Day 4 — An Easy Sunday? (13 miles) — 13 September

Our guide stated 20km Les Faux to Amont-Aubrac. We figured an easy day — 12 miles. It turned out more difficult because of the heat — 80 degrees at the high with very little shade. Monique even took out her umbrella midway to shield her from the sun. My skin took a beating even with a healthy smear of sunscreen.

Much of the hike was on paved or fine gravel roads. Once in a while, we encountered some very uneven and rocky terrain. Should have been fairly easy except for the heat.

We mostly saw fields that had been cut for cow feed or had been left fallow. You can tell in the photo below that the cows were impressed with the quality of the straw given to them. Remember Elsie, the contented cow, of Borden milk fame. I don’t think that any of these cows would even make the preliminary audition for a new Elsie given their looks.

We reached Aumont-Aubrec at 4. Before checking in, we stopped for some refreshments sitting outside at a local bar. The wind had kicked up and clouds were magnificent. A moment to savor.

At 7, time for dinner at our Hotel Prunieres, a sixth generation hotel and restaurant. Jeff and Nick, the English fellows at our dinner table last night, joined us. Their stories and photos will come later because they will walk to St Jean Pied-Du-Port as well and the booked with Camino Ways, my company.

The dinner was excellent. I chose the local sausage rather than the tripe. The showstopper was the aligot mashed potatoes which was mixed with creamy tome cheese. The potatoes’ texture was like thick pancake batter. We all gave it the thumbs up.

I also had another tough choice to make: myrtille (blueberry) tart or local cheeses plus Roquefort. I chose fromage. We have the Historic Bethlehem Blueberry festival annually so I can get my blueberry fix. But real French cheese. I’ll need to cut out cheeses when I get home. For the moment, one happy boy.

A potential 20 miler tomorrow. Time for bed.