Day 7: Stage 5: Mas-d’Azil, 33 km, ☀️+25° (638 m/2100’ vertical)

Sheep Dogs With Loud Barks!

This morning I was up with the birds. I dressed in my nice clean clothes which was brilliant. Simple pleasures. I had a quick breakfast of yogurt, a banana, a little dried sausage and most importantly, a hot cup of tea! As I was staying in an Airbnb, I had to leave it in good shape, but I hadn’t cooked anything there so that was pretty straightforward. It’s important to keep your personal rating high with Airbnb!

Geared up, I walked into the town centre and then had a little bit of fun trying to find my way out of town! But that was eventually accomplished.

I soon found myself on the first climb of the day just after crossing the river on an older looking bridge. 

It was a beautiful climb And on the crest of it. I had a visit from two big sheep dogs. They were properly guarding their herd by telling me to move along. I assumed they were behind a fence with the sheep, so I was feeling pretty secure, but it seems that they could get around the edge of the fence. Oh oh! So we had a little discussion, the dogs and I. They carried most of the conversation, but I felt that I held my own pretty well. I’m sure they felt that they’d won the discussion when I walked away. I told them that I would’ve stayed longer to discuss the finer points, but I had a long way to go today.

There were beautiful vistas of the Pyrenees this morning. The sky was pretty clear with just a very few high clouds. It was definitely going to be an excellent day! 

I noticed almost from the beginning that my body and particularly my legs seemed to be recovering their energy and strength. I was beginning to feeling myself again with the jet lag starting to move into the rearview mirror. That first very long day set me back a bit. One recovery day per time zone travelled is the rule of thumb.  However, distance walking definitely helps accelerate recovery. 

Coming to a village I see a trio of very beautiful horses. Even I can see their quality.

Out across the valley in a far pasture there are two sheep dogs moving a huge flock of sheep across a wide open hillside. It’s just amazing to see from my vantage point!

I take videos of for my grandchildren. What a beautiful walk, what a beautiful day! My French friends and acquaintances from last spring were right on the mark about the quality of this walk. At this stage of my life, I’m always looking for high-quality walks, and so far this one qualifies.

As I entered a village, it’s immediately clear that this commune is Camino focused. They’ve set up a beautiful place for pilgrims to sit and rest. If I was in need of rest, it would have been a great place to stop. Comes completely with a picnic table and flowers planted around it. Very considerate. 

What a beautiful gorgeous day and what a beautiful part of France. This just never gets tired.

Lots of dogs along the way here, big ones. Mostly looking after their sheep, and I get that. I’ve experienced them in the Alps and other places, and I know to not look at them in the eye and move carefully forward, and perhaps talk to them gently. Then there’s the littler runts that come racing out from the farms aiming for your ankles! Some of them are not so little, come in two or threes and they all bring sharp teeth! Those are the concerns, but so far so good. 

For example, I come across another huge herd of sheep. I stop to take some video for the kids.

Very quickly, a big sheepdog shows up to move me along, sort of like he moves along the sheep.😅 This is a working dog, no messing around! 

The second climb of the day wasn’t as steep as it was long and I found it generally dull going.

I cross the summit, and before starting down I meet a French fellow coming towards me who is clearly out here hiking with a tent and all the stuff. We exchanged kind greetings, checking to see if the other is doing ok before moving on. Nice moment. 

As I descend, I eat yesterday‘s second pane aux raisone. A day old and still sitting in my pocket, it remains very yummy for my 10:30 coffee break.

Continuing downwards, the Pyrenees come into full effect, immense and beautiful.

So happy I saw them today on such a sunny day. Makes all the difference.

If the ascent wasn’t so brilliant, the descent definitely was.

I came to a small village well descending and found that it had a a gîte estapa, by donation. It looked like a fun place to stay.

At the bottom of the descent, there’s a small community.

There seemed to be lots of kids at the local school, but of course, many of are bussed in from the surrounding farms and villages. Interesting to see life in another country with the differences and similarities from home. Part of the pleasure of travel.

Eventually, I come to a 4 1/2 km loop that takes me down to a regulated lake. there is a road that leads up into the forest, but then you’re left with a steep zigzagging trail down to the lake. It was a lot like hiking at home. I thought our friends Jim & Corie would really enjoy this.

And yes, there is a lake.

And from the lake, it’s just a 4 km road hump into town. A child with a cyclist about halfway along, and he was most happy to give me directions into town. I’m really liking the people. I’m meeting along here. They don’t same to see many hikers involved with the route, or perhaps that it’s early in the season. In any event, they seem supportive and very friendly.

I had finished my water just 2 km from the end. Not bad making it this far on just over a litre of water. I’ll carry a little more tomorrow. When I arrived at my accommodation, I found a funky café where I was able to get a very small drink.

The village looks interesting and has a nice feel about it. Unfortunately, almost every restaurant is closed on a Wednesday night. Go figure.😬 however, there is a well stocked little store here which has all the major essentials!

I was also able to get food for my breakfast tomorrow and a tomato, crackers, and a nice jar of Terrine de Canard aux Figues (figs). I’m pretty excited about this!

I even picked up some high-quality chocolate for dessert. I’ll likely burn it off tomorrow. 😇

I’m staying in a very cool inexpensive hotel dating back to the 1400’s! The floors slope, the stairs are rickety, but the bed is comfortable and the bathroom is first rate. The owners are lovely and their mother is bringing me fresh bread for my morning and will pick up the remaining money. I owe them.

I think I have another long day tomorrow. I know there’s one really exciting part of it that I’ve been looking forward to, but I’ll leave that to tomorrow’s post. Time to have my dinner and finish my beer!🍻

That’s it for today. Bon chemin!

Geoff 🥱😎