And so the heatwave continued. I left Orleans on a blazing Sunday, with nowhere to stay because none of the campsites ahead were opening until April. It was going to be my first solo rough camp and I spent the day scouring the sides of the path for good spots, hours before I needed one. The good thing about hot weather though, is it's easy to kill time - just pick a shadey spot (hopefully tick, ants' nest and snake free), have a lazy lunch and nap. Eventually, a...

Now don't laugh, you will all be sporting this new hip-hop style bandana-face look in no time! My poor nose was taking a battering from this crazy march heatwave. I could give Alex Ferguson and Rudolph a run for their money for redness, so it was time to take evasive action. Factor blooming 50 wasn't doing the job so outcame the masked bandit bandana look. What made me feel even more ridiculous is that behind this sun-dodging masquerade I am battling a stinking ...

I only made 1 more days progress from Amboise before I was back in Tours! However, I had to face a classroom of inquisitive 12 year olds first - this is not usually my thing and I was nervous. But having been asked to talk about my trip in the school where Julia (my host, now friend, in Tours) works, I had said yes .... And it was actually lots of fun. Having told them a bit about my trip, got them to try lifting my bag and cleared up exactly where Istanbul is, t...

If one more person stops me for a polite chat, only to enquire "is that bag heavy?" The conversation won't continue politely. Of course it's f'ing heavy - I haven't just stuffed it with newspaper for visual effect have I? Yes - it's heavy, yes - i'm very hot in the sun today and no - I haven't got an umbrella to shade me. I don't think i'm losing things in translation I do just encounter some random conversations on my way. Last week a woman in an electric wheel...

So after enough time to let my feet mostly repair, my limbs rest so much they started to seize up and my stomach to be well restocked, it was time to get walking again. But which route to take? The initial return to the road was easy enough as I returned to Port Brillet by train, to finish the last kms I'd missed when I first came to Laval. But after this it was less straight forward. The logical and direct route was to continue east to Le Mans and Orleans, but s...