I woke around seven, and got my gear together went down stairs and had my included breakfast which really was just bread butter and most importantly coffee... the hotel was full of naïve art of local landscapes and some more exotic scenes of african people paddling boats... I already knew the artist was the young man who seemed to run the hotel... each painting seemed like it was a struggle and obviously a lot of time was spend with each... he had a very good color pallet but he wrestled with the brush work and anatomy...some were hits others misses... I really respected that clearly he was keeping at it since the place was just filled with work... I told him on the way out that I liked his art... hoping he would continue his solo battle with brush and paint... i've noticed in a number of places such as hotels and restaurants here in France, art that was made by amateur painters and proudly displayed ...leading me to think it is a common hobby here and this makes me happy. everyone should paint...there i said it.... I hit the road a bit before 8. the first three kms went fairly fast since the terrain was mild... it was still a bit overcast but it looked less likely to rain...the first town was Le Bousquet-d'Orb I walked to the very top of what I thought was it, dutifully following the red and white stripe marker...then I realized once again the austier french pilgrims chemin did not go through the market area of town but circumvented it... I had to climb the steep steps down again.. today I had over 22kms to go up and down hills... I had less then a liter of water and no real food... so I walked off the trail direction town, I had to stop and ask to be sure, and got directions from a nice old man..again I mostly follow the pointing fingers and try to catch some words.... the town seemed a long detour but worth it. I needed more cash so atm... most of the towns I think I will be going through often dont even have a cafe or bar never mind a cash machine. Then I found the baker and got some more cheese type pastry... and I got candy, water and another coffee at the Tabac-Bar-Cafe it was a little past nine, and older men were already in there drinking their morning beer and buying there Rapid lotto tickets... then finally back on the road..for the long march...
the first part was actually the most difficult.. it was a narrow road and climbed steeply into the hills... after Italy's Cinque Terre, I could say it was not that extreme but It was still work.. and even with cool temperatures I over heated quick... I took frequent breaks eating a little bit at a time and sipping a bit of water... then up and onwards again... the day would go in and out of cloudy and sunny but as the day progressed it got clearer and breezier...the larger road did appear which meant less shade but that was okay, it also decreased the grade of the climbs I would face going up... I had my french guide book but I could pick out key words as land marks as I went along... about two three hours in, on a longer break, I saw a woman walking towards me it was the woman from Ulm again... we chatted and joked... I told her to tell the place in Melce to keep the door open for me in case I arrived really late... she was not sure yet whether she would over night there or camp along the way... I had kinda drawn the same conclusion...if the walk got too hard for me or it got too late I would find a place to camp along the way... the only problem being of course I would have no water for the night or the first part of the walk the next day..but I slogged on... sometimes out on the open hills sometimes amongst trees... over all, the markers are getting more and more reliable and I am getting more savey about keeping my eyes out for them... you can definitely not get sucked up too much in your own head space...because you will miss them... a great forced wakefulness practice... again I used my ipod and listened to more talks on dharma...and repeating some... this, to help my keep going... I was a little crest fallen when I realized I had only covered 16 of the 25kms mid-afternoon... I was moving forward very slowly...mostly cuz I needed frequent stops still..because about half way through the day the feet start getting sore... there was a part of the path that crossed a road twice, at one of these points I had trouble finding the markers again...and I could tell frustration was rising quick, I was getting tired... but again I found it and started the descend into a valley... it got steeper and steeper.. and the final km was over large loose rocks on a narrow trail... because I was in the trees I could not see a village at all... I had also seen a sign for one of the pilgrims places. You had to call by five to get a bed..it was passed five and I had no cell phone, so I started to fret... finally I saw some roofs... and the path broke into a clearing right infont of a small house with stairs..two people were sitting on the stairs, one of them the woman of Ulm...she had been concerned about me and was glad that I had managed... she had already told the host that I was coming and there was definitely room here.. the man showed up, he spoke no english but was very nice... I got a mint lemonade and sucked down a lot more water...I introduced myself to the other woman who was french and spoke great english.. she was doing the ten day hike that seems to be common..she was doing the compostelle one vacation allotment at a time..she said at this rate she should complete the entired trip by the time she was 80... we laughed.. I showered and did laundry..the place seemed really clean with all new amenities.. there were four bunk-beds with comfy mattresses... we caught up again on our days. Both women had over-nighted atthe same Gite, near the town i'd stayed at Joncels, apparently it was with a very nice couple. The woman from Ulm, had listened to their stories of what kind of pilgrims would show up.. apparently there are all types of pilgrims..one story was that this couple showed up huffing and puffing with very big packs, telling stories of having started in rome etc...the next day after they were packed and ready to go, the husband asked the wife for the car keys so he could bring the packs to the car...when the hosts raised in eyebrow, the couple explained, that they were just looking for cheap ways to do vacation...so these were fake pilgrims...other stories such as people taking and packing everything away from the buffet breakfast.. so if your a host of pilgrims, it sounds like you have to be a good sport... our host here, showed up all in white serving us a fancy wine with good glasses. I just dont expect this in a tiny village and as a pilgrim...the food was a pasta alfredo with chicken on top, I passed my chicken on to my friend and ate the pasta... there was also very good cheese and bread... and again a really great desert, berries covered in a white crème sauce..we had gotten keys to visit the little church in town, so we stopped by after dinner, it was small with white wash interior..very sweet energy... I did not stay as long as the others.. the day had taken it out of me and my legs needed to stretch out on bed..... after wards we all retreated to very spots to get ready for bed.. pack...journal etc... everyone was tugged in by 9.30... I slept fairly well.
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