June 7, 2024

12.38 miles/ elevation gain 1141 feet

And we’re off. A late start today (10 am) as we had to wait for the tourism office to open to get our credential document. The credential allows us to stay in the Gites along the way and besides – we get cool stamps.

We took pics of our backpacks for fun. We’ll see if we packed too much. I doubt it would ever be too little!

As you can see my pack is small but that means I have to attach a few items to the outside. While it doesn’t make my pack any lighter, I feel better about the size. Eventually I will get everything to fit. That’s the goal!

Good signage is important! The red and white lines indicate we are on the correct track.

A couple hours into the day I ended up with one sandal. One French woman came up behind us and pointed to my backpack and told us I had lost a shoe! I was bummed because after hiking all day you really need a second pair of shoes, and mine were the sandals. I have no idea where it dropped. All I could do was think of where I could find another pair. It could be days!

To our surprise about an hour later along comes another French pilgrim waving my lost sandal in the air. I was so excited to have it back with its mate. I thanked her and asked to take her photo. Tomorrow they will go inside my shoe bag which has a good spot for clipping to my pack and all should be good!

The trail today was very pleasant with plenty of shade. It was quite warm (80’s) and humid and we felt it!

This beautiful yellow bush was so fragrant. We kept walking by smaller ones and the smell was divine..

This section would have been horrible after a rainy day. It was somewhat muddy and it hasn’t rained for a few days. I remember this section from 2023 and it was miserable and took me forever to navigate.

Halfway thru the day we found an open cafe and stopped for lunch. I tried my first Orangina of this trip and it was delicious. I don’t drink soft drinks any more but I had one of these last year and they do hit the spot. Not too sweet and very refreshing. A treat for sure!

I noticed this netting protection on trees and vineyards on the train a couple days ago. I think it’s a bird protective method. Regardless it’s quite a process. As consumers we often forget about all the things that go into growing our produce. Thank you growers!

We have reached our destination in LaRomieu after nearly 6 hours. We had a reservation at La Refuge du Pelerin and walked inside only to be instructed to take our shoes off and hang our backpacks up. There were bins to put all of your stuff in to bring to your room. We were then given glasses of water and sat for a few minutes to cool down . We paid and were shown our room, given general info and reminded that apertifs were at 6:30 and dinner at 7.

Our room was good, private with our own bathroom. The door to this bathroom was actually a curtain and there was no mirror over the sink. I told Tracie every time I wash my hands I’m staring at the tiles thinking I might conjure up my face. It was a little bothersome… Did I mention the curtain “door”? Ok we move on.

Dinner – our host is an excellent chef. We enjoyed puréed lentil and veg soup, crusty bread, quiche, roasted chicken and veg, and custard for dessert. We were full! Staying in a Gite is nice because dinner is usually available at a small price for what you get. Usually 15 euro and while you don’t get to select your food, it’s always delicious.

The Gites are also where you meet other peregrinos/pilgrims who are walking the same trails, and even if you never strike up a conversation, we often see them on the trail later and it’s nice to see a familiar face.

Tomorrow rain is forecasted. Tonight a thunder storm. The storm arrived before we went to bed and went on late into the night. Between the lightning flashes and the church bells that rang every hour all night… I got less sleep than usual. At least tomorrow is a shorter day!

What a cute town filled with cats (see earlier story). A welcoming community and despite the language barrier, we had some interesting conversations.

#GR65inFrance