Today was a relatively long one, with 17 miles hiked and 2,600′ of climbing. Our cumulative total is 216 miles walked.
Today was also a very quiet day. We saw NO other Pelerin in 6 hours of hiking. The challenge is that most Pelerins are doing the hike from LePuy, westward, toward St. Jean Pied de Port. Some of those will choose to do the pilgrimage to Rocamadour, along with a few ‘vacation hikers’. Almost nobody goes from Rocamadour back to the GR65 to rejoin the Chemin … except us. Now, there is a very well developed trail for this route, it’s just that no one takes it … except us.
Before talking about today’s hike, I have a question for the readers: How does a person eat a croissant without leaving a pile of flaky crumbs on the table, the napkin, your chair, and the floor? 
Okay, so maybe you don’t have that challenge, but I (Bill) do. My first efforts are to not drop crumbs. When it is clear that I am failing that, I “inconspicuously” sweep them from my plate area towards the flowers or something. For the floor, I try shuffling my feet until those flakes can’t be recognized as croissant flakes, or that it looks like that it was the guy at the next table who was the slob who dropped croissant crumbs
I fear that I will be kicked out of France for abusive croissant eating! Any counsel you can provide is appreciated. Sincerely, “A Challenged American in France”.
Today was rolling hills and farmland the whole way. 
Most of the time, the trail was very well developed and wide.
Our gift was cooler temperatures as a result of yesterday’s rain and a remnant cloud cover. As a result, we arrived in Labastide remarkably fresh … for 17 miles hiked.
Hope all is well with each of you.
Maybe you’re supposed to leave crumbs?! You know, like in some of those countries where burping is actually a sign of, well, what is it a sign of? Oh yeah, good manners. I say enjoy the food and don’t worry about the crumbs! And… Thanks for the wonderful pictures. Love you both
Thank you! From now on, I will leave a pile of croissant crumbs as my homage to the great French cuisine!
Perhaps you can inhale while you bite to create a vacuum effect. This could be useful in pulling in all surrounding crumbs, but you would also have to deal with dust and airborne insects.
Hmm. I already feel like a vacuum cleaner with all the food I’m sucking in, now you’re suggesting I should go all the way an become a vacuum cleaner? Worth a try …