Monday, May 31, 2010

Day Seventeen




Last night we had our first social engagement of VBW. We were entertained to dinner by Pam and Bob Coxon, who live near Brantome. It was a good meal and a very enjoyable occasion. We had not met before. Contact came when Pam donated to Pancreatic Cancer research through this blog, having recently lost her sister to the appalling illness. We hope to see Pam and Bob again.

Today’s walk started in slightly better circumstances than yesterday’s. Everywhere was wet but nothing was falling from the sky. This soon changed. A light drizzle ensued. Then there was a lull for a couple of hours, during which I was even able to remove my waterproof cape. As I neared the finish in St Martial de Valette, on the outskirts of Nontron, the rain started again, became more serious, and is still at it.

The newly-revamped route which Gay has been slaving over proved to be excellent. Very quiet roads running through just a few working hamlets. Nothing of note to be seen or photographed. The picture shows what I saw most of today. The only slight snag was that none of the places I passed through was big enough to host a café or a bar. I look forward to these not so much for the coffee as for the rest. I used to charge along for the full walk but have now realised the value of a short rest. A coffee, perchance croissant, ensures that this last longer than an impatient two minutes.

I covered 26 kms, bringing the total for the 17 days to 537. Total ascents today were 1157 metres.

Tomorrow, Day 18, we go to Roussines, Day 19 to St Maurice-des-Lions, Day 20 Availles-Limouzine, Day 21 Persac,

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