Arles Route Day 3. Le Grange to La Mothe, Monday April 23. distance in guidebook, 14 km. Distance on phone 13.9 miles, 30,363 steps. Kent says I take tiny steps, and compared to his long-legged stride I guess I do.
Equipment Failure and the Breath of God
Today is a bit of a blur, as we walked up and down many hills, on bits of paved road and some lovely woodland paths, encountering a few muddy spots. The air continued heavy and hazy. We made a wide circle around the largest town, Gimont, which would have been interesting to visit, but the route did not enter it, so we only looked at the church spires from a distance.
We also navigated around a highway construction site, and at one point ended up in what appeared to be a cul de sac in a recent housing development. I was about to despair, when, there, hidden around a corner in overgrown bushes, Kent stood smiling beside the familiar red and white Grande Randonee mark and a path that took off into the greenery.
We finally arrived at am impressive church with benches dotting the surrounding grounds. Nearby was a roundabout containing a few shops, including a closed restaurant, a small convenience store, and a gourmet epicerie with regional delicacies. After a look at the wines and pates we ended up at the convenience store with two cans of juice and a bag of potato chips, which we took to a shady churchyard bench as the bells struck 12.
After that, we walked in countryside until we finally reached tonight’s lodging At La Mothe, 400 meters off the trail, shortly after we had passed the skull and crossbones of an iron-gated overgrown cemetery and a ruined chateau with extensive buildings including a church and a metal water tank. Our host tonight informed us that the current owner had won the place in a card game.
Our host this evening spoke to us in a mix of French and Spanish—Kent did better at communicating with him than I did. We had no food with us to cook, so he provided dinner — a delicious salad and an indifferent “ratatouille” of mainly potato, onion and potato in broth with duck legs.
Emanuel arrived not long after we did, and we exchanged phone numbers in case we need to communicate on the route. We plan to stay in a donation presbytery in Auch tomorrow night.
Again, we are the only people here. Kent and I declined a two-bedded room at extra charge, so we are upstairs in a dormitory, which we have all to ourselves, and Emanuel is downstairs. There is one bathroom with two showers and one toilet, so it would get rather crowded with many guests, but for 3 of us it is plenty.
This is interesting place in an old building, rather funkily decorated, but not as nice as last night’s accommodation.
The equipment failure: my Black Diamond hiking poles: one came apart as I was swinging it through the grass along the road. With the help of our host, we’ve taped the pieces together, with packing tape, not duct tape. I hope it will hold as walking with just one pole felt like walking with one arm.
The “breath of God”was what I experienced when a cooling breeze lifted my spirits at the summits of hills.
I started to sing that old hymn, “Breathe on me, Breath of God, Gill me with life anew....”. I certainly felt I needed new life and energy at many points along today’s walk.
It was not quite as warm today as yesterday, but the air was humid and heavy, the intense green of fields and woods almost oppressive. We have still not seen the Pyrenees, which other walkers have reported seeing in the distance by now.
Tomorrow’s walk to the historic city of Auch will be much longer. My phone continues to give much longer distances than the guide book, which measures the distance from Le Grange to La Motthe as just 14 Km.
It seemed longer than that to me, as we walked from just before 9 am to 20 after 3, with a few breaks of perhaps 15 minutes each at most.
Ultreia!
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