Bonjour! Today was another 12 miles and 1,500′ of climbing. Our totals are now 203 miles walked on this Camino and 25,800′ climbed!
Beautiful: Yes, we keep saying that! Last night, our B&B was at nearly 4,000′. The blue sky was perhaps bluer than we’ve ever seen. The greens, vibrant green. Stunning!
Tough: The distance wasn’t bad (12 miles), nor the climb (1,500′). The challenge today was the descent (2,400′), and most significantly, the grade and the surface! This may have been our toughest day, to date!
Today’s hike was a series of steep ups and steep downs, as:
The challenge was the pitch (grade), which was consistently in the 15-20% range, but mostly the surface!
The trails are primarily fire/tractor dirt paths. Very steep! With the rain (it rains a lot here), these paths get severely rutted. To keep these paths workable, they will dump a lot of broken rock onto the path. That works for the tractor.
Not so much for the hiker!
Particularly going downhill, these broken rocks slip out from your feet. You slip. You slide! On a 20% grade with a backpack on, it can be challenging!
Nearly all of our descents today were on these types of surfaces.
Bathrooms: Okay, everybody has to go sometimes! With few villages, and few resources open in villages, most often “going to the bathroom” is a rustic experience!
Imagine our surprise when we found a village with a “WC” … that was open!
Imagine our surprise when we opened the door and found this!
For those wondering, “what”, it’s a Middle East style toilet! For those wondering “how”, well, you place your feet on the pads, left and right, facing towards the camera, then you drop your drawers. Leaning slightly backwards, you use your best golfing skills to get a “hole in one”! Enough said!
The things you can learn on this blog!
And a Post Script; We saw 5 new Pilgrims today! One guy left his home in the Czech Republic and is on his way to Muxia … with his dog! The others? We just saw them but didn’t talk to them.
Ça suffit!
Just looking at the picture of your elevation climbs and descents makes me tired! Looks more like your death ride then a stroll through the mountains and woods! Thanks for sharing the WC. Takes all kinds. I can’t believe you have been walking for over 2 weeks. This continues to be a beautiful journey for all of us to follow. Thinking of you both. Willow
Bonjour Willow! Diane informs me that those toilets are called “turk” toilets here in France. We’ve seen them in large cities with diverse populations, but in a village of maybe 100?
Glad you’re enjoying the beauty!
Great photos and I second Willows comments! But…🎼🎵 the bluest skies you’ve ever seen are in Seattle. 🎵🎶The greenest grass, the tallest trees are in Seattle 🎵🎶🎼…😁.
I liked your golf analogy on the turk toilet, but hopefully it’s easier to make than an ACTUAL hole in one!
Take care on those decents!
Ça va, Jim! Yeah, I was actually thinking of that song from the old TV series when I wrote the “bluest skies” part. I just didn’t think anyone would sing it back at me in a comment. Well done! Hope the Achilles is mending. Take care.