Awoke to the sound of rain but that soon dissipated and the skies started to clear. Went to breakfast with our French contingent. Even though we have a bit of language barrier, our efforts in communicating with them last night and conveying to them our previous Compostelle experience seem to win their respect. We were greeted quite warmly this morning. After our community meal, we bid them a fond adieu and we were off. Saw two rainbows as we left the village. The forest paths were still a bit muddy and slippery from the overnight rain. I (Ed) had a bit of a slip and did a crazy dance on the path but did not fall. Joan has had similar and claims good core strength. Whatever the case, we kept moving. Nine quick kilometers landed us at a quiet and welcome coffee stop where we encountered our Canadian friends. We continued to walk after that and the sun made an appearance and it started to get warm quickly. We soon came to the village of Flamarens which had the remains of a twelfth century cathedral and castle. Really interesting. Four more kilometers and we got to Miradoux, a very small village which had a little grocery store and a Boulanger where we picked up a big lunch. Our timing was good as the town was starting to close for their midday break. Stuffed our bellies and began our afternoon jaunt. The walk went along a ridge where we could see castles in just about every direction. With a huge field of sunflowers in front of us, Joan likened one view to the Wizard of Oz where they walked towards the Emerald City through the field that made the group sleepy. I was starting to yawn. We arrived at our resting place for the night, the Ferme de Barrachin. It's pretty much a farm in the middle of nowhere. But the room we have been given is very clean, comfy and cozy. It's also very quiet. We have stayed in such a wide variety of places and we are so pleased with what we are given. Could have booked into a big town another six or seven kilometers down the road but we don't have any reason to exhaust ourselves. 25 kilometers or so seems to be our "sweet spot", a comfortable distance. Our dinner was with our hostess and her husband. She knows a little English and he knows none. But we had a great time. Had a big green salad with amazingly fresh and sweet tomatoes. Just what we had been craving. Served your basic French lentils and sausage but they were really good. Dessert was this apple tart she had made with apples from the farm. We loved it!
Chambre d'hôtes Ferme de Barrachin - clean and quiet. Kind hostess and simple dinner.
