this is the interior of our little refuge in Ste Reveriens. We moved the table out the way and slept in the corner which was OK except for the noise of the 'fridge and the other noises produced by the hot water boiler! We faced similiar issues in many refugios.
The refuge was part of the Mairie. Our room was on the right hand wing. Another room with spare beds was on the left and the ground floor rooms in between housed the local primary school (with a playground at the back. The mayor's offices were on the first floor. You can see the church behind the Mairie and to the left, beyond the picture we found our loos.
And here they are (our loos) - the low building on the left... lovely... just bring a sou'ester, some loo roll and a torch!
Rural France can be unpredictable – you can walk all day and fail to find a village with a shop or bar. So when there is an opportunity to buy bread before you leave in the morning you try and take it. Today we waited for the bread. We also waited because the chap looking after the refugio was so nice and had been so keen to help us we could not step away from his hospitality.
This is something we reflected on as we walked. Hospitality is a strange thing. Often we receive it gratefully but find that it is we who are also doing the giving; we accept inconvenient situations, food that we would not have chosen for ourselves and work at making our hosts relaxed and so on. We have to step back from any judgements regarding what is being offered and what our hosts expect from us and be as open and thankful as we can be. It is harder to do if you are tired and sore and generally not feeling your best.
And then you encounter generosity that truly overwhelms you and leaves you feeling that whatever you do in return will be inadequate thanks.
We have experienced both types of hospitality and know that they have all added to our journey.
On a slightly lighter note, I said that you could walk through rural France and fail to find a bakers or bar in too many villages en route.
Interestingly, even when these shops disappear you will still usually be able to find a florist and a hairdressers. As far as the florists are concerned, one Frenchman said that there are still so many because sons have to buy their mothers flowers every week when they return home for Sunday lunch. Presumably mothers (and daughters) have to have their hair done for the same occasion?
The weather, as you can see from the log and the photos, was pretty bad. It was cold and wet and Alison and I felt seriously guilty that our friends were walking in such bad conditions. But, of course, Dugald and Betty remained in very good spirits, helping to keep us positive, reducing our load through their conversation and support.
Of course, Dugald was concerned that I was carrying too much and that my pack was too heavy and, of course, I could only reply that this is what I had and what I would have to keep. I did look seriously at the contents of the sack but there really was nothing I could do about it.
The weight may have contributed to my (very) sore feet but the problem that was far more worrying was the fact that my “waterproof” boots... the only footwear I had... were now leaking badly. There were two cracks in the leather of the uppers. One about 2 and a bit cms long on one boot and one around a cm on the other.
Dugald’s solution was to wear plastic bags on his feet (between sock and shoe) to keep his feet dry. For him this certainly worked but I have pretty hot, sweaty feet and they would have just cooked if I had done that.
So I suffered with feet that became more blistery with the water washing in from grassy paths and rain. The inner soles would take all night to dry and I was beginning to think that drying them was adding a new problem – hard, stiff inner soles....
The application of creams, Ibuprofen gel and the popping of Ibuprofen pills were invaluable.
Check out the map (see the side bar on the Blog) at placemarks 86 to 88.
Alison’s Log - Camino Day 31 Mercredi 5/5/10 - Ste Reveriens to Premery
Got up and had tea while packing. We had yesterday’s bread for breakfast (with the remains of last night’s cheese) because the Boulanger did not arrive in her van with the fresh bread for the village until well after 8.30! Not sure when we left but it was after 9am.... late departure at least in part due to miserable weather – cold and rainy (in fact it has been raining solidly since yesterday evening..).
The deputy mayor, who is also the refugio guardian, warned against the path to Premery – muddy in the rain – but we decided to brave the path rather than endure the spray and stress of lorries on the road. Monique went by road and so we crossed paths or came close at various times. I think she prefers to walk alone?
There was nowhere to stop so we just pressed on and arrived cold and wet at our night stop, which does turn out to be a lorry drivers’ hotel in Premery, at about 1pm.
We have two rooms at the top of the building with a loo and a shower shared between us and one other room, probably not occupied, on the same floor.
Now we have worked out how the heaters work the rooms are warm and everything is starting to gradually dry out. We had coffee in the bar/restaurant downstairs (full of lorry drivers plus a few others) then had a picnic, which included yesterday’s rose wine, in our room. (We bought a bottle to drink last night, heroically carried by Betty, but there was red wine for 1.50 Euros in the refugio. We drank a bottle of that, pretty much, before dinner and then Monique got the other bottle as part of her contribution to eating with us so we didn’t get as far as the rose. This morning we split it between 2 water bottles carried by Dugald and Ian).
No mobile reception yesterday so some face book and texts today and now filling in time until dinner as it is too wet to explore the town (all waterproofs are wet!).
Lorry drivers’ hotel means generous portions at a cheap price (I think 12.80 Euros each including wine and 4 courses...)
Looking back at Ste Reveriens
A gentle stroll in the countryside
Notes
Dugald and Betty did a sortie out into town. It turns out that Premery is an attractive little town with a lot of historical buildings, a good church and so on. I was grateful not to have to do the walking around, exploring, and stayed with bare feet, even when we went down for food.
The owner of the place was quite a character – one of those people with considerable charm who manage to present an underlying feeling of menace at the same time. The truck drivers all treated him with a slightly reserved respect and there seemed to be a lot of women around – relatives as well as others. He spent time serving at the bar, waiting the tables and generally making his presence felt and he also took considerable care of a young couple (niece and partner) at the table next to us.
The place was very good value and, when you included the fact that we had a pilgrim rate for the rooms it was very good indeed. Even if the accommodation was a little bit basic the food was both good and generously portioned. Too few places like this seem to have survived in France – thank goodness that Le Routier still exists!
I think we all managed to relax well here.
The "truck stop" on the right in a street that reminded me of some small Scottish towns.....
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