26th May 2017

26th May 2017

Ouhans to Pontalier - 18kms

By contrast to yesterday today was a calm effortless walk along some very nice paths along fields, through woodlands and a couple of hamlets.  It was at the same time very hot with temperatures reaching 26 degrees during the course of the day.

We are now in Pontalier.  As we approached we saw a Decathlon store and we were able to buy a couple of rubber tips or my walking poles as I had lost one along the way.  We have also stocked up on essential items to reduce the cost of buying these in Switzerland which will be a lot more expensive.  

Pontalier was renowned for its Ansinthe production, a green alcoholic liquid originally developed for medicinal purposes (its chief ingredient was a toxic wormwood shrub) that became so popular as a drink that by the end of the 19th century France's absinthe consumption exceeded 13 million litres a year!  Henry Pernod bought the rights to the recipe and opened a distillery in Pontalier in 1805 but when the drink was officially banned in 1915, on account of its toxicity, he turned to producing an "imitation" (pastiche) instead, omitting the wormwood and producing the aniseed flavoured aperitif that is commonly referred to nowadays as simply a Pernod or a Ricard.

We are looking forward to crossing the frontier into Switzerland tomorrow.  It seems incredible to us that we have almost crossed the whole of France since we started in Canterbury on 16th April!  We hope that people will not forget that we are doing this to raise funds for the National Deaf Children's Society.  We hope that some of you at least will think that what we have achieved so far merits a few more pounds or Euros into our donation page www.justgiving.com/footprintsontheviafrancigena. It would be a great incentive for us as we approach Switzerland.