Arrived: Livinhac-le-Haut 4:30pm
Total hours: 9
Total kms: 34.8
Accumulated kms: 225.8
Weather: Beautiful and clear for most of the day, with gale force winds that literally knocked me sideways in the afternoon.
Last night I downloaded a book on reiki to my kindle and read it, then did some reiki on my knee. I don't know if that was it but for the first 25km or so today my knee almost felt as if nothing was wrong with it. Perhaps it was just sleeping though, because after that it gave me a world of grief. The ridiculous thing about an injury you refuse to give in to is that it sets off a chain reaction of other injuries thanks to the compensations you make for the original. So it is that tonight my right shin has some kind of strained tendon, as does the hamstring on my left leg. I'll try some more reiki tonight and see how I go. I also bought a proper strap for my knee that works a whole lot better than a shirt tied around it.
The first couple of hours this morning was some of the most peaceful walking I've done - strolling along country back roads with birds singing and a light breeze blowing, it was just perfect.
I arrived at Conques first, purportedly one of the most beautiful villages on the walk. It looks just like the Goblin City in Labyrinth, except it's built in an immense valley, which means it has cobblestoned streets an angle that would make San Francisco's roads drop their traffic lights between their lanes and slink off in shame. It was a long, steep climb down a mountain to get there and a longer, steeper climb up another mountain to get out. I passed a pilgrim on the way up but we were both too out of breath to say anything other than bonjour.
This afternoon, just as the winds were reaching near cyclonic proportions, I came across four pilgrims from Switzerland. Every year they come here and walk 5-12 days of the Camino, and are finshing up in Figeac tomorrow. One of them gave me some cream for my knee and offered to give me his strap too, but I refused. Some people's kindness is just too overwhelming.
Tonight at the gite I also met a family of seven (seven! Mum and dad, and kids aged 15, 13, 10, 7 and 2 1/2). They come here twice a year each year and walk five days of the trail. They just started today. The older kids loved showing off their English skills (the eldest spoke English better than her parents) and they asked me all about Australia. When I find people who can speak English they often love to hear about Australia, it seems to be so exotic to them. Or perhaps they just can't think of anything else to ask me.
A photo of cows. Why not?
Entering Conques, the Goblin City. The next few photos are from here too.
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