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A quick glance behind the thick blue curtain of my hotel room sets the tone for the day: I’m walking! A beautiful rectangle of azure sky stands out beyond the tall ochre walls of the hotel, and suddenly my depression of yesterday seems ridiculous. I’m still amazed today at the effect the sun has on a hiker.
The eternal “porridge” is prepared and swallowed in a few minutes. The room is filled with the humidity released by my soaked belongings from yesterday. I air out, I pack; I can’t wait to leave. The hotel owner sees me arriving with a smile: “So, you’re going?”; I’m delighted to be able to tell him yes. Me? Give up? What a strange idea crossed my mind.
Despite the excesses, the night was good. For once, the weather forecast turned out to be correct and from the moment we woke up, it was raining. This rain would follow me all day, sometimes light, sometimes heavy and dense.
We have a hearty breakfast; everyone is in good spirits, despite the day ahead. Barely have the obligatory goodbyes been dispensed, we put on our ponchos, capes and other rain trousers, ready to face the outdoors.
I feel like I’m just a shadow in this lodge, having taken neither dinner nor breakfast; I have to slip among the guests through to the common room to go nibble on my supplies. A good sleep has put me in shape for this long day. Departure at 8:30 AM.
I thought I would stop today at Cassagnas. Good thing I booked a lodge in the next village, because this first morning of hiking is quite bland. We often follow the road, through undergrowth with blocked views. I can barely hear the distant roar of rally cars speeding through the Cévennes steep paths.
Is it The Curse of the Forest Cabins striking? I slept badly again. The stubborn pathogen inhabiting me has been acting up again. Yet, the night was beautiful, the moon almost full, and the holes in the ceiling formed just as many stars in my sky.
I take the time to make coffee in front of the fir trees that are on fire in the rising sun. I’m obviously covered in soot despite my thousand precautions last night.
Another night of heavy, dreamless sleep. However, this morning I genuinely feel more energetic, so much so that I allow myself a bowl of dishwater coffee, served by the owner. News travels fast on the GR. At breakfast: “I was sick the day before yesterday… -Oh yeah, you’re the one who drank from the pond?!”. Someone clearly spilled the beans.
I chat quite a while with two companions who were in the dormitory, then everyone goes about their business. My stuff is already ready, I hit the trail. My form is decidedly very good, I was able to eat, the thirty kilometers planned today shouldn’t be a problem.