Sunday June 9

7.95 miles/619 elevation gain

That lightning storm last night was a doozy! The bright flashes kept waking me up but then so did the hourly church bells. I don’t think I’ve ever stayed anywhere where the bells rang throughout the night. One two three and on it went! I was happy when my alarm went off so I could be productive.

If you read my jam post then you know what these empty jars are telling you. Toast without jam just doesn’t work…

When you can’t bring your backpack to your room, it takes more time to get packed. When it was time to leave the Gite we opened the front door and stepped back to put our rain ponchos on. It was coming down pretty good. The hard rain didn’t last too long but it continued for an hour or more.

Tracie’s poncho was a whole story in itself…it was a throw away she purchased in 2016 in Portugal or Spain. Who wants to know how it held up? Ok then… not well! She immediately realized her error as she pried sections apart. It had somewhat melted into itself. Needless to say it did the trick, but it’s not long for this world. My poncho is a sturdy one from REI and should last a lifetime!

We were happy to be on the road but took a few extra minutes under some shelter before heading out of town.

The scenery included many acres of grapes for wine and orchards of what type I do not know.

Because of the rain we chose to stay on the roads. It was Sunday with minimal traffic and we saw the mud. In fact when we finished for the day we saw lots of muddy shoes, splattered muddy legs and a few muddy butts meaning they fell. No thank you.

Our first Camino marker welcoming pilgrims walking to Condom (pronounced con-dum)

The final push into Condom and we caught up to several pilgrims. The road is always faster than a muddy trail.

We arrived in Condom and easily found our lodging. I stayed here last year with Gail so I knew what to expect. The front gate was not locked so we walked in and up to the front steps and knocked. I heard a woman say hello through the door, but was hesitating opening it. I said “Marie?” And she opened the door. She was very surprised because the gate is usually locked but the last guest had just left and didn’t lock it.

We chatted for a few minutes and then I showed her a photo I took of her last year and she got very excited as she remembered me and gave me two kisses as the French will do and kept saying oh La La. it was very sweet and funny.

We were early and the room wasn’t clean yet so we said we would go into town for lunch. She made a reservation for us at Le Balcon (The Balcony) and off we went.

This is the town of the Musketeers…

Below was a flea market held in part of the cathedral. It was a beautiful setting but we didn’t purchase anything. There is nowhere to put it!

I’m always looking for a second coffee of the day and found a cappuccino while people watching. It’s the best way to enjoy a coffee!

Today was an easier day than the first but we are still getting used to the pack, the miles and probably a tiny bit jet lagged. We didn’t ground long enough apparently!

Tomorrow Marie will bring our breakfast at 7 and we hope to be on the road by 8 am. The rain is done for the next 24 hours so we will enjoy the next days walk.

GR65inFrance#