Today’s 18km walk was definitely easier than yesterday’s 13km. The steep downhills I tackled then were (mostly) replaced by a long steady slope down. Much easier on the legs.
I finally found someone who walks at my pace. Jack is 78, spent 32 years in the army, and has walked the entire distance from France. We had a delightful conversation for the first 5km, when I dropped him off so he could grab a cup of coffee.
So far, there’s been a something that made each day’s hike more of a struggle than it needs to be. Today’s challenge was the aftermath of an upset digestive system. (I think the culprit was a piece of Spanish omelette I had for lunch the day before yesterday.) I first noticed something off yesterday morning - breakfast just didn’t sound good. I forced it down anyways, figuring I needed the fuel, but by lunchtime food was a definite no-go. Nothing sounded good; my stomach was in knots. I had some lentil soup for dinner, which went down well, and was in my room and crashed by 8. Somewhere in the night, my system decided it had had enough of this nonsense, and instituted a colon cleanse. You know what I mean.
I took some Imodium, but that stuff needs time to take effect, and I could hardly sit around waiting to see how things were going to come out, so to speak. So, I got up in the morning, and headed down to breakfast, hoping there would be some yogurt and fruit, which were the only things that sounded good. The hiking gods were with me, and I was able to eat a little. I waited a few minutes, grateful there was no line for the restroom and sure enough, I was soon visiting the facilities. But the big ache in my gut stayed gone, so I took another tablet, and set off down the road.
I didn’t dare eat anything while walking today; restrooms on the trail are few and far between, so I contented myself with electrolyte drinks; I didn’t really feel hungry anyways.
When I got to my room for tonight, I ate an orange I had squirreled away, and a couple of protein bars. It was all I had on hand, and I didn’t want to chance a restaurant, just in case. The good news is that things seem to be under control. *whew* - I’ll head out to dinner shortly, do what I can to eat a light meal.
Tomorrow’s walk is about the same as today’s; it’ll be 19km. If my stomach will stay settled, I think I’ll enjoy it - it’s the home stretch for part I of my journey!
Photos: a beautiful stream; there were no man made churches on the first part of today’s route, but nature filled in the gap with this natural cathedral; someone with vision created a garden from old shoes - it was adorable!
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