La Grenouillère

For the last four days I've been walking through the region Vendée and it's been the hardest walking of the trip so far. However today I crossed to a département called La Charente Maritime and it's like being back in the France I enjoyed so much. The villages have a centre with a church, a bar and a general stores, rather than being a string of houses and barns, there are shady avenues, and there are people who walk and smile and say 'Bonjour!'. It's great to be back!

I'm having conversations again too, three today. One lady on a bike kindly told me I was going the wrong way and I needed to go back. I explained that I was going straight to my accommodation because it was too hot to be out for long. She told me I must follow the path to St Jacques, I needed to go back to Maillé and ask at the bar for directions. I could see she wasn't going to take any flannel so I agreed and headed back to the bar. As soon as she was out of sight I went back to taking the direct route, a little nervous in case I saw her again.

I had a great chat with a guy who was really interested in the route I had taken. He spoke in English and I in French. He wanted to know my route but he was super picky about my pronunciation of place names. He wouldn't let me continue until I'd copied him to his satisfaction. It took me ages to get past Saint-Juire-Champgillon! For all his pickiness, it was the best French lesson I've ever had. We shook hands and he wished me luck "mon ami".

Photos - the curious nineteenth century clock/bell tower of Benon, the oversized twelfth century Romanesque church in Maillé, a reminder of home...a canal, the fortified church of Courçon, it's hot, a signpost!Read more