Today it rained. It rained quite hard at times. At breakfast we discussed the day's plans with a Parisian cycle-touring couple and a couple of Dutch men who planned to kayak along the Loire. Given the weather forecast, none of us were looking forward to the day ahead.
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| It was raining when we passed this distance marker by the canal. |
We headed off in steady rain. We soon joined the Canal Latéral à la Loire, and stayed with it for the next 10 kilometres. The only human activity we came across were three boats, a lock keeper, and a hopeful fisherman.
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| It was still raining when we passed this marker several kilometres later. |
We detoured from the canal to enter the village of Garnat-sur-Engièvre. There we found an open bar where we were able to shelter from the rain and have a warming coffee/hot chocolate.
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| We had some respite from the rain during our coffee break at Garnat-sur-Engièvre. |
It was only another hour or so to Beaulon, where we had planned to buy some cheese to go with our bread for lunch. We arrived there at 1:05; the grocer's shut for lunch at 1. We sat on a bench in the village square and ate baguette for lunch, with our umbrellas protecting us from the rain.
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| It was raining at Beaulon where we had our lunch stop today. |
From Beaulon it took us an hour to get back to the canal. By the time we got there it had stopped raining, but the pathway was so overgrown in places that our feet continued to get wet.
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| The rain eventually stopped but we got soaked by the wet grass at this untended section of path. |
The umbrellas had done a good job of keeping us mostly dry, but our socks were sodden. Before taking the road into Diou we stopped to wring them out.
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| Our socks had become waterlogged, so we wrung them out on the way. |
When we arrived at our accommodation in Diou we were in for a pleasant surprise - a large bath where we could enjoy a warming and reviving soak. Just what we felt like after a day in the rain.
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| Just what we felt like after such a wet day - a good soak! |
Once clean and dry, we headed for the local restaurant and a four-course meal to replenish our calories and put us in good spirits for tomorrow.
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| In a departure from the theme of getting soaked, we enjoyed a couple of glasses of wine with our dinner to finish the day. |
Day: 27
Distance: 29.20km
Walking time: 5hrs 54mins
Elevation gain: 260 metres
Cumulative distance: 684.51 km
Life in the great outdoors.
ReplyDeleteToday was sunshine all day - hooray! Long may it last!
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