Sète

Up early, we tidied the cabin and got to the campground reception at opening time to adjust our checkout time. Despite having days to relax and think about our checkout plan, we hadn’t given a thought to the afternoon train we’d booked. The staff were very relaxed and understanding so we used the extra time to grab a last coffee at a cafe and walk through Souillac. We got back to the cabin in time for our inventory check, that went quickly. So despite delaying everything for as long as possible, we were ready to leave even earlier than expected. We had one last swim and adjusted our packs again to prepare for the dreaded walk up the main hill road in Souillac during the midday sun.

After dragging our packs from the cabin to reception for some final admin tasks, we completely folded in the face of the uphill walk and decided to try our luck with Uber. It didn't seem likely that Uber would be available in quiet Souillac, but the app loaded and gave us hope for a while. Of course, it didn’t work - if there were Ubers in Souillac, they certainly weren’t available during lunchtime in rural France. However, when you’re facing the idea of 30 minutes uphill with 20kg+ bags in the scorching heat of a central France heatwave, you try harder. After some attempts to translate French through the phone and then enlisting the help of the friendly campground restaurant staff, we managed to arrange a taxi ride.

We arrived at the station, still quite sweaty but very grateful. We waited a while at Souillac station and finally boarded our train to Sète, a port city on the south coast of France. The travel was straightforward, with just one connection at a major Toulouse station and took about four hours. Upon arrival, we walked with our packs to the apartment we had booked, approximately 10 minutes from the station. I left Vikum briefly to pick up the key from the management agency a few blocks away. The walk took me along the port canals, which looked beautiful in the late afternoon sun. Sète had a different feeling compared to both Paris and Souillac.

We entered our apartment, climbing a steep, old flight of stairs, and struggled with the ancient French key and lock. But our efforts were rewarded with a very modern, tidy apartment. And it had air conditioning! Feeling quite tired, I realized how exhausted I was, so I rested while Vikum kindly took care of the laundry. We walked to the local supermarket near the apartment and noticed that groceries in the south of France were much more expensive compared to the rest of the country. We put together a makeshift fajita meal.

At this point, my nose started to feel stuffy, and my throat was a bit sore. We recalled that Vikum had a scratchy throat while in Souillac, so I assumed I might be coming down with a cold. I went straight to bed to rest in the hopes of preventing the cold from persisting.Read more