Santhia 23 miles

Early start as this is one of the longest days of the whole walk. It seemed there was only 3 of us in the hostel, which can probably accommodate dozens. We raided the “help yourself” stores for a banana. There had been two but our lady friend from before left before 7am and grabbed the other one. That kept us going until we hit a cafe for a cappuccino and croissant (filled with raspberry jam). Very nice and only about 6€ for both of us.

Yesterday we left the Alps and so the terrain is much flatter. I think by tomorrow it is completely flat but today’s hills were very gentle. The work today was all about distance covered, mostly on tarmac, and the heat. Suspect it is back up about 30C.

Had to go a little off route to get somewhere for lunch. A wee bar serving toasted focaccia filled with ham and cheese and bottled water. Again great value and just what was needed.

Tonight we are in a BnB. As usual you have no idea in advance what to expect. I had tried to book single rooms but by the time we arrived we were so knackered we would have accepted (almost) anything. Initial signs weren’t great. A block of flats. Pressed the buzzer and the lady unlocked the door and said she was on the 4th floor. She waited until we had almost reached her, took about 10 minutes, and then asked why we hadn’t taken the lift. Turned out that she had 2 one bedroom apartments for us so we didn’t just have our own room but our own apartment. Very comfortable.

I asked for a restaurant suggestion to which she said words to the effect of “not on a Monday”. She then decided one might be open and she would phone to check. Came back to say that it was shut except for hotel guests but she had negotiated to allow us to eat on the basis that we were pilgrims staying with her. Ended up very confusing and we had far too much food, although it tasted fine and was reasonably priced.Read more