Sometimes when walking on the Chemin le Puy a very human thing happens. After refueling the body with liters of water, one must defuel. The urge to defuel comes at the most inconvenient time. You can bet you will have to pee when walking 5 km down a gravel road with not bush in sight. Or when there is a group of male pilgrims, including a Catholic priest, coming up behind you on the trail. So it happens Carol and Leslie have a few extra challenges when relieving themselves in the great
outdoors. The number one difficulty being balance.
This day was like any other. Pilgrims pilgrims every where. Carol could no longer detain the defueling process. Two trees appeared on the horizon. Carol swiftly prepared to defuel, even though the group of three male pilgrims were speedily approaching from the "south"..as the defueling process began, Carol lost her balance and ended up nose first in the freshly plowed field adjacent to the two trees. The men slowed their pace and diverted their gaze away from Carol, face end down and you know, the other end, right there in front of them. While quick clothing adjustments were made by Carol, Leslie went for her video camera. In the quickest flash of
Carol 's former lightning fast speed, she was back eating her lunch while the men passed by, their faces revealing what they had observed occurring between two trees.
And all this time, Leslie, the woman claiming to be Carol's friend, laughed and made comments from the sidelines.
And guess who we saw on the trail this morning. Grins all around as the passed us again while polite head nods were made to maintain the hysterical laughter brewing inside.
Friday, May 10, 2013
Between two trees
Sometimes when walking on the Chemin le Puy a very human thing happens. After refueling the body with liters of water, one must defuel. The urge to defuel comes at the most inconvenient time. You can bet you will have to pee when walking 5 km down a gravel road with not bush in sight. Or when there is a group of male pilgrims, including a Catholic priest, coming up behind you on the trail. So it happens Carol and Leslie have a few extra challenges when relieving themselves in the great
outdoors. The number one difficulty being balance.
This day was like any other. Pilgrims pilgrims every where. Carol could no longer detain the defueling process. Two trees appeared on the horizon. Carol swiftly prepared to defuel, even though the group of three male pilgrims were speedily approaching from the "south"..as the defueling process began, Carol lost her balance and ended up nose first in the freshly plowed field adjacent to the two trees. The men slowed their pace and diverted their gaze away from Carol, face end down and you know, the other end, right there in front of them. While quick clothing adjustments were made by Carol, Leslie went for her video camera. In the quickest flash of
Carol 's former lightning fast speed, she was back eating her lunch while the men passed by, their faces revealing what they had observed occurring between two trees.
And all this time, Leslie, the woman claiming to be Carol's friend, laughed and made comments from the sidelines.
And guess who we saw on the trail this morning. Grins all around as the passed us again while polite head nods were made to maintain the hysterical laughter brewing inside.
outdoors. The number one difficulty being balance.
This day was like any other. Pilgrims pilgrims every where. Carol could no longer detain the defueling process. Two trees appeared on the horizon. Carol swiftly prepared to defuel, even though the group of three male pilgrims were speedily approaching from the "south"..as the defueling process began, Carol lost her balance and ended up nose first in the freshly plowed field adjacent to the two trees. The men slowed their pace and diverted their gaze away from Carol, face end down and you know, the other end, right there in front of them. While quick clothing adjustments were made by Carol, Leslie went for her video camera. In the quickest flash of
Carol 's former lightning fast speed, she was back eating her lunch while the men passed by, their faces revealing what they had observed occurring between two trees.
And all this time, Leslie, the woman claiming to be Carol's friend, laughed and made comments from the sidelines.
And guess who we saw on the trail this morning. Grins all around as the passed us again while polite head nods were made to maintain the hysterical laughter brewing inside.
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Mind your euros.
€ 34 for a place to lay your head, a tasty dinner and wine and dessert. Bread, yogurt and coffee in the morning.l Demi pension.
€ 34 dinner for two last night. Luckily we found a bar open on a Sunday.
3 gin and tonics
2 beers
Salad ( actually a big plate of cheese ham lettuce etc.
Pizza
Focus on budget
€11 euros per person. Housing in community gite. A clean bed,shower, and sink to wash clothes
Groceries €34
Yogurt for two breakfasts, bread, cheeses,juice,eggs,snacks,nuts,potatoes,cucumber,ham,croissants
We have enough for dinner, two lunches, two breakfasts and to share with anyone who wants to join us.who wants some.
Right now Leslie is whipping up some scrambled eggs and ham for lunch. Dinner tonight we will have a cheese and potato casserole. Tomorrow we will have boiled eggs and potatoes. and pota toes to go à long with the usual lunchtime fare. Clothes are drying on thé Line, we are living simply today and on the cheap and it's all good....
€ 34 dinner for two last night. Luckily we found a bar open on a Sunday.
3 gin and tonics
2 beers
Salad ( actually a big plate of cheese ham lettuce etc.
Pizza
Focus on budget
€11 euros per person. Housing in community gite. A clean bed,shower, and sink to wash clothes
Groceries €34
Yogurt for two breakfasts, bread, cheeses,juice,eggs,snacks,nuts,potatoes,cucumber,ham,croissants
We have enough for dinner, two lunches, two breakfasts and to share with anyone who wants to join us.who wants some.
Right now Leslie is whipping up some scrambled eggs and ham for lunch. Dinner tonight we will have a cheese and potato casserole. Tomorrow we will have boiled eggs and potatoes. and pota toes to go à long with the usual lunchtime fare. Clothes are drying on thé Line, we are living simply today and on the cheap and it's all good....
Mind your euros.
€ 34 for a place to lay your head, a tasty dinner and wine and dessert. Bread, yogurt and coffee in the morning.l Demi pension.
€ 34 dinner for two last night. Luckily we found a bar open on a Sunday.
3 gin and tonics
2 beers
Salad ( actually a big plate of cheese ham lettuce etc.
Pizza
Focus on budget
€11 euros per person. Housing in community gite. A clean bed,shower, and sink to wash clothes
Groceries €34
Yogurt for two breakfasts, bread, cheeses,juice,eggs,snacks,nuts,potatoes,cucumber,ham,croissants
We have enough for dinner, two lunches, two breakfasts and to share with anyone who wants to join us.who wants some.
Right now Leslie is whipping up some scrambled eggs and ham for lunch. Dinner tonight we will have a cheese and potato casserole. Tomorrow we will have boiled eggs and potatoes. and pota toes to go à long with the usual lunchtime fare. Clothes are drying on thé Line, we are living simply today and on the cheap and it's all good....
€ 34 dinner for two last night. Luckily we found a bar open on a Sunday.
3 gin and tonics
2 beers
Salad ( actually a big plate of cheese ham lettuce etc.
Pizza
Focus on budget
€11 euros per person. Housing in community gite. A clean bed,shower, and sink to wash clothes
Groceries €34
Yogurt for two breakfasts, bread, cheeses,juice,eggs,snacks,nuts,potatoes,cucumber,ham,croissants
We have enough for dinner, two lunches, two breakfasts and to share with anyone who wants to join us.who wants some.
Right now Leslie is whipping up some scrambled eggs and ham for lunch. Dinner tonight we will have a cheese and potato casserole. Tomorrow we will have boiled eggs and potatoes. and pota toes to go à long with the usual lunchtime fare. Clothes are drying on thé Line, we are living simply today and on the cheap and it's all good....
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Narrative of friendly farm animals
After another mud slog day, we finally found the ferme le tolla. We entered the gate and our arrival was announced rather loudly by the trio of donkeys pastured nearby. A grey horse pegged us immediately as suckers for horsey snacks. he came to our window, stuck his head in and went directly for the croissants in Leslie's backpack. Leslie, who does not like carol lectures (who does) received an extra special epistle on the bad habits developed by animals who eat human food. Such as bears in Yellowstone. I closed the window. After showering we returned to our room and Mr Grey spotted us again. This time we watched in amazement as he opened the window and stuck his head in to join our conversation.
Narrative of friendly farm animals
After another mud slog day, we finally found the ferme le tolla. We entered the gate and our arrival was announced rather loudly by the trio of donkeys pastured nearby. A grey horse pegged us immediately as suckers for horsey snacks. he came to our window, stuck his head in and went directly for the croissants in Leslie's backpack. Leslie, who does not like carol lectures (who does) received an extra special epistle on the bad habits developed by animals who eat human food. Such as bears in Yellowstone. I closed the window. After showering we returned to our room and Mr Grey spotted us again. This time we watched in amazement as he opened the window and stuck his head in to join our conversation.
Where everybody knows your name...well,at least one person.
This morning started out with me a little off kilter. I got up in plenty of time to be ready to go by 8:30. Then I noticed a couple of untreated blisters. I worked on them as quickly as possible, loading stuff in the pack as I went. Leslie is calling "Carol, Carol! CAROL,!! from somewhere below or outside. We are catching a ride into town with a fellow guest of this gite who has a car. I must hurry!
My fingers feel fat and stiff and don't want to move as I try to secure all the openings on my pack. Finally everything closed and ready to go. I should be downstairs with my pack and boots. But I look at my feet, wrapped up in blister protect mode and it hits me
Socks
I don't have any socks on.
There are no socks to be seen, in fact they are in a zippered bag near the bottom of my pack.
For some reason this brings tears to my eyes. I am sure this is the first time I have cried over packed socks, but probably not the last .
CAROoooool!!!!
The gite owner Elizabeth is in the room trying to help. I am a sobbing mess sitting in a pile of all my belongings...holding my socks.
I stuff spoon,comb,garbage, bandana, money in my pockets....and shove my belongings back in my pack. "Suck it up Carol" I say to myself "Get going."
After a short ride into the village, we are walking again. Following the GR 65 red and white stripes through the village the banter between us is centered on the different colors representing the GRs in France. From my previous walk I know we will watch for yellow arrows when we reach the border of Spain. Then the arrows will be supported by shells which change slightly with each region.
There are cars parked solidly along this street. Not too many people are driving yet. I notice a small dark colored car approaching. Suddenly it pulls over and parks. We would call it "Double Parking" The tall handsome driver gets out and approaches us. "Clupny?" he says. I am shocked but I say "yes". Leslie says "What the f***? You know him?"
" I am Matthieu, You stay at my gite tonight "' the French accent sounded almost seductive . Oh wow, I think. What is this about? Who is this guy and how does he know my name? We are not staying in this village tonight. Where is the nearest convent?! We would be safe there.
Then he leans down and kisses me on both cheeks like I was his long lost favorite aunt. "Carol Clupny yes? You eat dinner. You like ice cream." Now I know. A few days ago it was my turn to find lodging. I emailed ahead for reservations I wrote "Need two beds for American women." The gite owner responded "You want eat?" referring to demi-pension dinner and breakfast.. I wrote back jokingly "Yes and I like ice cream!" Mathieu was the gite owner, yet how did he pick me out hundreds of walkers going to Manciet today.
" See you two hours. I go get ice cream now."
Puzzled, we walked on and out into the countryside. We walked though so much mud today. We took a wrong turn and walked a muddy kilometer or more out of the way. We walked and walked along rows of Armagnac grape vines. Leslie fell and a nearby walker, an elderly French man raced to help her up. She managed . She falls again and is now is carrying 5 lbs of mud on her 50 lb pack. We chat about cute Mathieu.
Some French walkers come by and comment on her crappy shoes and overfilled pack. Hmm I have offered suggestions before. Her shoes and pack are really slowing her down.
We arrive in Manciet. Matheiu's gite is hidden in an old bakery.We have to walk through a back alley to get to the door. He sees us coming and he opens a window and yells "You are here! The famous Carol Clupny is Here!' He grabs my pack and takes it to a bedroom. I slip off my muddy boots and follow him upstairs. I hear music, Very familiar music. In fact, it is one of my favorite songs. I am getting more freaked, He can tell...
Matthieu laughs and says "You Carol Clupny are famous. I watch your movie on YouTube . Further discussion in broken English reveals he thought the name Clupny was interesting so he Googled it. My camino slide show C- Team Walks came up. So he knows I have Parkinsons Disease and I move slowly. He has watched it and enjoys the music. In fact it is playing on his hand held device right now. I look at it. And then I look at myself in the mirror.
I am wearing the very same clothes as one year ago on the Camino Frances. No wonder he knows my name.
My fingers feel fat and stiff and don't want to move as I try to secure all the openings on my pack. Finally everything closed and ready to go. I should be downstairs with my pack and boots. But I look at my feet, wrapped up in blister protect mode and it hits me
Socks
I don't have any socks on.
There are no socks to be seen, in fact they are in a zippered bag near the bottom of my pack.
For some reason this brings tears to my eyes. I am sure this is the first time I have cried over packed socks, but probably not the last .
CAROoooool!!!!
The gite owner Elizabeth is in the room trying to help. I am a sobbing mess sitting in a pile of all my belongings...holding my socks.
I stuff spoon,comb,garbage, bandana, money in my pockets....and shove my belongings back in my pack. "Suck it up Carol" I say to myself "Get going."
After a short ride into the village, we are walking again. Following the GR 65 red and white stripes through the village the banter between us is centered on the different colors representing the GRs in France. From my previous walk I know we will watch for yellow arrows when we reach the border of Spain. Then the arrows will be supported by shells which change slightly with each region.
There are cars parked solidly along this street. Not too many people are driving yet. I notice a small dark colored car approaching. Suddenly it pulls over and parks. We would call it "Double Parking" The tall handsome driver gets out and approaches us. "Clupny?" he says. I am shocked but I say "yes". Leslie says "What the f***? You know him?"
" I am Matthieu, You stay at my gite tonight "' the French accent sounded almost seductive . Oh wow, I think. What is this about? Who is this guy and how does he know my name? We are not staying in this village tonight. Where is the nearest convent?! We would be safe there.
Then he leans down and kisses me on both cheeks like I was his long lost favorite aunt. "Carol Clupny yes? You eat dinner. You like ice cream." Now I know. A few days ago it was my turn to find lodging. I emailed ahead for reservations I wrote "Need two beds for American women." The gite owner responded "You want eat?" referring to demi-pension dinner and breakfast.. I wrote back jokingly "Yes and I like ice cream!" Mathieu was the gite owner, yet how did he pick me out hundreds of walkers going to Manciet today.
" See you two hours. I go get ice cream now."Puzzled, we walked on and out into the countryside. We walked though so much mud today. We took a wrong turn and walked a muddy kilometer or more out of the way. We walked and walked along rows of Armagnac grape vines. Leslie fell and a nearby walker, an elderly French man raced to help her up. She managed . She falls again and is now is carrying 5 lbs of mud on her 50 lb pack. We chat about cute Mathieu.
Some French walkers come by and comment on her crappy shoes and overfilled pack. Hmm I have offered suggestions before. Her shoes and pack are really slowing her down.
We arrive in Manciet. Matheiu's gite is hidden in an old bakery.We have to walk through a back alley to get to the door. He sees us coming and he opens a window and yells "You are here! The famous Carol Clupny is Here!' He grabs my pack and takes it to a bedroom. I slip off my muddy boots and follow him upstairs. I hear music, Very familiar music. In fact, it is one of my favorite songs. I am getting more freaked, He can tell...
Matthieu laughs and says "You Carol Clupny are famous. I watch your movie on YouTube . Further discussion in broken English reveals he thought the name Clupny was interesting so he Googled it. My camino slide show C- Team Walks came up. So he knows I have Parkinsons Disease and I move slowly. He has watched it and enjoys the music. In fact it is playing on his hand held device right now. I look at it. And then I look at myself in the mirror.
I am wearing the very same clothes as one year ago on the Camino Frances. No wonder he knows my name.
Where everybody knows your name...well,at least one person.
This morning started out with me a little off kilter. I got up in plenty of time to be ready to go by 8:30. Then I noticed a couple of untreated blisters. I worked on them as quickly as possible, loading stuff in the pack as I went. Leslie is calling "Carol, Carol! CAROL,!! from somewhere below or outside. We are catching a ride into town with a fellow guest of this gite who has a car. I must hurry!
My fingers feel fat and stiff and don't want to move as I try to secure all the openings on my pack. Finally everything closed and ready to go. I should be downstairs with my pack and boots. But I look at my feet, wrapped up in blister protect mode and it hits me
Socks
I don't have any socks on.
There are no socks to be seen, in fact they are in a zippered bag near the bottom of my pack.
For some reason this brings tears to my eyes. I am sure this is the first time I have cried over packed socks, but probably not the last .
CAROoooool!!!!
The gite owner Elizabeth is in the room trying to help. I am a sobbing mess sitting in a pile of all my belongings...holding my socks.
I stuff spoon,comb,garbage, bandana, money in my pockets....and shove my belongings back in my pack. "Suck it up Carol" I say to myself "Get going."
After a short ride into the village, we are walking again. Following the GR 65 red and white stripes through the village the banter between us is centered on the different colors representing the GRs in France. From my previous walk I know we will watch for yellow arrows when we reach the border of Spain. Then the arrows will be supported by shells which change slightly with each region.
There are cars parked solidly along this street. Not too many people are driving yet. I notice a small dark colored car approaching. Suddenly it pulls over and parks. We would call it "Double Parking" The tall handsome driver gets out and approaches us. "Clupny?" he says. I am shocked but I say "yes". Leslie says "What the f***? You know him?"
" I am Matthieu, You stay at my gite tonight "' the French accent sounded almost seductive . Oh wow, I think. What is this about? Who is this guy and how does he know my name? We are not staying in this village tonight. Where is the nearest convent?! We would be safe there.
Then he leans down and kisses me on both cheeks like I was his long lost favorite aunt. "Carol Clupny yes? You eat dinner. You like ice cream." Now I know. A few days ago it was my turn to find lodging. I emailed ahead for reservations I wrote "Need two beds for American women." The gite owner responded "You want eat?" referring to demi-pension dinner and breakfast.. I wrote back jokingly "Yes and I like ice cream!" Mathieu was the gite owner, yet how did he pick me out hundreds of walkers going to Manciet today.
" See you two hours. I go get ice cream now."
Puzzled, we walked on and out into the countryside. We walked though so much mud today. We took a wrong turn and walked a muddy kilometer or more out of the way. We walked and walked along rows of Armagnac grape vines. Leslie fell and a nearby walker, an elderly French man raced to help her up. She managed . She falls again and is now is carrying 5 lbs of mud on her 50 lb pack. We chat about cute Mathieu.
Some French walkers come by and comment on her crappy shoes and overfilled pack. Hmm I have offered suggestions before. Her shoes and pack are really slowing her down.
We arrive in Manciet. Matheiu's gite is hidden in an old bakery.We have to walk through a back alley to get to the door. He sees us coming and he opens a window and yells "You are here! The famous Carol Clupny is Here!' He grabs my pack and takes it to a bedroom. I slip off my muddy boots and follow him upstairs. I hear music, Very familiar music. In fact, it is one of my favorite songs. I am getting more freaked, He can tell...
Matthieu laughs and says "You Carol Clupny are famous. I watch your movie on YouTube . Further discussion in broken English reveals he thought the name Clupny was interesting so he Googled it. My camino slide show C- Team Walks came up. So he knows I have Parkinsons Disease and I move slowly. He has watched it and enjoys the music. In fact it is playing on his hand held device right now. I look at it. And then I look at myself in the mirror.
I am wearing the very same clothes as one year ago on the Camino Frances. No wonder he knows my name.
My fingers feel fat and stiff and don't want to move as I try to secure all the openings on my pack. Finally everything closed and ready to go. I should be downstairs with my pack and boots. But I look at my feet, wrapped up in blister protect mode and it hits me
Socks
I don't have any socks on.
There are no socks to be seen, in fact they are in a zippered bag near the bottom of my pack.
For some reason this brings tears to my eyes. I am sure this is the first time I have cried over packed socks, but probably not the last .
CAROoooool!!!!
The gite owner Elizabeth is in the room trying to help. I am a sobbing mess sitting in a pile of all my belongings...holding my socks.
I stuff spoon,comb,garbage, bandana, money in my pockets....and shove my belongings back in my pack. "Suck it up Carol" I say to myself "Get going."
After a short ride into the village, we are walking again. Following the GR 65 red and white stripes through the village the banter between us is centered on the different colors representing the GRs in France. From my previous walk I know we will watch for yellow arrows when we reach the border of Spain. Then the arrows will be supported by shells which change slightly with each region.
There are cars parked solidly along this street. Not too many people are driving yet. I notice a small dark colored car approaching. Suddenly it pulls over and parks. We would call it "Double Parking" The tall handsome driver gets out and approaches us. "Clupny?" he says. I am shocked but I say "yes". Leslie says "What the f***? You know him?"
" I am Matthieu, You stay at my gite tonight "' the French accent sounded almost seductive . Oh wow, I think. What is this about? Who is this guy and how does he know my name? We are not staying in this village tonight. Where is the nearest convent?! We would be safe there.
Then he leans down and kisses me on both cheeks like I was his long lost favorite aunt. "Carol Clupny yes? You eat dinner. You like ice cream." Now I know. A few days ago it was my turn to find lodging. I emailed ahead for reservations I wrote "Need two beds for American women." The gite owner responded "You want eat?" referring to demi-pension dinner and breakfast.. I wrote back jokingly "Yes and I like ice cream!" Mathieu was the gite owner, yet how did he pick me out hundreds of walkers going to Manciet today.
" See you two hours. I go get ice cream now."Puzzled, we walked on and out into the countryside. We walked though so much mud today. We took a wrong turn and walked a muddy kilometer or more out of the way. We walked and walked along rows of Armagnac grape vines. Leslie fell and a nearby walker, an elderly French man raced to help her up. She managed . She falls again and is now is carrying 5 lbs of mud on her 50 lb pack. We chat about cute Mathieu.
Some French walkers come by and comment on her crappy shoes and overfilled pack. Hmm I have offered suggestions before. Her shoes and pack are really slowing her down.
We arrive in Manciet. Matheiu's gite is hidden in an old bakery.We have to walk through a back alley to get to the door. He sees us coming and he opens a window and yells "You are here! The famous Carol Clupny is Here!' He grabs my pack and takes it to a bedroom. I slip off my muddy boots and follow him upstairs. I hear music, Very familiar music. In fact, it is one of my favorite songs. I am getting more freaked, He can tell...
Matthieu laughs and says "You Carol Clupny are famous. I watch your movie on YouTube . Further discussion in broken English reveals he thought the name Clupny was interesting so he Googled it. My camino slide show C- Team Walks came up. So he knows I have Parkinsons Disease and I move slowly. He has watched it and enjoys the music. In fact it is playing on his hand held device right now. I look at it. And then I look at myself in the mirror.
I am wearing the very same clothes as one year ago on the Camino Frances. No wonder he knows my name.
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