Another few days on the trail

Getting accustomed to walking with a heavy pack takes longer than I thought it might. My feet get to hurting terribly. The countryside the last few days has been incredibly beautiful. Interspersed with small pastures are dense woodlands of spruce and birch trees. The terrain undulates between river and highlands. Cows in small groups pasture in small glades and cheese and grass-fed beef is on the menu each evening. The night before last I dined on grass-fed veal,penne pasta in a mushroom sauce at a former Templar hospital for pilgrims in a wilderness where daffodils and violas fill the fields with wild spring colors. A little rain and fog have broken the hot weather but it is easier to walk in cooler temps up and down the hills. As I write tonight I am in Amont-Abrac at a place called La Ferme d'Barrie where we had a local speciality known as Aligot,a potato dish made with local cheese such that it hangs from the serving spoon like a heavy syrup and yet it is very much a mashed potato. It was excellent and I had two helpings. Tomorrow we walk 16 miles to Nasbinals, the next town that has beds available. The towns can be few in this region. Me and Marie are having the heavy portions of our backpacks hauled there by car and walking with full portions of the top of our sacks. It may not be purist but it is practical. I'm not here to exhaust myself early on. I only want to enjoy my trip. So far I am the only US resident on the route. There have been a number of Canadians and I met a couple Mexicans. Many are French, of course, some are German, and I had dinner with a couple from Australia the other night as well. More wen Internet is again accessible.