Day 50- Cluis to Gargilesse

Day 50- Sun 13/7- Cluis to Gargilesse-16kms
Guess what?? It's raining again. Who would have guessed it, Summer in France. Our path this morning takes us thru the village and down to the viaduct which we cross 499metres long with 20 magnificent high arches. No longer used for the railway now better known as a bungee jumping spot. At the other end of the viaduct, from which the views would be spectacular on a clear day, we take the narrow, slippery path with its rope handrail, down to the street below, following the Camino scallop shell signs. In the front yards of many houses as well as on street corners there are often well heads where water would be drawn from underground aquifers either by hand pumping or drawn by a bucket on a chain or rope.
Much of today is off road on grassy, rocky, muddy, wet, puddly, uneven, slippery tracks, between hedgerows, interspersed  with the occasional bitumen road. We stop in Pommiers for a welcome coffee from the small shop, where the man tending the shop is having a birthday & his friends come to keep him company. It starts to rain again then stops. We keep on following the scallop shells through the hamlet of Foy, along wet forest paths to finally emerge on a bitumen road which soon descends very sharply into Gargilesse. Here we meet a group of motorcyclists out for their Sunday ride. We walk into Gargilesse in the rain. Groups of tourists shelter under a big tree. Everything is closed. No bars or restaurants open. We climb up past the church to the Tourism office (closed) in the Pigeonnaire and are able to shelter under the overhang of the sculpter's studio next door. JP calls our host for tonight, Renato, who picks us up to take us to his home. It is nice to be our of the cold and wet. We have a lazy afternoon as other guests arrive. Looks like there could be more than a dozen for dinner. There is a couple in the room next door, a family of 4 in the room opposite, his family of at least 5, plus any campers who may be staying. We have good wifi and at last my blog is up to date. Sorry I can't post any pictures but my iPhone doesn't find them for me. For pictures you will have to join me on Facebook.