Stage 29. Briennon to St Haon le Chatel - 25kms, raining and cool

We are sitting in a quaint little shop, which sells everything from Crusader dress up gear to umbrellas to pastries and teddy bears. It's also the bar-cafe and the only place currently open in the hippy style village we have stopped for tonight. Our lodging is in a lovely stone bedroom in the house of the woman who runs the communal gite. The communal facility is full tonight so we stay with her and will eat in the restaurant below.

Rain was forecast for today, and it was falling gently when we woke. Somehow it seemed to fit both the day and the landscape. It wasn't hard to be out in it, we have walked gently and the rain has continued to fall gently all day. We were content.

We very much enjoyed our evening last night with our hosts Catherine and Jean Luc. Again we were treated to a sumptuous meal, complete with a very nice Cote de Rhone vin rouge. Jean Luc works for Emile Henry, a Burgundy based company that produces high quality ceramic crockery and cookware. Needless to say our slow cooked pork meal was served on dishes that induced a fair degree of covetousness in Sarah! Catherine also teaches French to adults, so we had some good sharing about the idiosyncrasies of our two languages - and some helpful clarifications!

The walk began along the banks of the Loire canal, before winding away from the river and into some of the rich pastoral landscape of the region. After three kilometres we came to the small village of La Benisson-Dieu and its magnificent old Cistercian abbey church.

The abbey was founded according to the wish of Bernard of Clairvaux, who sent his confrere Alberic and twelve other monks to establish it in 1138.

The church was open and we appreciated some time in its simple yet elegant spaciousness.

While we were there, a group of women came in. They recognised us as pilgrims, and wanted to know all about our journey. We had quite a long conversation with them, in French - Sarah managing admirably to understand their questions and offer (mostly) cogent answers. We are really enjoying making these kinds of connection along this way.

From here, it was a long damp stretch of walking along gentle farmland paths. 

By the time we reached St Romain La-Motte we were famished and hoping something might be open. We stumbled into a little bar, and were greeted by an energetic young French woman who made us very welcome and helped us order the most sumptuous simple lunch (we even managed to avoid the tripe sausage!!). It did feel like another example of the Chemin providing just what we needed.

After lunch it was another seven kilometre stretch across the broad Loire valley to St Haon.

You can see the village in the distance.

Whilst it is not the main game there are signs of the Camino all along this route.

And speaking of Camino signs. Yesterday's shell worked its way in my consciousness and overnight, following some interesting conversation the previous day, a haiku formed.

Moving, a pilgrim

gathers no moss, but what

of old ways and fears?

Bon chemin

Neil and Sarah