Stuck in the Muck

 Day 25 - Marsolan. 

     It was raining when we started the day, so we covered our packs, but did not use our parkas thinking that it would stop soon.  Well, it ended up raining most of the morning.  Worse than the rain was the clay muck that stuck to our shoes whenever we walked on dirt paths.  The French have a special name for this soil - ‘dirt that loves people’ .

     Our lunch break was in Lectoure with a huge cathedral that towers over the countryside.  We assumed we could find something to eat since it was a sizable town.  However, it was Monday and all the shops were closed.   Bakeries, grocery stores and even restaurants are closed.  We ended up scrounging our packs for enough food to call it a lunch.

     If the rain and the muck and the closed shops weren’t annoying enough, we had to fight a strong headwind all afternoon.  Speaking of wind, we found out that much of today’s section of Camino was closed from June until mid August because of fallen trees.  In June there was a terrible storm that knocked down lots of trees.

     We were glad to complete 15 miles with a little energy left.  Tonight we are sharing a room with a young man Aurelien who fortunately speaks English. Dinner was salmon and potatoes which doesn’t seem very French, but was very good.