_Thumbnail.JPG "Click here for a larger image")
05.06.08
Thursday Precigne to Bazouges sur le Loir
A good afternoon drying and we walked out in good order today, it was not to last. The route joined the GR and passed through the usual pleasant green lanes, some of which had been mown presumably by the local communities, the lanes gradually became boggy and then disappeared under water, we did our usual trick of getting through the hedge to find a nearly dry green lane paralleled ours. Great we thought, but after a few hundred yards the green lane entered a meadow with planted trees and there was now a wide full ditch between us and our original path. It rapidly became apparent that this was a water meadow and loud cursing could be heard as the water level topped the boots. At this point with one of your gallant heroes up to mid calf with full boots and the other removing boots and socks for sandals finding dry land was a priority. This appeared as a metalled road on the other side of a 4 foot ditch crossed on a bridge of sighs, creaks and snappings of some well seasoned old branches. As we gathered our wits and assessed the situation it became apparent that apart from one of us undoing the good of the previous afternoon re prevention of trench foot, we were unscathed. But were rapidly being treated as donors by the local mosquito population, still even if France is no longer rabies free it does not have malaria.
We had lunch in the pleasant town of Durtal and then through wooded hills (well what passes for hills round here, 300 feet above sea level) and down to the town of Bazouges with some nice old buildings on the opposite bank to the campsite.
We then shopped in the corner shop run by a pleasant Moroccan Frenchman and even managed a conversation about Moroccan cooking!!. It may be that since French was not his native tongue either he was more willing to try hard to be understood. Confit de citron preserved lemons.