25.09.2010 Fontvielle to Arles 13km

Home after hell's start - all of us swatting the mosquitoes massed round us like a dark cloud, and then finally, entry into Arles, and no more mossies. 4 months on the road, so many experiences that we have forgotten half of them, a horse transformed from a selfish bully into a vital and indispensable member of the team. If I could have found the words and she could have understood them, I would have spent the rest of the journey telling her how wonderful she is. Likewise Flea, the accidental foundling, now a firm fixture in our family. He started out as a puppy of only 3 months and is now 8, perhaps teetering on the edge of canine adolesence. So what next? Well, Paul, I've been thinking ....

24.09.2010 Aureille to Fontvielle 31km

All good until the late afternoon, when on our penultimate day a brief shower of rain and the dampness of the night before coalesce to wake every single mosquito in the region and focus on Nellie, and by extension us. Unimaginable hell, increased by the Fontvielle campsite's refusal to take Nellie. Everything is against us - no hotels, the only gite equestre full and our only alternative being to throw up the tent in a wood just outside the town and scratch our way through to the morning. Nellie is going through hell.

23.09.2010 Salon de Provence to Aureille 22km

This doesn't get much better, great walking and then an evening with friends. Evelyne, who has been our constant companion, both virtually and in person, came out to share our pending conclusion to a journey that has taken almost 4 months.

Accommodation: Mas de l'Etoile - ideal pilgrim accommodation, basic, but reasonably priced, located at the edge of the village.

22.09.2010 Eguilles to Salon de Provence 31km

Yes, more good walking, helped by Jean-Claude who accompanied us for the first part and gave us a preferable route. We have the definite feel of entering the Apilles and getting close to home.

Accommodation - Campanile Hotel - not really suited to the pilgrim budget, but the only place that would accept Nellie, for which we are very grateful.

21.09.2010 somewhere in a wood just before Aix en Provence to Eguilles 25km

At the risk of repeating myself .... great walking, good signing and an evening hosted by Mme Clotet, who took us and our animals into her home, fed us and then called a friend to help us the next day - this is pilgrim-progress at its best.

20.09.2010 Puyloubier to somewhere in a wood just before Aix en Provence 25km

Once again excellent and varied walking, past two reservoirs and through endless woodlands offering breaks for spectacular views. Our only problem being our second discovery that whereas some Parish priests may enthusiastically embrace the concept of providing hospitality to pilgrims, their support staff sometimes less so. Our attempts to find accommodation in the maison paroisse in Eguilles are not welcome and we finally decide to camp out.

19.09.2010 St Maximin la Sainte Baume to Puyloubier 23km

Not much more to say that the walking in this region is on broad tracks and consistently well-signed, so good that we will recommend it to cyclists and horse riders. On this section our route is dominated by the vast escarpment of Sainte Victoire.
Accommodation: Le Cézanne camping - good value, good location.

18.09.2010 St Maximin la Sainte Baume - rest day

17.09.2010 Le Val to St Maximin la Sainte Baume 33km

Excellent walking with the first half being on tracks, climbing into the hills and the second on small roads into St Maximin. Our plan to have a short day was changed when we couldn't find any accommodation in La Bras, or anything else much. French villages are dying from centre. Nevertheless, we are covering the ground and should get back home for the beginning of October, as planned. Rain is still threatening overhead, after last night's downpour. Signing generally good, but with gaps that would leave anyone without the GPS trace completely stranded.
Accommodation: Etap hotel – the usual prices and standards – reasonable, all things considered.

16.09.2010 Carces to Le Val 21km

More good walking through what I presume is typical Provencal countryside - a real pleasure to walk through and only a few climbs. The distances quoted by Les Amis have been consistently inaccurate and always underestimated, today was no different. After yesterday's 31km we wanted a short day and the 15km given seemed reasonable. In fact it was 21km with an extra kilometre spent finding a place for Nellie. After being offered a place by a friendly bar owner, she finally ended up in the field of an equally friendly South African woman with a vast property (we couldn't find the first one). The accommodation for us was complicated by a less than helpful assistant at the maison paroisse which was listed as a source for pilgrims. We were just about to give up and camp next to Nellie when the priest himself finally came out and put things in order. In contrast, he could not have been more helpful and welcoming – “This is your home.” he told us. I write with the sound of the evening Mass rising up through the floorboards. We also had our first unpleasant encounter with a gendarme, while we were having a beer in the town centre. He stopped and demanded to know why we were there and how long we would be. He also insisted that we clean up after her, and when I told him that we always did, he demanded our contact details should be there any issues regarding her cleanliness. Our conversation/altercation was watched in silence by everyone else in the bar, but when he had gone they expressed their outrage and told us he was well known for being an arsehole.
Accommodation – maison paroisse - excellent facilties at no charge, but perseverance required.

15.09.2010 Lorgues to Carces 31km

A long day, but again almost entirely on small roads and tracks through the gentle landscape of vineyards and small farms – a great stretch. Nevertheless, we were pleased to arrive and stop in Carces. Good signing all the way.
Accommodation: Camping Les Fouguiéres – highly recommended – helpful hosts and good value 16 euros for two people and no extra charge for Nellie or Flea. Pleasant location too, on the edge of the town, but quiet and secluded.

14.09.2010 le Muy to Lorgues 32km

Excellent walking, off-road and on small tracks winding through vineyards and sparsely populated forests. Our only difficulty being the number of roads still blocked by flood damage. Paul, determined to sleep in a bed that night, managed to comandeer the help of a local gendarme who led him to a large, bourgeois house surrounding by land, on the edge of the town. The owners, charming and relaxed with regards to Nellie, offered a grassy top terrace where she spent a pleasant night.
Accommodation: Hotel de Parc – ideal pilgrim accommodation in budget terms, but also for location – stereotypically French – crooked floors, anarchic showers and creaking beds. Lorgues, a town that is sufficiently tourist-orientated to offer facilities, but not so much that you want to avoid. A highly recommended stop.

13.09.2010 Frejus to Le Muy 24km

Much more pleasant walking, off-road and away from the worst of the suburban sprawl. Our entry into Le Muy was complicated by a complete lack of signing and a road that had been washed away during the June floods – one abandoned car still remaining. Difficult not to wonder if the occupants had been one of the number of deaths reported. We had to find a long detour but with Paul's 6th sense and the GPS, we arrived at the Gite de Groupe without too much trouble. Later our waitress told us that the French policy was to close media access once the mortality rate was over 35. She claimed that in her region alone, there had been 200 deaths. On a more positive note, we met the owners of an equestrian centre who helped us out of Frejus and gave Nellie a sack of food.
Accommodation: Gite de Groupe Parador – currently another flood victim but due to open soon – can't say enough good words about its manager, Remy. Great guy, horse tolerant and refused payment.

12.09.2010 Argens to Frejus 28km

Hacking through St Raphael and the rest of the urban desert – unpleasant for us, but probably a great deal more pleasant for walkers who could enjoy the seaside entertainment.
Accommodation – back of a derelict factory outside Frejus

11.09.2010 Mandelieu La Napoule to Argens

A long, but great stretch, first of all along the coast, on a jogging track (filled with fitness freaks) and then a long section through a vast range of mountains (need to identify) with magnificent views over the sea and interior. Nevertheless, we were all tired by the end of it and feeling the effects of so many nights in the tent on our uninflatable mattress, so when a car driver stopped to ask us about Nellie, and mention incidentally that she had an equestrian centre nearby, we leapt at the chance. Suffice to say, Nellie is in clover and we are in a hotel on the sea front – about time too!