My hosts of last night were very obliging and agreed to breakfast at seven this morning. And so I was on the road early, before it was even fully light in Chavanay. The Chambre d’Hote location was on the hilly northern side of the town and I was treated to a wonderful view as I made my way down into the town itself.
With the crossing of the Rhone, I had now left the department of Isere, and I had entered Loire. It continues to be a rustic environment of rural farmhouses. From Chavanay, the route ascends rapidly, and I soon came to the Chapelle du Calvaire. In walking the Swiss part of the route to Santiago, I was always interested to find wayside chapels, and the Chapelle du Calvaire is a real gem. It is several hundred years old, but was abandoned in 1892, and only restored over 100 years later. The walls are decorated with murals, and I was pleased to see a statue of Saint Jacques there as well. The church seems to be open at all hours, unlike many of those in the towns. The calm atmosphere inside encourages the traveler to pause and sit in contemplation for a few minutes. The ground in front of the chapelle offered a wonderful view back towards Chavanay.
From the chapelle, the route continues upward. The hills that had seemed a distant prospect when I was leaving Assieu yesterday were now up close and immediate. After the route did eventually level out, I realised that I had left the vineyards of the Rhone valley itself, and now I was in apple country. There was field after field of apples that looked ready for picking. Indeed, there were significant quantities of windfall fruit on the ground. And as I went between the fields, I found that someone before me had left what looked like messages of encouragement to the walkers on the route.
I came at last to the village of Bessey. One of the things that I do like about many of the French churches is that they have a public WC facility close by, usually with potable water. There was also a sign to tell me that I was now just 1626 km from Santiago. I am never sure how much tto believe those signs. After Bessey, the route goes up and down with the territory, and through the villages of Goely, Le Buisson Curtil. They say that into every life a little rain must fall, and today was my first day to experience rain on this trip. It started quite heavy, before settling into a steady drizzle. And so I reached the town of Saint-Julien-Molin-Melotte in the rain. Even without the sun that I had enjoyed in the last few days, I was thirsty, and found a café open, one that did a mean Tarte des Pralines, and that was my lunch.
In the rain, there was no real point in trying to enjoy the scenery. Most of it was obscured by clouds anyway. So walking became a matter of just putting one foot in front of the other, and making sure that I was following the right route. And in this frame of mind, I reached Bourg-Argenthal, my destination for the day. It is a medium-sized town, and I was pleased to see the first traffic signs listing Le Puy. I passed a marker on the trail that said I was 1600 km from Santiago and 100 km from Le Puy I have become skeptical of such signs, but seeing the nearness to my destination confirmed in the street signs is a confidence booster.
I had a lot of trouble with the waymarking today. The scallop direction markers were very few, and hard to find when they were there. I was relying on the standard markers for the Grande Randonee system: a red stripe and a white stripe together. But at many junctions they were not present at the junction itself. It seemed to be the policy of those placing the markers to put them on the exit route from a junction, about thirty meters from the junction itself. At one junction, I could find no sign, but luckily a local came along and was able to help me out. At others a combination of the guide book and dead reckoning resulted in the right choice. But I did make a significant error at one junction, and lost time as a result. On a wet day, I can do without that.
Today is also important for other reasons. When starting out on this walk, I had no idea whether I was truly capable of doing it. Whether my body would stand up to the rigours of walking thirty kilometers or more each day was an open question. But it has done that for eight days now. And I have survived one of the hottest days this September yesterday, and a rainy day today. If I can get up in the morning and walk a full day, then I am sure I will make it into Le Puy on Tuesday. In every enterprise, there comes a point where doubts crystallise into certainties. Either the doubts grow to the point that failure becomes a clear and inevitable certainty, or confidence builds so that success is assured. I think that I am facing the latter. Barring accidents on the route, I will make it to Le Puy.
But I am arrived in Bourg-Argenthal, so all is well. My wet gear is drying, and hopefully most of it will be OK by morning. Now to get some rest and prepared for tomorrow.
And the step count for today? Just under 46,000
Walkingman 