Anoye to Maubourguet, 23 km
The travails (to be French about it) of walking in France on Sundays, when if anything is open at all, it closes at lunchtime. My destination of Maubourguet was at least a big enough town to have a grocery store, and Google maps assured me that the Spar grocery store closed at 13H. So I scooted out of my personal albergue at 0730H planning to cover the 23 km in the allotted time. Walking quickly on forest trails is seldom possible, so I took the road for a few km to keep the pace up. Just as well, for as soon as I’d paid for my modest stash of provisions, the doors were locked. And it was only 1230H. Good thing I was hustling! Tomorrow, being Easter Monday, is a stat holiday in France, so I’m not counting on anything being open, but you never know, so I’m provisioned for lunch at least!
After my quicker than usual pace in the morning, I got to relax a bit in Maubourguet. I’m staying in a tiny cabin in the campground, and there is a second tiny cabin with cooking facilities etc. There’s only 4 bunk beds, with further pull-outs (it would be a tight fit!) but I’m the only one here once again. Before I even came to the campground, I checked out the Sunday market – which was actually a flea market. Lots of interesting (and equally lots of uninteresting) stuff for sale. Nothing that I’d be willing to carry in my pack for 700 km though. I did get some curious looks, given the pack, walking poles and carry bag of groceries!
To pay for the cabin. I need to put €10 in the tourist office mailbox tomorrow, along with the key. I figured the easiest was to grab a coffee at the local establishment. Wrong. She was not a happy camper – I think because she was trying to close, although there were still several other tables occupied. I felt obligated to order a pastry as well. At least when I returned my dirty dishes she thanked me and wished me a good journey. I’m not sure she smiled when she said though!
The beautiful sunny afternoon was mostly spent in partial shade doing route planning. The apps (Buen Camino and Gronze) are most unhelpful with some of their daily stage suggestions as they finish in tiens with absolutely no accommodation options. Doh! I think I’ve got the next few days figured out, with emails out there in cyberspace to confirm that my selected albergues have a place for me. While the forecast is good for a few days, I’d prefer to avoid sleeping in hay barns 😀
As I’m never sure who is reading this blog, please feel free to post a comment. It would be nice to know that I’m not just keeping a personal journal in the public domain 😁. Thanks to those who have already posted comments🙏
2saunter 