Well, I'm back again and setting off for Compostelle
part 3. I haven't hiked much this
summer, with even fewer dog-walks that usual because of the heat, so my weekday
half-hour workouts at the gym are going to need to kick in. I will be walking from Moissac to Aire sur
l'Adour, which is some 205 km by car, but I won't be taking the highways, so it
is hard to gauge how far I'll be actually walking. The pilgrim route often
winds through the countryside, and, depending on who owns the land that it
traverses through, may get re-routed slightly from time to time to accommodate
the current needs and requirements of the stakeholders. For the previous
portions of my walk, from Le Puy-en-Velay to Conques (crossing the Massif
Central) and then skirting the cliffs of the Célé Valley variant to Moissac, it
has been quite hilly. After Moissac, the
terrain is supposed to flatten out considerably for awhile, some say like Iowa,
so I'm counting on that.
my upcoming route |
"Hiking" with dogs at Lake Frank |
I've kept in touch with other compostella/camino fans
by helping administer the CAMIGAS-A Buddy System for Women on the Camino and
the Way of St James - Via Podiensis - Chemin du Puy-en-Velay Facebook
groups. It has also been a good way of
learning from others who have walked before me.
Jacques |
Zoë |
But then five days before I was set to depart, I
managed to trip on the bottom step of the staircase in my townhouse, sprain my
ankle and injure my bad knee. I spent four hours in terrible suspense at Shady
Grove Adventist Hospital awaiting my fate--sprain or fracture? Will I be able
to follow through with my plans for walking from Moissac to Aire sur l'Ardour?
I'm planning to, at any rate. I will likely have to have my back back
transported, at least for the first day or so, but only time will tell...
I don't think the sprain is a bad one--the funny
goose-egg on the outside of my left ankle has subsided, and I now have a cushy
splint to wear inside my boot. I also
have some ankle exercises to do 3 times a day as well, but now, after hiking
this far, I think doing exercises like this is probably a very good idea...
Yesterday I spent the day getting my telephone,
Internet and tv access restored, and this evening I have been pouring over the
maps, calculating and recalculating distances, trying to ascertain if there
will be good rest-stops at regular intervals.
I am not taking my Samsung Galaxy tablet with me this
time, and will only be taking my so-called smartphone, to save several
ounces--almost a pound actually--but the blog software doesn't work as well on
it. I've downloaded another software
that is supposed to worker better with Blogger on an android, so we'll see... I
hope to be sending out something daily to anyone interested once I start
walking, and will "clean it up" when I get back like I did last
year. I'm assuming my telephone and wifi
connections will be better since I won't be in a mountainous region. Famous
last words, as they say...
The other possible issue is that France is
experiencing a mini heat wave. It has
cooled down incrementally, but it is still hotter than it normally is this time
of year. On the trail, my habit has been to do most of my walking in the early
morning, stopping for lunch, and then ambling a little long as most gîtes in
France don’t open until 2-3 pm at the earliest.
In anticipation, I’ve done a long range weather forecast, but that is
usually speculation. My treks in the
past have also been at higher altitudes with cooler temperatures. As a result,
I’ve discarded several items from my backpack which I presumably won’t be
needing in the warmer weather, reducing its weight some more—a good thing!
Yes, Paris is a different place than I normally
experience in September. Watching people
in their estival attire and sandals allows me to enjoy the city in summer, as
it seems too often autumnal when I am here. And the balmy weather appears to have
put everyone in a good mood—so I am not complaining!
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