As we set out on yet another perfect day, it occurs to me that we have been walking under the shadow of snow-capped mountains for nearly ten days. Our progress has been a series of ascents and descents ranging from 400m to 1300m, and sometimes we have even touched the snow. Our slow pace allows us to watch the gradual change in the contours of the landscape and saunter through communities that wouldn't even register if we were in a car. Today has been particularly interesting in this respect and has introduced us to a continued rural existence that I had assumed to be long gone. In addition there seem to be groups of younger people who have taken over older hamlets and adapted them to their own way of life … food for thought. Otherwise another excellent walking day, with no real obstacles – long may it last. Nellie is performing perfectly in every respect, crossing a kilometre long bridge over Terre de Ponçon, where the drivers give her no space and even overtake other cars in front – frankly terrifying for me, but she seems unperturbed. Having said that, there are as many drivers who signal their approval of what we are doing (usually with positive gestures but also occasionally by blowing their horn, which Nellie appreciates less), or even stop to tell us so. Tonight we are staying in a Gite next to Abbé de Boscodon which is everything one would expect a contemplative place to be (the abbey not the gite). Our first sight is round a corner of the small track we have been following through the trees that suddenly break open into a wide open space to reveal the yellow-stoned abbey - an unforgettable view. From here everything is marginally less tranqil because we have managed to arrive in the middle of a commemoration ceremony for soldiers lost in the last two world wars and, judging by the age of some of the attendees, more recent ones. Nellie is tied to a ring in the abbey wall and immediately swarmed all over by children, all of which she seems to tolerate and perhaps even enjoy. Flea is less appreciative, and tries to bite a couple of children who come too close – something we have to watch out for. Some hours later, Nellie is finally allowed to go to her overnight tethering post, above the memorial itself, with flags and flowers still in place. She has no grass but is fed mounds of dry bread and apples, plus a mound of hay to see her through the night.
Accommodation – rating: Excellent/PR – reasonable price (45 euros, breakfast inc), even though the dormitory was not available and we had to take the chambre d'hote option. Hosts very welcoming and helpful, couldn't do enough for Nellie.
Gite d'Etape, Auberge de Montagne, Abbé de Boscodon 05200 - CROTS 04 92 43 00 50 gite-boscodon@tiscali.fr
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