It’s another hot day. We are on the backside of Espalion, it’s only about 15kms to Estraing from this point so it shouldn’t take too much in theory…
A lot of road walking today which doesn’t help as it means there isn’t much shade cover unfortunately. Part way through there is a mean uphill that never quite summits every time you expect it to.
Tom has decided to take on a leaders role and often spends his time out of the backpack leading the way for me and Alissa, letting us know where it’s safe and where we should step. He’s loving it. He probably walks 3 km on a good day, on and off. The two older boys are usually off the front or back by a couple of hundred metres talking marvel movies or games. They are both going so well, especially when they know cold sodas are not far away.
As we come down from the hill all hot and bothered there’s a sign for a snack bar 2.5kms ahead which spurs us on down the road. That 2.5 kms feels like 15 kms but eventually we make it, almost crawling the last 100m. The heat is a killer. Anyway it’s a neat little place with lots of cold drinks, omelettes and fries which is exactly what we needed.
After spending an hour there we load up and take on the last 2.5kms to Estaing. Unfortunately there’s another little sting in the tale on this hot day and we bust our way up another hill before arriving in Estaing. It’s a pretty cool view as we approach.
It’s pretty impressive, there is a castle in the centre of town and tiny cobblestone slips of streets. Feels ancient. Feels a bit like Hogwarts. It’s an amazing town. The campground is a few kms out of town so we head for the municipal Gite. It’s perfect. The boys have their first pétanque experience in France. They ‘re hooked.
