Last night we had a communal dinner at our gîte (French for pilgrim hostel) with a dozen other pilgrims. Fortunately, we were seated next to English speakers: a young woman from Belgium, a grandmother from Quebec, and a French mother who was walking for a week with her husband, son, and daughter. They go home in a week—she hopes to go all the way.
The language barrier is probably our biggest challenge. Our study beforehand, and what little I remember from high school French, is not enough to get by. Fortunately, patient French people and Google Translate fill in the gaps!
We spent a lot of time walking through farmland and quiet forest paths. Friendly dogs and French locals were the highlight. Today is probably the most physically difficult day we will spend on the French part of this camino. As you can see from the Relive video, lots of steep hills and a long day. Almost nine hours from start to finish, with short breaks.www.relive.cc/view/vPv4eVJA13O
Both yesterday and today we had fabulous weather. Warm but not too hot. Unfortunately, it looks like the sun screen goes away tomorrow and the rain gear comes out.