No rain! Off-road tracks meandering through the hills taking us across and finally out of the Alpilles, hypnotically beautiful countryside that leaves us walking in the best of silences. Surprises too:
the swathe of fallen trees crossing our path and well into the forest – sad witness to the strength of the storm and also to our luck - we had considered sleeping 'au sauvage' that same night.
Nellie's transformation – our first days with her consisted of battling to get her past dogs, hanging on when she decided to walk on her hind legs (usually when a truck past), leaping over every white line on the road and winding herself up in the tether rope. Today, she is a seasoned traveller, listening to me when I tell her there is nothing to worry about and neatly stepping around her tether rope.
Now for the bad news … either through lack of French or simply misunderstanding our location, we walked an additional 14km in an attempt to find the gite d'etape (part of a centre equestre) we had chosen because another storm is forecast. Suffice to say that we are exhausted and our blisters have doubled in size, though Nellie still seems to be full of energy and prepared to go on.
Accommodation – gite equestre, rating: excellent/PR. Good facilities for horses and humans, well-priced for the pilgrim, evening meal provided if requested, breakfast included in price. La Sarriette, Rte du Mas des Mauneirs 13810 EYGALIERES 04 90 95 94 50 06 74 68 23 44 http://lasarriette.com
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