To journey without being changed is to be a nomad. To change without journeying is to be a chameleon. To journey and be transformed by the journey is to be a pilgrim.
—Mark Nepo, The Book of Awakening: Having the Life You Want by Being Present to the Life You Have (2000)
Last night I soaked my feet in a basin in the pilgrim gîte in Foucherans and was shocked to discover two small blisters on my two big toes - on the underside of one and the outside of the other. I, who never get blisters!! I decided rest days must be bad for my feet and vowed never to take another! Then I pierced the larger of the two blisters with a needle, pulled a thread through it and tied a knot in the thread to keep it in place and stop the blister from forming again before putting plasters over both of them.
Thus prepared, I set off this morning with Elaine and Audrey: three Canadian women walking into the Jura mountains of France.
 |
| Audrey's headgear is a great conversation starter along the way |
The trail took us out of the fields and into the woods, on a cycling track along a disused railway line. We even went through a 180-metre-long tunnel and over a viaduct.
The railway line took us most of the 11.5 kilometres to Ornans, a beautiful old town where houses are built all along the Loue river, propped up on pylons and overhanging the water.
Ornans is the birthplace of realist painter Gustave Courbet. The museum housing a collection of his paintings is open every day except Tuesday, and guess what day we arrived in town? Tuesday, of course! So we didn't need to feel guilty about neglecting art and culture and getting right down to the essential business of eating lunch. We found a bakery/brasserie with a few tables and sat down. I had a salad/poke bowl in order to eat some vegetables, then made up for this healthy choice with a cream-filled strawberry eclair!
We then continued on our way, following the river to the unpronounceable village of Montgesoyes, where Audrey turned off to find her accommodations while Elaine and I stayed on the trail and walked another hour to Vuillafans, where we are staying with a host family. Solange and Bernard have walked the Via Francigena from their home to Rome, the Camino de Santiago and other long walks. Bernard has literally engraved all their walks in stone: a stonemason by trade, he made a bourne, a milestone, on which he has engraved each of their walks, with the date and the number of kilometres.
Bernard's carvings decorate the house and the garden, where we gathered around the table for a delicious dinner featuring vegetables from their own garden: a small lot which they have made the most of, with a vegetable plot, an herb garden, grapevines, fruit trees and, of course, a stone-cutting workshop!
Today's accommodations: Host family Cordeur
Foucherans - Vuillafans 23 km
No comments:
Post a Comment