10 May 2019 Felzins

 Shingy, today we walked twenty kilometres to Felzins. It was overcast, with only a slight drizzle for a short period. 

The countryside is now rolling hills with pastures dotted with clusters of oak trees. A few steep, very muddy descents made for careful treading using both walking poles. 

Crossing the river Lot

We had two extraordinary experiences today. 

Since we started the walk, we heard and saw many birds but no other wildlife.

As we were walking down a long hill towards a farm named Lacosta, I saw tears rolling down Punda's cheeks. I asked him, "Hi buddy, what is happening?"

He replied: "Last night I did not sleep well, and it did not even help to pray a lot. So this morning, I felt a bit dejected. As we walked down this hill, I asked God to show me something special, as a sign that He still hears me. A few moments later, a wild deer crossed the road right in front of us. It was so unexpected, and it affected me deeply. I do not know what species it was; it was about the size of a rooibok."

The second extraordinary experience happened like this. Mpanzi was getting tired and said she was now like a child asking all the time, 'how far still to go?' As we approached a tar road, a car stopped, and a  man got out to put some bags into the waste bin next to the road. He got back into the car but, for some reason, did not drive off. We were looking for a sign to indicate that this was the point to leave the GR65 to go to Felzins, but there was no sign. 

Without knowing if he could understand her, Mpanzi asked the man if this was a road to Felzins. 'Yes, it is; just walk straight on'', he said. Totally unexpected, he asked, "Do you want to get in?" 

A couple minutes later, he dropped us at our lodging for tonight, saving us another hour of walking! What a blessing.

Our unexpected benefactor.

I will post a picture showing the view from the veranda where we are now writing this story. 

At Le Pentadou in Felzins

It's time to say goodbye; our hosts call us to dinner.

Good night.
Msafiri

9 May 2019 Espalion to Decazeville

Hi Shingy,
Here is a two-day update on our French adventure.

Arriving in Conques

Yesterday we travelled from Espalion to Conques by bus because Punda did not want to brave the expected 100% rain. Conques is an amazingly beautiful place, but we could not find accommodation; everything was booked.  Punda used bookings dot com and found a two-star hotel in a nearby village. We took a taxi to the village, and what a blessing! As we got into the taxi, it started to rain, and soon it developed into a full-blown cloud-burst. We were received at the hotel by a lady who spoke only French. She gave us the key to the hotel's front door and promptly left. We were the only guests with a whole hotel to ourselves! 

The hotel all to ourselves, with the front door key in our pockets.

Later we explored the hamlet, which seemed utterly deserted to us. In the end, we did find a restaurant just before they closed. A friendly young man, who did speak English, helped us to book at another restaurant down the road for dinner. We had to walk 1.3 kilometres in the rain to this restaurant across a bridge over the river Lot. The dinner was a good steak and French fries and cheese for dessert.  

On the way to the restaurant next to the Lot river. 

After dinner, the rain stopped, and the walk back to the hotel was a magical time. Do you remember the swallows we talked about before we left Cape Town? We saw many swallows flying about when we crossed the river on the way back to our hotel; maybe you will be able to see some in the photos. 

Today we walked to Decazeville. It was rainy, and some stretches were very muddy and slippery. We are now in our gíte Les Volets Bleus. Mpanzi says it sounds like blue violets. She is really good at charming our French hosts with her humour and French pronunciation. 

She has also developed into our travel agent and is booking our accommodation in advance, for at least five days ahead. Punda likes that a lot, to such an extent that he has no idea where we will sleep tomorrow.  As he says: "Between Msafiri and Mpanzi, I have the best travel mates in the world."

We are now looking ahead to our dinner. There are eight other guests. Here comes another memorable time...

Two hours later and we are back from a French cuisine experience par excellence. A five-course meal out of this world! Soup, salad, crepes with ham and cheese, a cabbage and pork baked dish, a cheese board with six kinds of cheese and then chocolate mousse! Each course is better than the previous one.

Bonne nuit.

7 May 2019 Nasbinals

Hello Singhy,
Tonight we sleep in the same beds as last night! We are in Espalion and are staying at Chambres d'hôtes Morin. 

Chambres d'hôtes Morin

Yesterday morning the winding path in a forest was an enchanting experience. Punda said he could imagine the three Musketeers to come charging through the trees at any time.

On this stretch from Saint-Chély-d'Aubrac to Espalion, we did not find any open coffee shops, and we misjudged the last eight kilometres, which included a steep climb through a forest. Without enough water but with ample shade under beautiful trees with lime green leaves, we came slogging into Espalion. 

After nine days of walking, Punda and Mpanzi were indeed in need of a rest day. Our host, Bernard, made our day when he said we could stay for a second night. I can assure you that there were little walking and ample resting today.

The dinner last night was a happy affair with our hosts and one other Swiss couple. On the menu was a small omelette with fresh salad as an entree. The mains were duck in red wine with aligot and mushrooms. Then a cheese plate followed by a baked fruit and custard tart for dessert.

Preparing the aligot

Do you know that scuba diving gear was invented in this town in 1860? Benoit Rouqualrol, an engineer in coal mines, invented a regulator for a rescue apparatus for miners. In 1864 August Denayrouze, an officer in the navy, adapted this apparatus to the sea world. Thus the modern aqualung came from Espalion, a town 200 km from the sea. We did visit a very interesting museum.

5 May 2019 Snow on the Aubrac

 Shingy, I can't wait to tell you today's story.

We walked from Nasbinals via Aubrac to Saint-Chély-d'Aubrac.

For Punda and Mpanzi, it was the first experience (since Kilimanjaro 2004) of walking in freezing weather with some driving snow at times. It was a bit challenging but also a great adventure!  They even made me pose a few times in the snow, and was it cold???!!!!

In Aubrac, we drank hot chocolate and ate a wonderful fruit tart.

Later in the day, it cleared up a bit but stayed very cold. When we arrived in 

Saint-Chély-d'Aubrac it was still only 8 degrees Celsius.

It is snowing lightly again, but we are cosy and warm in a local bar. Tonight we sleep in the Gíte in a dormitory with three other pilgrims. It is relatively cheap, thus will treat ourselves to a nice French dinner in a three-star hotel. Mpanzi will not allow Punda to have foi grass again; she is looking out for him to keep him eating healthy.

Enjoy the pictures, it was great fun talking them.

4 May 2019 The Aubrac

May 4, 2019 

Hi Shingy, it is high time for me to tell you about what we have been up to during the last two days.

Yesterday morning in St-Aban-sur-Limignole, we were woken by birds singing early in the morning. Punda said it reminded him of the song Seasons in the Sun. It was a hit when he was young. This is the Youtube link: https://youtu.be/-tPcc1ftj8E

It became our marching song for the day.

We walked 17 kilometres to Aumont Aubrac through this garden they call France. It is really a beautiful place to walk. The paths are well-maintained and clearly marked.

When we arrived in Aumont-Aubrac, we treated ourselves to authentic French food. Mpanzi had baked goat's cheese salad, and Punda ordered a foi grass salad. Now, he is hooked on French cuisine.

With great effort and considerable stress, Punda could organise a bag transport for today. As he says, "French is a complicated language". He wanted to avoid carrying his bag for the long stretch from Aumont-Abrac to Nasbinals.

It transpired to be an inspired decision. At day's end, the distance was 30 kilometres, and it was cold, as in less than 10 degrees for the whole day! The walk across the Aubrac Plato is something else. It reminds me of Scotland, with stone walls, wetlands, and cold winds.

While we were having dinner tonight, it started to snow! Tomorrow will be something else. A great adventure lies ahead.

Before I go, let me show you some pictures.

It is starting to snow!