Day 25 - Wet and Wonderful (Montréal à Éauze 20 km)

Today was the first real daytime rain we have had since arriving in France. It started out as just a heavy mist requiring only a cover on our packs but eventually we had to don our raincoats. More travel through several vineyards and along an old rail bed was the norm for today. No matter what the weather, I love the views and simply experiencing nature.

I walked with Rachel from Oregon for the day which I thoroughly enjoyed. We had great conversations on a wide variety of topics and I'm sure that we will run into each other again. We saw Laurent from Paris and had a great chat with him. I briefly met him a couple of days ago but this encounter provided both Rachel and me an opportunity to practice our steadily improving French.

Pierre and I stayed at a gîte a short distance from the centre of town and once again, my French listening abilities were put to the test - a definite challenge with multiple conversations happening at once around the dinner table.

Today was our second shorter day in a row and tomorrow we will increase the distance. Planning a couple days in advance is essential because the number of open gîtes are limited. Looking forward to another great day.

Pete, Pierre, Anita, Vincent, Rachel

Anita and Vincent were wonderful hosts at our gîte last night and insisted on a personal send-off this morning.

Today was our first day with real rain but it did not take anything away from the impressive views.

Once again, the colours and scents were wonderful in the rain.

Don't deny me my cow pictures!

Lamothe had a great café just waiting for us to enjoy a beverage and a sweet.

Smiles all around after a break from the rain which stopped just before we departed.

We were not sure what these figures were doing at this pond. Scarecrows or art?

Discarded shoes often appear along the trail.

This banana slug, one of dozens we saw along the path, was between 3 and 4 inches long.

Éauze had some very interesting architecture.

The church.