I packed up things were not completely dry like in the last two days..but it was not too bad.. I tried to find the lady to return her special plug but no one was around I left it in a little bag on the office door..and hoped that campground trust held here too..then fortunately in order to get to my next goal I had to walk back through town, which meant food, water, coffee, I got to see more murals...and then found the painters at their work... it's like the artist has gotten a grant to paint up the whole town.. not a bad gig... I stopped at the now open tourist office and got my bearings then got sandwiches and pastries and water for the road and had a coffee and big ol baguette sandwich with pesto, tomato, and mozzarella for breakfast... then finally I hit the road.. it was probably eleven by then although I knew I had another long walking day... I thought I was going to walk as far as Bras but the day unfolded different. I walked about four kms when a car pulled over, it was an enligh couple, the wanted to know if I was going to Brignois a large town near here but not my destination.... I told them my immediate goal was LeVal which was before this town.. they offered me a lift... and I took it... 8kms flew by in minutes, and no it did not feel like cheating, it felt like a bloody relief..... not even long enough for a real conversation.. they lived around here, they had had car problems so they had brought it to the shop and saw me then, and then on the way back from the shop where they could not find anything wrong they saw me again and decided I looked tired..they asked me about my little mission and I told them... they asked about obstacles I faced and I talked about feet, fast cars and heights... the woman was sympathetic she too was afraid of heights..always feels good to hear I ain't the only one.... so the dropped me off in Le Val, a small charming town.. I wanted to take a break but was not really that hungry... I found that there was a church that was actually not locked.. it was quite dark inside so I sat in it. I heard the door open and someone come in..it was the english lady again... apparently they had shown me the wrong road I had to get on after this and were worried they were sending me off in the wrong direction... I was really moved, they had turned around and come back, she said half laughing she had asked some of the old men where to find me... I thanked her again for this kindness and she left again... when I came out of the church and went to the cafe bar I was greeted as the pilgrim, in half smart ass manner by the bar tender... I had to laugh.. word travels fast from old men to the whole town... the man who ran the bar was a joker, he would slip into spanish with french patrons and with me he spoke german.. I had a coke and water and asked him about possible lodging and camping near Bras... he asked the bar in general and the word was no... if I wanted lodging of any kind I would have to make it to St-Maximin-la-Ste-Baum according to him it was big enough it had 'everything'...he charged me for only one of my drinks, I thanked him for everything.... so now I had twenty kms still to walk... had I not gotten that ride I would prob not have managed it all... I was still not one hundred percent... and definitely the afternoon walk required a lot of discipline since I was walking in pain for most of it..but my spirits were lighter than yesterday...the road still narrow but traffic was still less and there was a regular breeze and shady spots... I walked for a while through what looked like deciduous forest, european oaks, with moss speckled boulders throughout... there were sport bikers riding through this section as well... I took frequent stops
..it was already 3.30 when I hit the small town of Bras... it really had not much... a small bar was open and I had coke and water there as well... the town had little plaques explaining historic relevance for everything but other than that it was quiet and sleepy... I did see the pilgrimage emblem spray painted on a pole...i had ten more kms to go... as the afternoon hit into early evening the car traffic really increased.. I was now on winding farm roads again... this time though the car traffic did not get me like yesterday... in france people will actually slow down if my life is in danger so that for one makes it better..yet I really felt every km today...also again between Bras and St-Maximin-la-Ste-Baum there was not even one pit stop for refreshments my water ran out two hours before I finished walking and did not role into St-Maximin-la-Ste-Baum, I could see the impressive cathedral towering over everything for a while.. the light was not favorable so I did not take a photo but now I regret it since that was the best view of it...the first business I saw that might have water was a pizza truck, he only had coke.. I took it... I tried to pay but he gifted it to me because I looked hot...i am getting a lot of favors today from people without asking ..and it made my hard day easier......i tried a place right at beginning of town because it had the word Convent in it... and perhaps at one point it had been the convent but now it was a high end hotel even with a 40%discount she was offering the room was still 90euro... so I thanked her and moved on... I did find the center of town... more old men on park benches minding the towns business, and one of them said something in this tone like he was teasing me a bit...'a pilgrim going to Santiago de Compestella!', I laughed and nodded... I then found a suitably small and slightly dingy place called hotel and yes it was in my budget..and it even had internet...i showered and did the laundry...then although I was tired I decided I needed to eat some veggies today... so again out I went... I found a Vietnamese restaurant...before I went in a man sitting outside of a bar was talking to me in french and it was clear that he was saying very bad nasty things... and I decided this was one of those times where not speaking the local language was actually better... in the restaurant it took a while to cobble something together for me..... usually when I said vegetarian with a fake french accent people knew what I meant..but this man could not understand me.. still somehow I got a veggie meal... but I was tired.. and was all too glad to finish and get back to the room... sleeping in a bed really did help with the whole leg and foot aches and pains... I felt like some good healing took place while I slept...
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