9th May 2017

9th May 2017

Coole to Corbeil 

After yesterday's 28kms we were looking forward to a slightly shorter day of only 20kms.  And yes, you've guessed it - mostly along the Roman Road.  I'm beginning to dislike the Romans although you have to admire their road- building skills.  I mean, to build a straight road from Milan all the way to Boulogne takes some doing! Anyway as Ana Maria says I must stop grumbling about the Voie Romaine!

One of the features of the Via Francígena is the lack of amenities along the villages that we pass.  After you've walked say ten or fifteen kms you're dying for a beer or a cold glass of anything.  In one small village we asked a local farmer about the nearest bar.  He said "the nearest place to have a beer is my house". So without further ado we went to his house for a beer.  It then started to get a bit creepy!  As we entered he asked us to put our rucksacks in a sort of eaves room on the first floor, so that the dog who was quite boisterous could not get at them.  It was obvious by this time that his wife was in the kitchen but she did not come to meet us.  He then started talking about the local French elections, berating Macron and saying that Marie Le Pen should have won.  "It's all a conspiracy by the Rothschild bankers.  It's a bit like the Americans bombing the three towers in New York, then claiming it was the arabs so that they could go and kill one million people in Iraq."  By then I thought it was time for us to go.  As Ana Maria went to the loo I got our rucksacks and we were soon on our way along the Voie Romaine once more.  About an hour later guess who turns up in his car.  Yes you've guessed it Patrick "creepy man".  Before he got out of the car I had already opened my trusty knife ready to do battle.  Fortunately had come to show us his fields!  We were soon on our way, breathing a sigh of relief!

After a long and exhausting walk (the gravel was particularly thickly spread today) we reached Corbeil.  Here we would be staying in a room in a disused room in a school.  Two camp beds, no showers, only a toilet and wash basin.  The local cafe had closed down three years earlier (thank you, guidebook!) so we only had some nuts,  a banana and half a sandwich left.   Much to our surprise, the local mayor Michel and his wife Beatrice had put some things together for our dinner.  They do this out of the goodness of their hearts, another act of kindness on this amazing journey.  The room was freezing so Michel went back to his house and brought an electric heater which made the night much more bearable.  However, I think the last time I slept on a camp bed must have been when I did my military service all those years ago.  It seemed more comfortable then!

Tomorrow we leave for Brianne Le Chateau.