead strung necklace looking like a mala so I asked him if it was a buddhist mala.. yes he too was a tibetan buddhist man on catholic pilgrimage... we laughed at each other... later I saw him pull out his prayers and I pulled out my lap top with mine... we laughed at each other again...even without language we had some sort of camaraderie... I would stay up a while longer speaking with the young italian...we had decided to walk together the next day...he pretty much knew this route so I had a guide...he talked about about his world view and me a bit about mine.. he looked a lot younger than his 30, but I found he seemed very wise and had a good perspective on life.. he considered himself christian but like many the hierarchy of the Vatican bothered him.. he felt true saints were not being recognized by the church if it was not politically of benefit. He too had read all of Carlos Castaneda and was quite into the teachings with-in it. And also had Paulo Coehlo's Alchemist and the pilgrimage book he had written.. my friend had found his first copy of the alchemist on his first pilgrimage.. .he talked about that too about how in the beginning he know nothing...and how other pilgrims had helped him...and even eventually taught him proficiency in both english and french.. he said the Camino provides you as you need when you need it, and not before... i felt, I had already experienced a little of that...so I got it..he also talked about how basically following a spiritual path was simple for him, he knew what was right action and what was wrong, he could feel it in his gut.. but he had a choice... if he chose wrong action he would have to face the consequences.. he said as long as your okay with living with the consequences of what ever action you take...than that is okay...but if you try to cheat or act unethical and then get upset that you now face the consequences then that is not real maturity..ethics is a very strong beginning component on the buddhist path...of course it is there through out...but ethics has to be there from the beginning because it can help stabilize your mind which in turn helps with the deeper practices of meditation later... so often when taking your refuge vows to become buddhist they come with the five precepts... in tibetan buddhism the way I was taught you can initially take only one of the precepts.. 'dont kill' and as you build confidence you can renew your vows and take on more.. anyway point is I love talking to people who are figuring out their own spiritual path like this young italian has...because the basic strain of common sense that is the better qualities of the different religions can be arrived at with-out being told what to do... like in this case.. he figured out for himself...that it has made him a stronger person to live in line with his values.. I had agreed to get up early because I wanted to walk with him...in part to see if i could walk longer and a bit faster and also since the thing with finding a bus at a certain point was confusing to me...so I got my stuff ready at night... and went to bed... around 10.30.
there were sheets on our mattresses but perhaps because it was also a school connected building the mattress itself had plastic cover which made things quite hot at night... but I slept fair...

6-3-10 St Gillis du Gard to Vauvert day 60

6-3-10 St Gillis du Gard to Vauvert day 60
a good nights sleep .. I was slow getting out again... stopped at the church and when I tried to pay..since there seemed to be an entry fee the lady who remembered me from yesterday...said something about my credentials and let me in for free...there was again a crypt bellow ground..there were a couple of markers but one was for st Gillis..who I think was the man person entombed here... I stayed for a while absorbing what I could then started my walk... I had water and snacks for the road.. I stopped at the tourist office and got little information on the actual path..just were the trail started... so the way out of town was clearly marked ..follow the white and red strip marker and the shell when ever it appeared...then once I got on the trail..the marker seemed to stop...i just assumed it was because there was no turn offs that would confuse and therefore like other times the markers just ceased...after a while though I realized that maybe I should see something to tell me I am on the right path.. I tried to flag down a car, but it would not stop..i kept walking..then I saw a marker I was not suppose to see..the yellow one..last night the lady expressly told me not the yellow one but the red and white... so I figured something had gone wrong.. what to do... then I came across a channel..there were two men fishing.. I asked them for direction: Vauvert, the main man hesitated..the other one pointed in a direction ..finally they both agreed.. the main man, i'd been addressing..indicated that he was confused but now had it sorted..yes go that direction but it was 20km... I had already walked 5 kms and the whole walk was suppose to be only 16 so I knew I had gone off the wrong direction... I walked along the channel for a while... maybe an hour, then I saw a sign showing st gillis, the place i'd started from this morning, was 7kms in one direction..but there was a second sign, saying it was also 7kms in the other direction... did this channel travel in a ring around St Gillis???, I checked the map...it could be one of two waterways, neither of them circled St Gillis... I was perplexed and frustrated...then I saw another sign...this finally indicated a town on my map...it was a town I should have hit a while back had I gone the right way..but it gave me hope... I came to it and moved away from this waterway... in town the only thing open was a restaurant I tried to ask the young waiter there directions.. I know how to ask in french but if you give me a paragraph answer I am lost...so I just paid attention to his hand movements, thanked him cheerfully and followed the waving hands... it brought me out to a main road.. and from there the large scale map I had sort of coincided with the info I had gotten last night from the lady..so I took a chance... walked counter to the street signs and off road again..and sure enough found the right channel to walk along it...and the white and red markers that had failed me before, reappeared... I think my pride was a bit pricked because the idea of getting this lost after two months of doing it alone was a deflating.. I definitely felt that this stretch would be better done with more people who had more eyes..so if one missed a sign the other would catch it... the trail turned into fruit orchards...and sometimes the trail marker was hidden under shadowy trees... I missed the mark at least once... and had to Back track.. at least now I knew if I did not see a sign for at least ten minutes I had missed something... the trail kept turning too, at right angles so there was no intutive sense of going the right way... finally the trail left the orchards and crossed an old tarred road..the markers just stopped... I first went left... frustrated no sign of marker... a car came by I asked he send me on opposite direction I walked towards that but it seemed to lead just to a farm house... then I tried the final option... after chancing that for twenty minutes I finally saw a marker again.. I had already lost my sense of humor...about two hours ago I had seen a sign saying seven kms left...which should take less than two hours.. now I saw a sign saying I had four more kms to go... how bad did I screw up? Well at least I was seeing signs again...for most people st gillis is a halfway point of the day...for me it was a whole day's walk... I was worried about not being able to find someone for the pilgrimage place if I showed up too late.. I think it was sixish when I got there.. I went to the usual oasis 'the bar'..since I had run out of water again two hours ago..not having expected the day to go so long... and the bartender there mercifully spoke english and better yet had the phone number for the man in charge of pilgrims on speed dial... I had a mere ten minute wait when the man showed up..he was friendly, short, sixty something man who spoke english and took me and my stuff to his car.. .a quick ride up the hill and I was in a giant room that was the multipurpose room for the catholic school from what I gather … there were collapsible cots in a closet.. a kitchenette...shower adjacent..and bathroom out side of hall... all had their keys..he told me all about the keys...were to get food for dinner and stamped my credentials... I paid a five dollar fee.... he seemed actually happy to hear I was american..apparently he had worked in oil fields in africa and the persian gulf..he had worked with american companies... he warned me that no one in town spoke english, because the way they teach english in france, does not help with speaking...i've had the same experience learning french in the english school... he complained that after several years of school-english he had found it useless in working with english speakers...he had to teach himself... he left me and wished me luck... I was a little amused at my giant bedroom... I found a corner to set up my cot..showered and lay around for a while.. I forced myself to dinner just cuz...melty camenber and bagette chips was not a meal... I went to the restaurant he had mapped for me and got a salad which was meal size...then back to the room... I tried to sleep in the cot...but my hips hurt...i found a mat on-top of the closet and a blanket and slept on the floor instead with much better results...

6-2-10 Arles to St Gillis du Gard day 59

I had not slept much and got up early to pack and be out of there by 8am as per agreement the night before... when I was finishing my coffee dishes the woman of the house came down and asked to see my credentials, she stamped them, as I said before, as if I had passed some sort of test... then she gave me directions for todays walk...again the off road trip would be about 4 kms longer than the road but it was not a car road so therefore better... I thanked her for everything and was off... first I had to walk towards town but not quite into it... I had to start following the river, which I had not known was there the day before... I crossed the bridge... and found a bakery where I got a sandwhich and a mini quiche for lunch although again there was this resistance to buying food when I was not hungry..but for a change I needed to think ahead..the bakery lady recognized i was a pilgrim and was surprised i was doing it all alone, she indicated most people did it in groups like three and four.. walking,  on this side of the river  I had to also follow it passed a cementary and from there the offical walking trail started, it lead inland..but would follow a river most of the day...first the landscape was flat and passed a few residential areas...but then it got more interesting... it switched from dry farm land to wetlands some cultivated some not... there were reeds growing to the sides of my path...one side was wide open plains of wetlands or switching to dry, the other had the dark tree covered water way... there was periodic changes of wild flowers along the way..and changing cloud patterns so I kept finding I had to take just one more photo...

because I knew I was tired … I decided to listen to a few dharma talks I had on my i-pod, sadly not very many.. but it made me feel a bit more inspired.... there was a cool breeze sometimes quite strong for the first several hours of the walk and shade areas for breaks... I could tell I was not feeling that strong because I had to stop every 40 minutes...which cut into my momentum. As the afternoon progressed the lack of sleep started catching up on me...also I had misjudged the water amount again and ran out of water maybe two hours before walk's end and here was nothing but farm lands again and the wind had died down and the heat rose... the walk started feeling long and I wanted it to be over...there were enough markers and the map helped keep me on track especially at the end where it was not clear by marker what I should do...but the map made it more obvious that I had to follow an old rail line no longer in use.... the path had been rocky all day... now it was thick dried grass which made me feel like it was slowing me down...but this too ended and turned finally into a road...the first shop I saw on the outskirts of town, seemed to sell a weird combination of lavender products, wine, religious paraphanelia, and crystal ware, I went in asking with a sense of hopelessness if they perhaps had water.. oh yes they did... big giant bottle for only a euro... I was very relieved.. I got an origina as well cuz water and sugar sounded damn good right now.. I downed the water in giant gulps... and the pop also desipeared quickly... I did not even care what the rest of the day would bring... with this basic need sated.... after some rest, I walked into town...it was small but it seemed to attract small herds of tourists.. I saw the pilgrimage but it was locked, and I saw a pilgrim's cafe also closed..so I went into the still open church...there was a little ticket office in there and the woman although I did not speak french and she no english, figured out that I needed to stay at the pilgrimage and made the requiset phone call... she then guided me back to the the little pilgrimage and told me to wait ten minutes... sure enough in less than that time the door opened and a woman let me in..she spoke great english and was very friendly and kind..she gave me the run down of the place.. this was infact a dorm room...i had to pay a ten euro fee and got my credentials stamped..she told me where I could find food and info for the walk tomorrow... I was surprised I was the only pilgrim, she said the day before there where 14 people... I tried to imagine what that must have been like... secretly I was glad to have the place to myself.. I could shower when I wante,d stay up or go to bed when I wanted, and hog the washing line and sink... I told her I had not slept well before, prob because I was a bit weirded out by the sleeping arangements.. she asked if she should stay the night there to make me feel safe... I realized I sounded like a scared kid, I laughed and said i'd be alright...she then left me... I did the usual wash up and then went back out to the little supermarket and got some prefab salads, nuts, chocolate, cheese and crackers...oh and a can of veggie raviolie..some of it was for tomorrows walk... some that night... there was a mentally ill homeless guy squating across the street from me... I thought about whether he would accept food from me but when I came back someone must have given him a bowl of food and blankets because he was eating when I saw him... throughout the eve I'd hear him yell at anyone noisy..be it loud music from a car, people talking too loudly on the front steps, or mopet.... I thought I kind of agreed with him...there was a lot of noise...and it was in his bedroom, the street... it was strange to be in an empty dorm room and knowing he was out there on the street..but I was not willing to suffer the consequenses of someone mentally ill in my sleeping space.... eventually the night grew quiet and so did he... I think he slept even longer than me, because he was still out when I left the place... I, luckily had one of those dark, black-out sleeps with no memory of dreams at all...

6-1-10 St-Martin-de-Crau to Arles to day 58

6-1-10 St-Martin-de-Crau to Arles to day 58
there was again a bit of hesitation about getting going... but did eventually hit the road.. had coffee along the way... and stopped at an open church...which was very simply decorated... I had to myself and tried to center myself before I started walking..i did not really have anyone to ask about the path ahead... I knew it would only be 16kms to Arles... I took a road on my map which was lead straight into town... again there was a good wind blowing...i passed through several traffic circles... eventually one said something like 'scenic road' to Arles..so I took that one... mostly I think the scenic piece meant it had arcades of trees covering the road which did look pretty... it certainly helped block some of the wind and also of course shade... unfortunately it did not leave room for a margin to walk out of traffic.. so I was walking along the road until oncoming traffic and then I would step into the grassy side... I still had foot soreness and felt not super energized so even though it was an easier day I had to apply some of that stubborn discipline to keep going.. I know I need an off day...but I was fixated on getting to Arles because it was the first town of the active part of the pilgrimage..and I was apparently ready to make it official..as if up until now it was a trail run...there was some towns I went through so I was able to get the request caffeine and water and at some point water... the second half of the road trip.. the cars seemed to need to go faster and I felt they were less patient with having me in the road.. I stopped at one point and watched big and small birds on this one patch of green having their disputes but also sometimes struggling with the winds and or playing in the winds...depending on their size and what the wind was doing... I did finally reach Arles late afternoon... I found the tourist office... and told the girl I would be working with that I was a pilgrim...she gave me some addresses with phone numbers... then showed me on the map two of the locations..when I asked her if I could just show up there she said yes..i went to both addresses whipping past the towns interesting sights thinking I would get to enjoy them a bit later... at both instances no one answered the door when I rang... so frustrated I went back to the tourist office ..waited in line and dealt with the same girl again.. I told her that no one answered the door...i was not traveling with a mobile phone and besides I dont speak french so I probably would not get very far...so somewhat reluctantly she started calling for me.. two places were not interested in late arrivels but one place would be open..turns out she had given me the wrong address to this one...it was actually located outside of town..she said a twenty minute walk, I looked at the map and doubted that... but I was fixated.. I am a pilgrim, I must stay at a pilgrimage place... this late in the day stubbornness reasserting itself... there was also a youth hostel at another end of town...but I decided this would be my destination... again I walked passed some cool looking places.. the church was now closed, the amphitheater and an old roman coliseum... charming lavender product shops... restaurants... past the old town walls...past the train station...into a part of town...loosing it's glamor and wealth... the walk seemed to take for-ever... but eventually found the landmarks I was suppose to look for and then the street...it was a private residential street.... and a bit to my surprise so was the address I was suppose to go to...i was dubious... I had spotted a somewhat seedy looking hotel ten minutes back which would be option b..should this proof a mistake... a woman mid-aged came out... she spoke only french...but pretty much the first thing she said was … I had to pay a mandatory 20 euro donation.. I did not mind the price but I was put off by her manner..and that she was so fixated on money immediately...i agreed to the amount.. then the gate still closed to me..she asked for my credentials... I showed them... I think she wanted to see a stamp from the last town I was in as some sort of confirmation that I was not some random creep..but the last town I had stayed in a hotel.. but I pulled out my map and showed her the places i'd stayed and which direction I was headed... she let me in through the back of the house... it was a home.. the downstairs was for pilgrims … it was actually a nice little home.. and I felt awkward being this somewhat mistrusted stranger who would be staying at her house... but she let me in..showed me a nice room with bath...showed me the down stairs kitchen.... and then brought some food down for me...she asked me what time I wanted to get up..she asked 7am? I thought wow, no not yet... so I went for 8 am ..this seemed okay with her.. I got the sense she was eager to set my on the road again as soon as possible... she showed me the envelope were to pay.. and breakfast stuff like where the french press was and the water heater... there was not much friendly chemistry between us but it was not hostile either...but I still felt a bit strange... I had expected more of a little center maybe attached to a church with dorm rooms.. not a private persons downstairs of a house... she then retired upstairs and I heard her lock the upstairs door behind me... I ate my meal which was almost vegetarian and actually kind of sweet... it was some sort of quiche derivative egg dish, I discovered it had little pits of pork in which I pulled out.. a little salad, some baguette bread and Camembert... and for desert a little chocolate pudding and half a melon... after I did washing of self and some laundry which I hung in the shower to dry...then journal and mantra...but sleep was intermittent … I woke a lot and stayed awake for long periods... I think it had to do with the energy of my introduction to this house...i notice...that there is a danger of playing the 'could a-should a game' were in retrospect I kick myself for not having taken this or that action instead... ie just go to the damn youth hostel in the first place...but then I have to be honest and kind to myself... it is not that I can predict what will work out or not..what is a good idea or not... until after the fact..that's the whole point of this kind of travel... you have to make decisions blind and then deal with what ever arises out of that decision as congenially as possible.. no need to create disturbed mind ..but playing 'could-a-should-a' that just creates further unnecessary suffering... besides, I was safe, warm, dry... resting my legs...clean and fed... and a total stranger took me into her home, and not only that I was a foreigner who did not even speak her language.....now that is something....and all based on an idea called 'pilgrim'
….of course I slept deeply and dreamt about 15 mins before alarm went off...i realized the next day when she stamped my credentials, for she did have the stamp...that now if I was to find another private persons house in the next town..this stamp would vouch for me... I had passed the test of being a good enough guest so that the next host could trust I behaved within the realms of decency... of course the next town it would be different situation again...

5-31-10 Salon-de-Provence to St-Martin-de-Crau day 57

5-31-10 Salon-de-Provence to St-Martin-de-Crau day 57
although I had slept fairly well... when I woke I felt like I needed a lot more sleep... but I made myself get going..once packed I returned to the front desk..and asked the woman for help in finding the right route to walk...she printed out a little close up of the area, she told me with big smile that today it was windy... I told her I liked wind.. (well if it was in my favor)... she high-lit the gauntlet of circles I had to negotiate... France has a plethora of traffic circles for intersections... it's kind of a local specialty... on the way out.. I spotted a McDonalds ...danger.... I had coffee and fries again and of course compulsively whipped out the lap top..and yes diddled on it and some how another hour passed..then I tried to go into a supermarket and get some water..but they had some suited man in there who was very arrogant about letting me know I could not go in there with my pack... my anger stirred more than I expected.. and I left the place without water and started walking the circle gauntlet...as no other businesses appeared for a while..i regretted my 'storm out'.. I knew i'd be facing a long stretch of nothing and to do so without water was stupid..but yes there was a 'Geant Casino'... a super-supermarket... and the security did not harrass me one bit... I got plenty of water and a juice..but could not get myself to even look at food... again I knew I had a long stretch ahead but no appetite...

when I started walking in earnest...it was much later than it should be for someone who walks a bit slow and has over 20kms to clear... there was a point where I knew if a branched off I could find camping and try again the next day...cuz I really was not in the mood...then I passed up that opportunity...then again around an industrial park... I could have tried for a residential hotel that had advertised special with in my budget posted on it's exterior..and again right this day off...but no...knowing I had 16kms still to do and my insides rebelling...the stubborn streak in me insisted I should keep going... not all my parts are in good communication with each other... and so I went... and stopped frequently... again I would feel each hour trickle by.... I had for the first half of the walk the bike lane I could walk in..so that felt fairly safe...since cars were whipping past at 70 plus kms...but I had wind... real wind... make me 'walk like a drunk' wind... and when a big truck passed.. 'almost blow me over' wind... I remember hearing about Arles (the town real close to this area) that in spring the winds get so strong..that any crime committed out of passion during that time would get a mitigating sentence since the winds were in part to blame.. also one theory is that the winds of Arles were the finishing blow on Van Gogh's sanity.. the winds I was dealing with were softened by the onset of summer..and fortunately came and went in intensity and direction... mostly the pushed me slightly away from traffic and from the back...i noticed I had little inclination to pull out my camera this day... it was a buckle down and do the work.cuz i had a late start..and now needed to get it over with, grim day...and sure enough almost 20kms without any cafe or oasis in sight... halfway the friendly bike lane ended.. and I had to walk either on lumpy grass and rock or walk the road till oncoming traffic force me to step of the road again... as I walked into early evening...i started getting rush hour traffic..so I was mostly on the uneven edge... finally near the end of the walk

.. I went under a bridge which lead under the superhighway that ran next to my road..to another lesser used road..and walked that for the last 40 minutes till it ended and I had to merge again with the busy road...finally Martin-de-crau... it was now nearing 8pm...i was hopeful since I saw more than one hotel sign advertised coming in to town but there was still the concern of shut down lobbies because they were done for the night... I went for the first sign I could find.. a two star alberge..they were still open ..but even though it was two star, I was shocked at the price.. I asked her if she knew more economic hotel.. she was on the way guiding me out about to show me...when she gave me a new better price... and I took it... I washed up ...and dared to try the restaurant attached to this place... I did not get a really veggie meal it had some fish in it but also lentils..it was fancy small french portions...but it hit the spot... and just to make certain that I would sleep well I had a shot of whiskey for desert... then off to bed..and once again I hit it lucky with a good night's sleep...

5-30-10 La Fare-les-Oliviers to Salon-de-Provence day 56

5-30-10 La Fare-les-Oliviers to Salon-de-Provence day 56
so I had set the alarm to 8.30 since I knew the man was coming by around 9.00 to show me the way to the pilgrimage walk... I packed up and made a little coffee from the supplies provided.. I also ate my baguette chips with slightly stinky Camembert..but is it not better that way? The man came while I was still eating.. I hurried and cleaned up and got my stuff together to go..first we walked through the back downstairs of the pilgrimage into the church..the same nun who had brought me to the pilgrimage was there and she wished me luck again as she was preparing the church for service.. I was a bit surprised in a way that there was no pressure to stay for service, after all it was sunday and was I not on a catholic pilgrimage?, perhaps they assumed that because I did not speak french it was not something I needed to do.. or perhaps I had too many bad experiences with more proselytizing forms of Christianity in a certain culture that I am leery of pressures to convert..not that I would mind sitting through a service..inhaling what ever spiritual energy there might be when you get a gathering of faithful.... but instead out of the church we went, he guided me to a car, which I had not expected.. he then drove me to the start of the pilgrimage map after giving me a copy of a hand drawn map for the walk.. he said it was about 20 something kms via this way to Salon, via road he said would be 15kms.. so I thought okay so its a little over and hour difference.. he and I agreed it would be better to walk this way than the road... when he helped me get my pack out of the car, he hissed concerned he said it should only weigh 8kg...i thought to myself geeze i'd have to get rid of half my stuff..and this is already the lightest i've packed for a long trip...'I said I know! I know!' to him... and took my bags from him and he wished me luck chuckeling at me...

he had dropped me off at the beginning of a trail head.. he said ten minutes uphill than flat.. he promised that the path was well marked and if I had doubt there would be plenty of joggers, hikers and bikers on trail to ask.. the trail started as he said...way in the distance once I climbed for a bit I could see a little of the town I had just left..and the near by lake... the landscape was dry white rocks with green scruff... I saw the markers of the pilgrims shell and was happy to be on this trail... it was nice to be on a trail again and not along a road.. I did not run into much of anyone... there were a lot of branching paths,off the trail... the hand drawn map was more or less accurate as to which turn offs to avoid and I could find the shell symbol gold on blue, every time I had doubt... at one point I was to look for a cistern which I found but it was on the other side of the trail from what the map indicated.. and there was another trail near by but I got it sorted anyway..again finding the shell symbol...i saw cool looking beetles scuring past me way to fast to photo..i came across a giant sculpture in a circle overlooking the valley it seemed to be a memorial to a fallen soldier... then some planes shot past, they were in the color of the french flag.. and looked military..but then they did artistic smoke trailing loops over a near by village looking more like exhibition planes... in seattle we get the annual blue angels doing their noisy aerial tricks overhead...these were similar... then I descended into the valley and eventually crossed a road and the trail itself became more like an un tared road..then I crossed over a highway ..there was a directional marker once I got across but then all markers stopped... and would not reappear....since the man had told me the trail would be well marked I was concerned.. but I knew I had followed the directions carefully and I ran into no one to ask... so on I went full of doubt for another hour or so... doubt makes me walk slower I noticed... this was a dirt road now leading through farm country..wheat fields mostly ..some already getting golden..

I was fretting a bit more since I could be doing serious negative miles... but eventually I heard noise of a car road... once I got on it.. I saw the golden shell sticker on blue on a traffic sign.. I shook my head at it..'sure now you show up'... then as per instructions I fallowed this road towards Pelissanne and Salon de Provence signs.. I was a bit dismayed how far they still where... the road had little traffic but also no curb...so when cars did pass it was a little tense.. also storm clouds seemed to be brewing over head... I think once I had finished my nature walk having to deal with a car road again..made me not be 'in the mood' ...but of course it was choice-less... the road I needed to follow to Salon de Provence did not go into Pelissanne proper but just passed outside of it by maybe a km...so again I might have missed some charmingness... it was not even that late, but once I rolled into Salon I started looking for accommodations... I was done...i found a really cheap hotel called f1 if you wanted to you could do automated check in just using your credit card and you'd get assigned a key code to let you in to your assigned rooms.. since the front desk was still open I went to it instead..there were two hotels next to each other affiliated.. f1 was the cheaper one with bathrooms outside.. so I got room...showered did the laundry... rested... and waited for 7.30 when the restaurant would open next door...since I had nothing to eat all day except for my little breakfast...and it was sunday so the supermarket across the street was empty the restaurant was in the slightly more upscale hotel next door... they had actually two items on the menu listed as what sounded to me totally vegetarian ..so to be safe I ordered the veggie lasagna ..my waiter was very chirpy and spoke english.. there were a few other people in the restaurant ..we were all solo dinners and the others where men.. I had a japanese man next to me on one side and a french man on the other... after dinner and after the japanese man left...the french man next to me approached me shyly asking if I was the american woman named Karen something... I told him, 'no I was not'... he said he was waiting for an american woman like me... I was surprised that he knew I was american...usually people do not guess that with me right away.. I had wondered why he had continued to wait around after his dinner was over... I know people relax here and enjoy their meals but this was different... then I wrote a mental letter to this Karen something... 'dear Karen, as you know, Americans do not have the best reputation abroad, especially in places like France... Please do not inflict further injury on our reputation, by standing up a lovelorn french man without even calling the front desk of the hotel with some excuse...seriously...standing up dates is just rude.. and perhaps could lead to further mistrust and dislike for people from our culture... sincerely, a concerned USA passport holder..'
growing up in europe i found the rules of manners at times oppressive and like i could never master all the codes of conduct..it seems in America these codes of conduct are now viewed as old fashioned...but having been away from the a long time.. i find some of them refreshingly helpful and even friendly at times... as dinners were leaving the restaurant, they would say good evening to the strangers at the other tables out of politeness but it also helps connect people in a friendly way..so i really thought it was a nice touch...as I left to pay my bill at the front desk... the lovelorn man was now in the lobby watching tv, still waiting... the young waiter took my money and then proceeded to give me very wrong change... it wass very short... I kinda looked at him ...and then tried to help him do the math... he apologized saying he was bad in math... and I did get right change.. more or less...but it's gotten me wondering a bit about the money thing here, and more conscious about my cash here...i do believe he was sincere, in his claim of bad math..but too bad its not been in my favor yet... I went back to my little room... and watched a bit of french Law and Order... and slept quite nicely thank you...

5-29-10 Aix en Provence to La Fare-les-Oliviers day 55

5-29-10 Aix en Provence to La Fare-les-Oliviers day 55
so I left the room latish near 11:00, knowing full well I had a fair bit of walking ahead... I got my bearings from the hotel man who seemed both impatient and yet willing to help... so I hit the road without again having seen much of Aix... including the various Cezanne haunts that were listed on my map, this was his home town... I saw open air art market in one square as I passed... this was an art town... I found a bar and ordered a coffee I totally botched the order with my mispronunciations.. I was about to try again..when the man took pity on me and said 'say it in english'... funny, well people at least give me an 'e' for effort...then onwards... I passed a giant Casino supermarket which is kind of like a Target or Fred Meyer on the west coast of USA, it had 'everything' I tried to find ingredients to fix my tent... I finally found some fabric I could use for patching and ductape. This had killed more time... to slow things down further I found someplace to eat a sandwhich..then finally I was willing to put some distance under my feet... visually it was not the most interesting day... I was walking along D10 which had enough of a curb and side walk, and sparse enough traffic I did not pay it much mind.... i had new shoe inserts and for the first half of the day it was fine..but the days of sore feet dont go away completely and sure enough as the day progressed I got foot sore again.. yet I seemed to cover more distance in a shorter time than I had done in a while so that was good.. near Ventabren, which I hit late afternoon, I asked the bar man if he knew of camping or hotels up the road towards la Fare... he made it seem like I might have some luck in la Fare, he did say it was another 10kms away... it was late afternoon but I felt confident today I could do that...

he really charged me a lot for water, I dont know if it's because I had said I was american, and we are known to be stupid about money...but then when my face sank, he suddenly proffered a free coke for the road...so I guess I came out even... I thanked him and hit the road again... I should say I was pretty lucky with the weather there was a strong breeze all day so I never felt too hot... I arrived in La Fare-les-Oliviers around sixish... my hopes were sinking, this did not look like a place with a hotel... and the next place on the map was 7kms away and I had to climb up a hill first and also there was no guarantees that it would have a place to stay... I went into the second bar I saw... and asked.. no.. no hotel .. I pulled out my map.. to see if they could maybe point me in a direction... I was ready to find a bush to crash under if need be...though I decided I would not want to meet a wild boar..prob the only dangerous animal out here... this old man was kind of inviting me to stay at his place but he had no food he said... I kinda pretended I did not understand him..he ended up buying the coke I had just drunk for me...so I thanked him for his kindness...since he was saying it all in french... at one point a man who did speak english had come in and he was recruited by the bar to help me.. he had one of those i-phones so he was looking up hotels for me... which was awesome... but it seemed I would have another 7 kms ahead of me in the least.. and then if it is a small town hotel and I role in after 8pm would they be open? Often i've noticed the reception closes up shop around 8pm in small hotels and they give you a night entry key... then I realized a pregnant woman was on the phone with someone on my behalf..it turns out there is a place where pilgrims can stay in this town.. problem was getting someone to open it... she did not speak much english but had me come with her to a place behind the church..there indeed I saw the symbol of pilgrims the shell..but the gate was closed.. she seemed to know everyone in town and kept stopping to kiss people on the cheeks as is the french greetings.. she asked some people on that block for information for me... she took me to the door of her friends apartment... and had him call someone for me... this took another ten minutes as more and more curious people came out of the apartment and little toddlers came tumbling out... then I was taken back to the bar by the woman, something had been sorted... at the bar the old man who had bought me the coke was kind of arguing with some young guys about being respectful to me if I spent the night at his place, the men seemed to not be impressed with his sincerity and kind of made fun of him...but I knew I was now safely taken care of, so I pretended to not understand anything and just waited bemused for my pregnant savior to herd me on...at this point she handed me off to her male friend and said good bye to me, saying he would take me to the nuns..i tried to thank her but she made it all seem like not much trouble....the man took me a short distance to a house and rang the bell, he spoke a bit of english.. he told them who I was and these three frail old ladies invited me into their house, the man said good bye and wished me luck... they were nuns but wore lay clothes, they did have the tell tale crosses pined to their shirt or as a pendant.. non spoke english.. one nun spoke a little spanish...they offered me food, first a potatoes carrot soup... while I ate, the door rang and man was brought in, he spoke some english, he was in charge of the pilgrims he said... he told me I should eat, and went away..there was confusion about whether I was alone or not since I had been brought here by another man... the nuns continued to feed me... now a type of pizza with some french cheese melted on top and a salad..then the spanish french nun insisted with a lot of relish that I needed beer, she brought in two small bottles of Heineken... and had me drink... she would try to speak to me in slow spanish in hopes to be more understandable than french... I tried in turn to really prick my ears up to see if I could at least catch some context... somehow we did get a little bit of story exchange, I dont know how this happens but I have had mini conversations before where no common language was spoken... they commented on my bronze skin... because by now I had gotten quite dark.. and they laughed at their own paleness... they were very impressed with me for having walked 20kms... and they were surprised that I would walk in the sun without a hat.. when they found out that I had walked all the way from Assisi, they were more impressed..when asked how many days i'd been walking, I told them about 50 days...this seemed to be significant... then I more or less understood that these nuns were new to this town, that had come here from Paris, and have also been here 50 days...they laughed that they had taken the train..no walking!.. then desert, fruit yogurt and apple sauce... surprising no meat except for these little fish sticks in some of the salad that was easy to avoid... at this point the man came back.. he had the keys to the pilgrims place, he said he could not find my friend... I tried to explain again that it had just been a man from the bar who had helped me and that I was alone... I felt bad if he spend a lot of time looking for this man... he talked to one of the nuns about the keys.. and he told me about the sign-in-sheet...where the bathroom was and where the stamper was for my credentials. .he told me he would come by the next day around 9am to show me the beginning of the Camino walk... then one of the nuns went with me back to behind the church... she too had never seen this place.. so we went in together... the bathroom and shower, where down in the court yard , and the place I was staying was up some stairs... it ended up being a large room divided.. one area had dining table and tv... the other had kitchen and three beds... it smelled a little moldy in there, like this place did not get used much... and the man had said as much, this was not part of the official route so there was not a lot of traffic coming through here per year.... the nun was concerned that there was no food in the pantry not even a baguette, she was afraid I would not have breakfast... I then assured her I had baguette crackers and cheese in my bag..she was relieved, she wished me a good night and a good journey... and I was alone.. I had been warned that the shower would be cold since he did not have time to get the heat going...it was still warm enough so I was willing to take a quick cold shower... then laundry which I hung out in the little courtyard... then settling in for the night... the bed had a weird spongy mattress but still I slept fairly fine... I felt very damn lucky.. the young french pilgrim I had met in italy had said that this is what could happen if I tried to find refuge... but this was the first time, I had this need and no other options... and it was both wonderful and a bit embarrassing to have so much fuss made over me... and that these strangers would go to so much trouble to help me have a safe, well fed good night...was surprising and heartening.....

5-28-10 Rousset to Aix en Provence day 54

5-28-10 Rousset to Aix en Provence day 54

usually in france i've had to pay the night before but not this time... so I went to pay and I was suppose to get 15 euro change back but she made it seem like she did not have the change to give... now in asia, I am used to playing the change game.. you want to buy something but then they cant break the change... it is sometimes genuine but sometimes it seemed like they might try to get more for an item if they cant give you the change... here again I was not sure.. I noticed I definitely needed to count my change here when I got it..... I dug in my pockets and was able to scrounge together the right amt but I left that hotel wondering if she really was sincere or if it had been an attempt to get more money..for, she certainly was not willing to take the loss on her side..not knowing if I was going to find any food or water until I got to the next town, I fully expected to walk two hours before breakfast...but I found right at the edge of town this small cafe that seemed to be preparing for lunch take away foods, they had both coffee and food! and i did not have to go to the McDonalds i had spotted first..so I got food and drink before I had to do any serious walking..i think after the last few days I just expected few opportunities to get provisions...today would be and ironic reversal... there seemed to be plenty of places for pit stops along the way... I had gotten oriented as I left.. and found the highway D 6, that the english lady had recommended, she had said it had a bike lane.. but what I had not realized it was completely separate from the main road and ran parallel to it, meaning I was out of the way of traffic more than usual..which made me happy... this was true until I hit the town La Barque, then the road narrowed again...i should mention too, this man had stopped and twice insisted on giving me a lift, today i felt strong enough in walking i really did not need it and also not knowing him, his insistence seemed a bit of a red flag. I got another sandwich in La Barque to take away.. again just in case there was nothing else... for a short stretch there was no curb at all and I could tell my frustration and fear kicking up and my mood shifting..but luckily it was for only half hour then the road both widened again and the traffic decreased... over all, the landscape was similar to the last day ...lots of flat green farm country with a bit of a green hill ridge in the back drop...there was an area after La Braque, I think where there was a section of grey rock formations that were interesting..my feet still a bit sore where still doing better than they had the few days ago... and I knew that it would be a slightly shorter walking day... now being leery of lack of lodging, I decided I should definitely stay in Aix en Provence... it took another hour or so from the town line to get into the city proper, and once inside I had to still ask directions since it was large enough I could not get my barrings right away... fountains seemed to mark the major landmarks here...

I found the tourist office and asked for lodging options... I got a very cheap hotel room at the north edge of the inner city, I had also tried to get some idea about the following day, to see where would be good towns to stop for the night for lodging but this the woman could not help me with that, meaning it would be a guessing game... the man at the hotel, was a bit grumpy but he spoke perfect english. I got a small room...no tv but bathroom inside and one hour of wifi... then out again.. I had seen a Spar supermarket I wanted to go to ..along the way I found a mountain climbing store with hiking and camping gear, it was small and a bit expensive, but I do not see these types of shops very often.. unfortunately the woman had nothing to repair my tent with...but I got another pair of light hiking socks and another attempt at foot inserts...these for specifically designed for hiking boots so I got them... money not withstanding.. as much as I am tempted to buy new boots.. the idea of going through the process of breaking in another pair of boots midway and if there is problems with them too, I just did not want to go through a potentially costly bad experiment... then I went to Spar and got cheap ingredients for a room dinner... I did the usual routine, update photos and journal, laundry, mantras and bed...the window to the room seemed to lead into an alley with close neighbors..it amplified all the sound around...so I could hear clearly soft conversations on phones, tvs and apparently love making with a french sound to it... I realized I was giggling probably too loudly and closed the window after that... it would be one of those toss and turn and frequent wake up nights.. not sure again why...