Shared Illusions

In no particular order, here are memories of the day…

Breakfast/le petit-déjeuner is generally coffee, bread, confiture, honey, butter. No plates. Just make a mess on the table.

I wish I could transmit the fabulous aroma of the broom in bloom which has always been with us on this walk, but no more so than today.  Oh, so sweet, but not cloying. When the going got a little tough, I breathed deeply and smiled.

Broom, as in Spanish Broom or Scottish Broom,  but these grow more closely to the ground.  Same flower though.

We sat on a trailside berm for lunch with the above view for our dining pleasure.

We walked on quite a bit of petrified lava today. The ripples and undulations make for trippy walking. Though neither of us tripped a bit. It also has a beautiful silvery sheen in the sunlight.

I probably mentioned that our trail sort of parallels the Robert Louis Stevenson trail and at times intersect. There are many references to RLS along the way.  The above being one of my favorites. 

Some people think it’s worth over 600€ to rent a donkey for a 14 day hike. Then they wear a backpack instead of having the donkey carry their stuff. Who’s the ass?

Had such a fun encounter with folks today. We were heading into Prevenchères and heard/saw some folks outside. I called to them to ask about the Auberge we were headed for. Well, that went into an extended conversation with 3 good buddies of 40 years who all worked for SNCF, the French RR company. That turned into an invitation to try some Verveine alcohol. Yes, of course. More conversation in a mix of French,  English,  some Spanish. Did I get a photo? 😦

I’ll  end with some images of Prevenchères.

Finally, two photos of trees that are hundreds of years old. They are so venerated that there are plaques describing their history. That’s what I love about rural France 🇫🇷.

And with that, I wish you bonne nuit or bonjour  – whichever makes sense for when you receive this missive.