Thursday 26th October Eauze to Lanne- Soubiran
A red red sky greets us as we fall out the front door- another warm day ahead.
It's market day in Eauze this morning and there is that familiar buzz in the air where the stall holders are in a frenzy preparing their wares and the early morning shoppers are turning over the products in order to choose the best possible buy. It means we have a bit of a delay in leaving so that we can take advantage of seeing all the goodies and goodies there are. We have seen a few market days on this trip and the various stalls have typically filled the market square or up one of the main streets but here in Eauze it took over many streets and what seemed to be a market square as well. It is one of the biggest markets we have seen. There are oysters, fish, lots of fresh vegetables and fruit, many different bread outlets and many different cheese and salamis. We buy our normal purchase of energy food bananas and some ficelle sticks ( the thinner breads to a baguette) a couple of pain de chocolate and croissants for morning tea and off we set. It is tempting to purchase more but it becomes too heavy. We realised we still have muesli bars from Oz in our bag- they definitely have to be consumed.

We have more vineyards again today and the tractors all seem to be extremely busy tilling the soil, turning over the old corn stalks back into the ground. It is extremely hot again and by 3pm we feel as if we are hallucinating. A young female pelerin who would be a third our age expresses concern for our welfare. We must have looked somewhat dishevelled.
Laurence our hostess from last night's gite advised us that we might come across an Australian lady named Jenny walking opposite to us and we probably would cross paths as Jenny had rung last night to book a bed at her place in Éauze. So at our coffee stop this morning I noticed a lady walking on her own towards the bar- I took the risk and called out 'Jenny' - she turned around and yes it was her. Our coffee stop was an enjoyable one as we chatted to this lady who has walked many many Caminos. She met her French husband on one of the Caminos and they are now thinking of trying to live in France after living in Australia. I think she too enjoyed being able to chat as she said that for four days she had not come across anyone. She gave us a great tip for a place to stay in three nights time which sounds amazing- so I look forward to writing that blog to fill you in on the details

And then we reach the industrial city of Nogrogo - which is well known for its car racing - apparently this weekend there is going to be a big race so I am glad that we will be a few kilometres away- I don't think the amount of noise and activity will go down well on my ears. Even as we approach the town we can hear revving of engines and what appears to be racing already. G thinks it is just the practicing.
We do pass a structure that looks like an enclosed rectangular box which has big red circles painted on all four sides - it is used for a Gascon sport called Course Landaise which is a traditional bull fighting that involves leaping or charging bulls. Apparently no blood is shed so it's a nicer version to the Spanish bull fighting. It's more a summer activity so there is no cows or Gascon cowboys in sight in the arena today.

Our destination tonight is just a small hamlet called Lanne - Soubiran. The gite that we are staying at is the old presbytery of the church and I take a walk to look at the buildings outside and come across the group of 9 ladies who we have come across over the past few days walking together. They too are staying at the gite tonight. They are walking around in circles on the grass. I thought perhaps they had lost a ring or something else and everyone was searching for it but one of the ladies called to me in English and said I was invited to join them. Was this a cult thing where your feet had to touch the grass and then you hum but no I soon realised I was In the middle of a meditation session. The leader ( who had invited me) was giving instructions and had us all close our eyes. My eyes opened a crack to peer at what she and the others were doing and she would indicate which parts of the body to move and breathe. She had us then lie our backs in the grass and then it became for me just like all the other meditation sessions where I start to daydream or fall sleepy listening to the gentle voice of the presenter. I enjoyed looking at the blue sky overhead and the coloured leaves hanging over me but I think I was lost in what I was meant to be doing. Nevertheless it was lovely lying in the grass. I hopped up after awhile as I don't think I was being the best student and completing all the required moves. She told me later that she was thrilled that I had joined them.

As I write this the French group of ladies have finished their meditation and are emptying their bags outside into the plastic boxes provided by Madame and singing in unison as they go about their job. It is lovely.
This has happened to us several times where all the bags are kept outdoors and then you unpack your necessary items into a basket or in this case a box for the night ahead. The next morning you bring your box back outside and throw everything back into your bag. Even more reason not to pack too many items.

Our dinner tonight was a lively affair as it was 12 people plus Madame. Madame had the big pot of tomato soup at the head of the table and she ladles out the bowls which get passed down the rows. She then has a big casserole of lentil vegetables and rice - again big spoons ladling out the food which gets passed back down the rows - I was put on rice duty. Our dessert was the fromage Blanc with prunes - which has been a favourite dessert for a few dinners. The hostess has us all go around the table giving our name and where we are from- for our benefit she says one side of the table must speak English and the other side is French. Trust my luck I am on the French side but here's another chance to practice and they seemed to understand. It makes for a fun evening and we feel very much part of the chemin family. Madame sits at the table to be part of the family- she tells us that she is Belgian and after walking the Camino decided to leave her job as well as her country - she decided to buy a house on the chemin where she could live but also be a gite. She says that it is a busy life but she loves it.