A Nice Day for a Walk

Sunday September 13 – Day 10

It’s amazing how much difference a nights sleep can make. I woke up at 5 when they started making breakfast downstairs. I put my earplugs in so I could go back to sleep. I was wondering what on earth could take 2 hours to get ready for breakfast.

Like I said before, he takes obvious pride in his meals. It was a ridiculous amount. There’s no way we could have eaten even 1/4 of what he put on the table, and everything was a complete dish, not partial. Megan said she wondered what they did with all of the food.

Because yesterday was so long, and today was going to be shorter, I wasn’t too worried about getting out early. Megan helped me book my gîte for the night, about 10 miles away in Sénergues. As I was sitting on her bed, I noticed my feet and ankles were quite swollen. I have a bit of a cankle going on.

This was Pru and Bronnie’s last day of walking. They were taking a taxi to Espeyrac, then walking to Conques, which is a main ending point for a lot of hikers. I will be in Conques tomorrow, so I might see them. Then they’re spending a week in Italy before heading back to Australia. I would love to go to Italy, I just don’t know if I’ll do it this trip.

I headed out about 9:15, and it was nice to be able to see the scenery. It was also a bright sunny day, so it didn’t look like it might rain. It was still another day of ups and downs, but it didn’t seem so bad, and probably because it was so much shorter.

I tossed out the remainder of my cheese and sausage. I still had some left over, but it’s been long enough I probably shouldn’t finish it.

I passed through Golinhac, but I didn’t stop in the Church. The door wasn’t open, and it was early enough I thought there might be a mass going on. I did use the public restroom, which was very nice and surprisingly clean.

It was a very pleasant day. Sunny, cloudy, and such a nice refreshing breeze. It felt like the wind either before or after a storm.

I passed the place where both Megan and Anick were staying the night after only about 3 hours of walking. I still had another 5k to go, and I was glad for it. It’s two short days to Conques instead of one long one.

The walk to Espeyrac along the valley is a lovely one, and the village itself is just adorable. Everything was closed because it’s Sunday, but I did stop in the Church, and I got several pictures of the quaint little town.

It was only another 3k to Sénergues.

I didn’t get a real good look at the town yet, because my gîte was the second building coming in. The host wasn’t there yet, but there was a board with room assignments. I found my room and was the first one there. I took a shower and then met one of my roommates, gisele, whom I had passed on the road into Espeyrac. She doesn’t speak much English, but she has a son who is living in LA.

I went to look at the church to take pictures. I thought it was interesting looking from the outside, the stained glass windows have concrete in them.

I came back to my room and was thinking about typing up my day, when I started to hear thunder in the distance. Another storm was coming in.

Then I ended up falling asleep and napping, but not very well with all the noise from the rain and people outside my door. It’s the first time I’ve napped before bedtime. I’m really looking forward to sleeping tonight. The host just stuck her head in the door and said the other person wasn’t coming, so it’s just me and Gisele, but Gisele has a private room, so it’s just me in the 3 bed main room. The shower and bathroom are in Gisele’s room, so I’m not sure if that means I’m not supposed to use them. I did anyway, before she got here.

This place has wifi, and I connected ok, but it seems to be not working. Alas.

Dinner was sausages! And mashed potatoes, and soup, and a parfait thing with a fig on top.