DAY NINE
CHÂTEAUMEILLANT – NEUVY-SAINT SÉPULCHRE
Today, I had to walk 24 miles so I got up early. My alarm clock was not necessary –
at 5:30, the alarm in the house went off. The noise was loud and shrill.
What happened? A fire? Or did somebody try to break in? After a while, the fire
department came and turned it off. There was only the other pilgrim Michelle and
myself in the house. It was strange.
After a short breakfast in the kitchen of the municipal house, I left at 6 am. It was
great to feel the cool breeze of the morning air, smell the tangy scent of the walnut
trees lining the path and watch the curious cows peaking over the fence
– a fence made by blackberry shrubs.
Village of Acre
At noon, I arrived at Châtre, a medieval town built on a hill. As in every town,
I followed the shell placed on the pedestrian walkway to guide the pilgrim through
town. This town also has a museum of the well- known female writer George Sand,
a pseudonym for Aurore Dupin. She lived in the 19th century.
Medieval town Châtre
The shell as a trail marker in towns
After Châtre, the roads were mainly unpaved. This was great! The smell of hey
always filled the air.
One of many hey rolls
When I arrived in Neuvy-Saint-Sépulchre, I was so tired that I was just interested in
going to bed. I had ordered a place to stay and the lady of the refuge did pick me up,
as agreed on the phone, at the entrance to the church. But I could not stay with her –
family problems, she said. She took me to office of the camping place where I stayed
overnight. It was the worst place of my whole pilgrimage – dirty, in the window lived
a nest of wasps and the bed was so bad that I pulled the mattress down to the floor.
But I had the best sleep of my whole pilgrimage that night.
– The text and photos contributed by Garyo –