Corbigny looked better in the morning as we went through it (stopping at a local supermarket for provisions). Dugald and Betty introduced us to French breakfast biscuits – these are a great addition to the walker’s food supply. They are compact and tasty, they come in a box containing six slim plastic-wrapped packs of biscuits you can secrete about your person and in pockets in your sack. Dugald needs a sugar boost mid morning and we found this to be useful, too.
We had a coffee stop mid morning in a bar/tabac with a small shop attached. It was full of (mainly) older having a beer or glass of wine and cassis while chatting together. As the bar was also the local depot de pains (place where they could buy bread supplied by a baker in a neighbouring town) the men were all there to get the bread and, perhaps, a local paper. Presumably their wives were happy to get them out of the house for a while. The bar was run by someone I think who had northern African origins and was ex-army. We encountered this a lot in rural France – small bars being run by what looked like ex-servicemen and their families. They often seemed to be injecting life into the place and made us think about what sort of pensions and backing these people might be getting and how good such an idea would be in the UK.
Across the road from the bar was a small chapel stuck in the middle of a bare and barren car park. It was, according to the guidebook, a small chapel for pilgrims on the Voie de Vezelay.
This is what Alison’s account for the day says:
Alison’s Log - Camino Day 30 Mardi 4/5/10 Corbigny – Ste Reveriens
Breakfast at the Refugio then off to the shops – to buy things for lunch. We set off with a number of plans based on where we might find somewhere to stay. Target one was Ste Reveriens which had a Municipal Refugio but (allegedly) with only 2 beds.
Lovely walk through rolling countryside again – this time past farms with live cows (forgot to say, we passed a deserted farm with a dead, trussed up calf by a fence and the path) One other aspect is that the fields are scattered with mature trees – like a landscaped English country house park.
The hills were much less steep today and it was a much shorter day, and we had a lovely stop at a bar cum corner shop in Guipy. We had coffee and croissants and bought food and wine for our evening meal. The only downside was that we had to climb a very steep hill into a cloud of drizzle to get up to Ste Reveriens where we emerged into the village to look for the refugio, find the key and see if we could stay there. We saw the sign on a building (on the Mairie) and the door was open! We entered and the guardian was there sorting out the food stock. He welcomed us, showed us around (including 2 extra beds available in another room on the other side of the Mairie) and agreed to return in a bit to do the paperwork.
We were all sitting down with tea/coffee when there was a knock on the door – the guardian plus Monique from last night, also here to stay.
So we showered (one shower in the room) and chatted, made food and Monique will sleep in the other room while Ian and I are on our airbeds here.
There is a heater, so very cosy. Only downsides are no mobile coverage and the toilets are the public loos on the other side of a very draughty square (it is raining heavily outside).
Oh, the church is spectacular – complete with wall paintings and amazing carved capitals on the pillars. And the guardian has phoned ahead to organise accommodation for us for the next 2 nights.... A sort of truck drivers’ place and then some friends of the Way of St James for the following night (we will have to wait and see just what that means).
Alison talked of the “Englishness” of the countryside. It was an England of the fifties and not of today.
To emphasise the difference in how things are done in Rural France, we encountered these beehives in a wood late in the morning. We saw more beehive circles as we walked through France – this was not a unique sight. but they never lost their magic to us.
The church mentioned by Alison was a lovely place of refuge from the weather. It is behind the Mairie and perched on the edge of the hill so the wind and rain just rolled across the landscape and swept over the hill to be funnelled by the church and the building facing it. When you entered the church the sounds of the wind and rain were like muffled thunder but you were kept safe and sheltered as you walked around admiring the fine interior. For more on the church go to http://www.sacred-destinations.com/france/saint-reverien-church .
Of course, this funnelling did present us with a problem – we had to battle across this weather front just to get to the loos!
In the evening, we all sat around the small table and shared a very nice meal. The refuge had a small range of provisions including tins, packets and jars as well as wine. So we were able to select from these, cobble together dinner and enjoy some wine and good company.
We also brought a bottle of rose wine for this evening as we did not know what to expect (Betty carried it all day today). We still had it left over after our meal. Alison and Betty were sceptical regarding its value and didn’t like the idea of having to carry it any further.... Dugald and I decided to share the burden this time.
Look at the street views at http://tiny.cc/crossandshell placemarks 83 to 87. You will see the places mentioned above.
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