I woke up around 7.30 cuz I wake up when others start making noise... I started going through my pack to make piles. I tried to be quiet but it was hard. Unfortunately I found a place with post office that was opening that morning on the same day the two foot sore travelers from switzerland needed a day in... I got a pile of ship-ables together and hoped it was good enough to make my pack lighter than it has been.. then I rigged a rain cover for my back pack since i'd been using a 'not' water proof rain coat till now which added weight and little protection. Then I went to post office, it was starting to drizzle again outside. By 9.30 I had done the deed and had mailed of a package home..sadly including my little painting kit... I hit the road, I had twenty kms this day..and a bit of a late start by pilgrims standards. To abuse the phrase 'Nature abhors a vacuum', I have to admit that I had filled some of the empty space in my pack with food instead.. I noticed I bought more than the usual cuz some how I knew I had room... also with the cooler weather my appetite had returned. The trail today was suppose to go along the lake region.. there was a sign posted on the path in french. Of course, I could not read it..so I kept going.. soon enough I noticed part of the trail was flooded but it seemed manageable...then after a few more patches were I could avoid the water... finally the trail went straight into the lake...i had to face facts.. I had to go back and find the main road where i'd started...i was not one hundred percent sure about the car road necessarily leading me to were I needed to go..but since I could keep seeing views of the lake on the right side...and i could eventually also see signs of towns that were listed on my crappy little book map..
so I knew I was doing something right... I tried again looking near the lake to see if the trail was better..but again it was a wasted excursion.. now my concern was to find were the road connected with the trail again... finally near the end of the second town I found it... I was not making good time today..to many little side trips and uncertainties.. the trail went up into the hills more and was drier...the landscape is still pretty much the same...with exception of glimpses of the lake..but farms, forests and then occasional open fields..there is an increase of old crosses as trail markers with the shell in the middle..the crosses look very old... I arrived in La Salvetat-sur-Agout around 4.30 the municipal building (Mairie) was almost closing..this is usually were you find out about the pilgrims places to stay called Gites.. in this town they directed me up to the church on the hill where I could get what I needed at the tourist office..the town had an ancient feel and although it had some tourism it felt authentic... I got up to the tourist info and the woman did not speak english but she knew I was a pilgrim and looking for the Gite.. I noticed now it's automatic, they see my pack and they already know.. I paid my small fee and got a key and weird paper bed sheets and pillow case. I asked if any of the germans where here and she said only french... she brought me to the gite and showed me kitchen bathrooms and bed room.. turns out I would share a two bed room with the french woman I had met in Mercle, the one who spoke english... also the two german women from frieburg were there... the french woman Ms G showed me how to use the heater to dry my clothes but warned I had to turn things frequently because I could burn my clothes.. I was glad for the heat..the building was cold and damp..also the rain started outside... I would eventually go to the shops when they opened and got some canned ravioli and salad for dinner and bread stuff for next days walk and breakfast.. the germans tried to go to restaurants but came back disappointed... even though this town was not that small...restaurants here are only open thursdays through sunday...so we all cooked in.. in a small kitchen... Ms G had found some wild mushrooms and she cooked them up in some oil and shared... we all seemed to share all our food a bit.. it was nice and cozy..and the mushrooms tasted great... later an older french couple came in and cooked very simple instant soups and ate while standing... figuring out the art of sharing limited spaces with strangers seems to be par for the coarse in pilgrim land...we all retired around ten... although the bed was fairly comfortable and the room warm and dry I did not sleep the best..but that seems to be normal now...the building was as old as the town...and even gentle walking made the floors vibrate through-out.
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