Maureen and Lorraine walked the full 803 km of the French route in 54 days. Andrew and Wally drove the two camper vans they used as mobile accommodation throughout the adventure.
It was
lovely to see them again, looking so well, after their challenging and
inspiring journey.
We cancelled last week’s walk because I had a hospital appointment
Consequently we were really looking
forward to this week
This was our first summer walk, when
we start at 0800
We do the same walks, and aim to be in the bar by 1200
So hopefully we can avoid walking
during the hottest part of the day
We had a larger group than I expected
Which included Julie and Don who are
here for a couple of weeks
The temperatures were not too bad
But the humidity was 95%, which is
very high
It was cloudy, so at least we did not have to worry about the sun
But we did have to take water breaks
every half hour
We also went at a slower than normal
pace
All of this made for a nice walk and
no one had any problems
We had 19 walking today
I had expected less due to the heat
Because we did not walk last I had no
idea who was available
I sent it to everyone I understood to
be available
That made a total of 28
But fortunately 10 could not walk for
various reasons
It is fortunate that this was the next
walk on the list
It is a particularly easy walk, with
no climbing
However it is exposed and has no shaded
sections
But there are two picnic sites, the mirador and the Ermita
The Parcent Cooperativa was closed for holidays
But fortunately Bar Siremar was open
And there was plenty of space for us all
Temperature – 24 to 28c
Time Taken – 3 hours
Distance – 9 km
Nice easy valley walk
Much more suitable given the higher
temperatures
Teresa’s husband joined us because it is a bank holiday
Lynn also returned after a break for
visitors
We also had Gary, a new member who
lives in Jalon
Our summer walks will start next week
During June and September we walk from
0900 to 1200
We aim to reach the bar before the
hottest time of the day
My first cataract operation is scheduled for next Monday
And I have no indication when the
second one will be done
I am not sure how this will affect my
walking routine
But clearly I will not be able to walk next week
Allie has offered to lead a local walk
from Jalon
It will then be up to the group to
decide what to do after that
Hopefully we will be able to get back to walking before the end of June
Otherwise it is going to be an extra
long summer break this year
We will really miss the group during this enforced break
It is the highlight of our week
After our banana break we made our way
back to Jalon through the valley
By now it was very hot, and we made
use of any shade
We also had a final water stop
And were surprisingly fresh when we reached Jalon
Fortunately it was not too busy in Casa Claudia
And we managed to find enough tables and chairs to sit together
Temperature – 23 to 26c
Time Taken – 3 hours
Distance – 9 km
