Day 32 Mongelos

Tuesday 18th October and this is the penultimate day of walking. It is hot again so I am pleased with just a half day. If I remember correctly the plan was to arrive in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port fresh and alert with time to enjoy the medieval town.

Heading out the sky is blue and the landscape green which is the proper order of things. I am starting to tuck in to the foothills and am losing sight of the majesty of the Pyrenees. Hopefully you can make out the glistening white hamlet nestled in the countryside which is typical of the area.

I have been wondering what the cages are for as they are plentiful in this region and I have decided they are used to store maize over winter. Later I see modern steel framed versions that are indeed full of maize cobbs.

On this penultimate day I get to reflect on the technical aspects of my walk. The walking itself is as advertised, ever changing beautiful scenery over a gentle landscape with an amount of walking along narrow lanes but very few cars. My 24km a day average has worked very well and that distance is worth remembering for future walks. 4km per hour provides 6 hours of walking time.

For the gites in France I could have easily managed with a sheet sleeping bag rather than the bulkier down sleeping bag as blankets or duvets are always provided; that was something I could have checked. As there are good laundry facilities (wash and dry overnight) bringing spare clothes is really a matter of some basics to see you through the laundry period. I brought a bag of 'stuff' and the only thing I used were safety pins to pop a small blister. There is something to be said for buying what you need en-route if the need arises. But mostly I packed wisely. 

The Miam Miam Dodo guidebook was useful as a definitive source of information on water and groceries as were the various mapping apps such as Wise Pilgrim which had the current route, mapy.cz which had an old route but included a scale, and Google Maps which has some accommodation and other information. I could have left the guidebooks at home if I had recorded my accommodation addresses. 

My only gripe was with my rucksack which created some sore points on my lower back; I love my pack's simplicity and if I recall correctly it is designed for climbers so it is tall and thin with the minimum of pockets and straps and a basic waist strap unlike the ultra cushioned affairs most packs have these days. But I am being fussy and still like the basic design of my pack.

My boots have worked well and going for a wider fitting boot with a large toe box has been good and worth remembering for the future. The memory foam insoles are a bit of a joke as any cushioning on the contact points was gone after 150km. They also feature little holes which were the perfect size to collect large grains of sand.

Back to the trail and it is another truely glorious day.
I have not been following the news that closely though I believe 'Robot Wars - The Professionals' was won by John Deere. This is of course a maize harvester with its cutting equipment folded in and as this is rural France it's what you get.
My accommodation opened at 3pm today so I said I would be there at 3pm, and I was. It is another Hansel and Gretel walk down a woodland path. A refreshing drink in the garden then a tour of the museum.   

Oh, that's my room and very fine too. The very definition of brocante. No bath robes but my nightshirt is left out for me. Seriously, if she offers to heat water and fill the bath tub in front of the open fire I'm making a run for it.
Switching back to reflections, when booking the 32 nights between my 33 days of walking I had gone for half board and walking distances and didn't do any other background checks; I used the coded information in the guidebook. Looking back I have had the fullest and most varied of experiences and none of them bad.

I see also that while I was enjoying a homemade fig cordial in the garden the mosquitos were enjoying a drink also. 

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