I got up with the wave of room noise.. as is the new normal... dont need a pilgrims alarm clock, while when i have fellow pilgrims. Today I really wanted to get going early.. I had not walked 30kms plus in a long time.. and I was worried it would take way too long and it would do me in...i had been assured the walk would be flat and along the channel all day so that it was not an intensive 30. I got out of the Gite a little before seven, knowing I would have everyone pretty much pass me during the day... the signage out of town was also a bit spotty but I found the channel. There were two signs going in opposite directions..neither listed the towns in my guide book, an old man walking his dog, waved his hands direction right... I assumed he knew I was pilgrim and was right so I went (these people showing up at the right time to wave me in the right direction has happened enough now on the trail that it seems beyond coincidence, i feel lucky)... I noticed the older french couple had tailed me out of town since they not seen the markings well either and then bolted past me when the path was sure.... I walked along a channel on a nice smooth dirt path with trees lining the path providing shade... although the sun did come out it was not as warm as it had been. About two hours in I heard the familiar click-click-click of the sticks of my german friends..they walked with two sticks each and at quite a good speed...again this day too we would be running into each other.. they walk really fast but take nice long breaks for picnic and such..a few times they even helped me find the path when the channels crossed and it was not immediately clear were the trail was and at another point sparing me a long walk around the lake by waving me to take the shorter route from their picnic spot... part of the pilgrims motto is to share with others... and so we did...at one stop they had chocolate for me.. at another, I had some extra bread...i ran into the hosts from this morning's Gite along the lake, they were spanish and belong to a pilgrims organization of people who have walked the compestello and then volunteer to spend a week at this Gite or that as hosts taken care of new and old pilgrims as they arrive... he joked that he was controlling the compestello to make sure we pilgrims were walking...in fact they had just come out to enjoy a walk along the lake.. my feet did eventually get their familiar soreness but I was able to plod on..since the ground was pretty forgiving.
I felt like I should be arriving soon, but it was not all together clear where this town was.. Moulin?...Turns out it was just an old mill, I am not sure even if it was a town, but it had a Gite that would take pilgrims... I did finally spot it... I went across to the house, a woman was hanging laundry... she was the proprietor... I got an immediate lecture in good english about not having made reservations, and how I really should have....given that she actually had a bed for me... I a) did not get why I needed the lecture, and b) did not care because hey, I had a bed... but she said almost as if it were punishment, that it was in the 'men's room because the woman's room was full. I told her I was fine with being a man for a day...she did not get my humor...again my two german friends were there before me... and they were a little more able to manage and negotiate with the proprietor....for dinner, they had a main course here listed on a chalk board.. that was meat based, so E one of the german women, arranged for some vegetarian ingredients since she did not want to eat lamb stew either, she got eggs, pasta and some veggies and got us a good price... we started preparing our own meals... we cut in a whole garlic and three onions, just in case.. I think this is the first meal I helped cook from scratch since I left home... to our surprise the people who had ordered the menu of the day, had to in fact cook their own rice with it and heat up the meat themselves, M the other german girl took this project on.. the other pilgrims started coming down waiting for their food... the woman helped set the table..one of the men started pacing impatiently around clearly hungry … the vegetarian meal was done a little earlier than the meat, he made a b-line for our food... wow, I got angry quick...luckily E stepped in... yet he still walked away with a plate of our pasta...the other people tried to apologize on his behalf he was they let us know he was hearing impaired... so perhaps he thought it normal that pilgrim women cook for him?... I was thinking things about sexism and women expected to cook and blah blah... after dinner... we loaded dishes in the dishwasher..but again pots were left for us... I did some...and then retreated to bed... I was surprised at my own strong reaction to being somehow lumped into traditional role of being a woman, and how I did not just laugh it off that quickly... I did however sleep like a baby in the 'men's' room...
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