It's a perfect day today. It might not have been if our French friends hadn't discovered where I had booked George and myself for tonight. I had miscalculated the towns as there is a Aumont- Aubrac and then just a Aubrac. I didn't realise that they were different so I had George and myself walking over 50 kms today until we got to our destination. I know there is no way that is possible so I was very grateful when we re- routed . We did meet one gite owner who had walked 45kms in one day as he couldn't find any accomodation open and then he tried to hitch but there were no cars. He did look exhausted.
The village we are leaving is a bigger village than we have been staying at so far so there are quite a number of buildings, some shops and even traffic as the school bus does it run, and cars whizz past us on their way to their destinations. Generally the traffic slows down for the Pelegríns but we did get counselled later in the day by a garbage truck driver as we walked a narrow street in a village as he announced we were on the wrong side of the road.
As we walk through the town the madames of the houses were throwing open the wooden shutters and shaking out the blankets. In one case I saw one Madame shaking out her dressing gown . Today we are heading to a little village called Finieyrols. There is no low cloud or mist which has met us most mornings but instead a lovely new sunrise and fresh crisp air on our cheeks. It is only when we walk past a gentleman chipping ice off his window screen of his car we realise how fresh it actually is. Most of us make the bee line for the obligatory purchase of bread and croissants for the day ahead and then like ants we wander at various intervals out of the town along the country path. The town is kind to us this morning and we are treated to a relatively flat landscape. The freshly ploughed earth is topped with icing of ice and the leaves of the plants are glistening in the sun waiting for the heat of the day to burn off this cold blanket. I pull my coat sleeves over my hands and make a note to have the gloves handier for tomorrow. The crisp air propels us forward and we have covered nearly 8 kms before we have our morning stop. It is wonderful to find a place that sells bananas - I am missing my fruit.
We are overtaken by Alban from Pointiers and Simon from Quebec and I suspect by the rate they are travelling that they will have reached a different town tonight to us. That is the beauty of the Camino as different people enter and exit your time together without it being an issue or an obligation. We will miss Alban as he had an amazing ability to include everyone around him in a conversation and to make them all feel special. His years of experience working with the public as a flight crew and appeasing their every whim has payed off as now he can turn his attention to any person and direct the conversation to include them. He was enjoying himself being able to socialise with young people again and go to a bar after dinner after 7 years of living in Dubai and all its restrictions.

At the end of our morning break the sun has risen and all sense of crispness has gone. The jacket is put away, the bottom halves of the pants zipped off and labouring up the long constant incline had the heart pounding as well as the body temperature climbing. I have remembered that it's a good washing day and I have 4 pairs of socks plus knickers pinned to the outside of the bag. I feel nervous that I will leave a trail of laundry behind me as I have seen the odd sock or two that look like lonely orphans . As the zipped off part of the legs come off other various pilgrims pants with the warming temperatures I note that the badge of honour is also being revealed - so many knee supports - these hills are affecting not just us.

On the path. George is ahead of me with his washing pinned to his bag but his towel is pinned only on one corner so it looks like a tail of a donkey swinging in the breeze. At the gites you need to have your own towel as well as a sleeping sheet and it is great to have it dried during the day ready for that evening shower.

Our lunch time break is by the track but with the thickest green grass. It is as you were stepping on a cushion of air. We are loving this chance to just stop, break open a baguette and prepare a picnic with some cheese andsausage. Two French ladies passed us at one stage pointing animatedly behind us with gestures we realised that they were referring to the dead snake - I think they were worried that where there is one dead snake there is likely to be more and maybe seeing us settling in the sun with our shoes off made them worried we were sitting ducks for a snake bite. Needless to say we did not encounter any live snakes.
The terrain has changed quite a lot- We have left the Margeride region and have entered the Aubrac area which is made up of granite. It is an area also of pine trees as well as open pastures and some 50,000 head of cattle with the beige long horned Aubrac being the main breed.
Our French friends point out to us how different the rock is for the houses as walk through one of the villages compared to theIr town which is about 80 kms away.
We reach our gite which also doubles as a chamber d'hôte which is like having a private room and G & I go for that option tonight. We get a real towel and real sheets but no soap. We will still get to share dinner with those in the gite. I suspect Aligot is also on the menu since we are still in the region of that speciality.

Dinner was with 8 others, a couple from Belgium and the rest are French. And yes the Aligot was served with beef and beans, and because the Aligot has so much cheese there wasn't a cheese platter but dessert was a blueberry tart.
Today was a one blister day so things are improving. We have walked 107 kms.
As I go to bed and one last visit to the bathroom I notice that the heater is on- this is a first for the walk.