Day 19: Pau, 18 km, ☀️, 27°

Just Killing Time!😎

After I woke up and had breakfast this morning, I decided to do what I do best. Go for a walk! I did a little research, and knowing that there are cycling routes in the area, I found a route between Pau and Lourdes. Turns out Lourdes is only 58 km away by bike.

The doctor at the hospital had told me on Friday that I was allowed to walk around town as much as I wanted. I just couldn’t climb any mountains!😎 Today being a holiday in France, yet again, I figured that not a lot would be open in town. Besides, it’s more fun walking out in the rural areas than it is in the city.

On a holiday Monday, there were quite a few people out cycling and walking along the bike path close to the city. It was a beautiful morning!

However, as I got further away from the city, there were fewer people and mostly just cyclist going by. I walked at my usual pace thinking to test myself before I have a formal stress test. While there was no vertical, I felt absolutely no stress in my body. It felt great to walk without a pack, and I just zipped along the trail.😎

After a weekend of rest and recovery It was great to feel refreshed. On reflection, I probably should’ve taken a day off somewhere around 10 or 11. The GR 78 isn’t the hardest walk that I’ve done, but it is demanding. I think the day that I had to hike back into the mountains in extremely hot weather after dealing with the tick bite took a bit more out of me than I realized. Oh well, live and learn.

The thing about all this that sort of breaks my heart a little is that I would’ve been tonight in Ostabat, just 22 km from SJPP. The weather window is perfect for crossing in the Pyrenees, which had been my intention and hope. Oh well, it is what it is. Perhaps I’m not destined to cross the Pyrenees again on the Napoleon Pass.

I pushed myself to get back into town before 1 o’clock. I was concerned that this being a holiday, I would have difficulty getting groceries.

I need not have been concerned. The grocery store was open and I was able to get fresh bread because the patisserie are still closed. As a matter of fact, the bread was warm from the oven and I took it home together with some smoked salmon and made myself a nice lunch with a cold beverage. I now have food to make my dinner with and food for breakfast tomorrow. Though I am thinking of maybe going out and finding a patisserie, because you know, one doesn’t get to do that every day at home. I am in France after all!🙂

I probably won’t find out about the timing for a stress test until tomorrow sometime. That would give the insurance company time to contact the hospital and hopefully get things set up. Tomorrow I also have to make a decision about this little apartment as I am scheduled to vacate on Wednesday morning. Extend or change locations? I noticed on booking.com that this property is still available this week, and it would be best to stay here because it’s a great location. And I’m getting to know the neighbourhood a bit.😆 Something to ask the insurance company about tomorrow. Everything in the city should be open tomorrow, and I’ll likely go for a good long walk and investigate other parts of the city on the way back in to town.

And that’s it from this lazy walker. Hopefully there will be some resolution on timing tomorrow.

Geoff🍷🎶😎