We thank our lucky stars for all the gorgeous mornings we keep having. This stretch of good weather wasn’t predicted when we left home at the end of August. This morning the sun was peeking up over the hills and the temperature was a cool 13C when we left Les Estrets – perfect for hiking. Low lying fog had settled in creases in the valley adding character to the already beautiful view.

We climbed the trail that led us through farmland with grazing cattle and little hamlets until eventually we reached the town of Aumont-Aubrac. We found a cafe in the central square for coffee and who should we find there? Another representation of the terrifying Beast of Gevaudan who was decorating the fountain. He is no longer hungry (or so they say). 🤣 

The distance we walked over the last six days from Le Puy-En-Velay to Les Quatre Chemins is a little more than 100 kilometres. That doesn’t take into account the extra kilometres we tack on while looking for banks or grocery stores, getting lost, or backtracking for some reason. Today’s extra distance happened because I left my hiking poles at the cafe where we had our coffee break.  I didn’t miss them until we came to the first hill! 🤩

We visited two noteworthy churches after our break. One was in La Chase de Peyre with its unique granite bell tower and beautiful window. The other was a tiny church standing in the middle of an odd triangular island in the middle of an intersection in La Pignede. 

We found a picnic table in the shade along the way to have a snack and Gaelle whom we met last night stopped to chat. She said, “I’m sorry I don’t speak English” and I said “Je ne parle pas Francais.” Then we carried on having a lovely conversation in a mix of French/English.

We’ve been away from home for nine days now and have hand-washed our clothes every day until now. This afternoon our hostess washed our clothes in a washing machine for free and and another guest kindly hung them out. In the time it took us to drink our beer, everything was dry. What a treat! We would recommend Gîte d’étape Aux Quatre Vents in Les Quatre Chemin – delicious dinner, great showers, a garden to relax in, and a friendly hostess.