Off from our great campground into a bit of the unknown.
Weather report for the day is hot and dry leading into thunderstorms tonight. As the plan is wild camping in the hills around Le Sauvage thunderstorms aren’t really what we were hoping for…
The guidebook suggests a pretty easy day but we are still finding the going tough. Water management is tricky as the villages are quite far apart and not all of them have an obvious potable water supply. It’s very up and up throughout the whole day. Alissa is feeling the weight but the boys are doing great and powering through. As we are resting a little in the morning a couple of groups pass us and ask for photos, apparently we are gaining a little fame on the route! It’s rare for whole families to walk the Camino (especially with young children) and carrying Tom on my back is noteworthy enough because of how heavy he is.
It’s a really beautiful part of the country, the trail is all on tracks through the forest or old dirt roads.
We hit upon an idea to get to a pilgrims’ refuge at the Chapel of St Roche. Its a 23 kilometre trek to get there but the offer of tucking away from the storm rather than tenting it is too hard to resist.
We get to Le Sauvage and it’s a pretty impressive fort / walled town / trading post that’s been converted into an amazing gite accomodation for walkers. If we had planned ahead a bit better this would have been perfect. We stop for a water refill instead, looking somewhat enviously at all those that have already called it a day. We grab a stamp for our credentials, then power on determined to make the refuge before the rain.
Eventually we string our way into La Roche and find a little wooden hut to squeeze into for the night. Timing is perfect as the lightning bolts start flying as soon as dinner is finished. Tom finds it all a bit scary telling us Lightning McQueen is making him angry. The boys love it however, best tv show going.
Next | Camino day 5 – Chapel St Roche to St Alban sur Limagnole
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