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...