back again

hi

i am still in castres. Dominique has a very sore toe. We are going to wait a few hours before we start this morning. ( his toe is really sore.)

We stayed in a dormitory for young people who are working but can't afford housing on their own. it cost us 12e for bed and breakfast.

Castres is a town i would come back to (if i spoke French). it is an old town where fabrics were designed. there is a river with several old bridges and old homes along the river. there is an enormous plaza with fountains and bars surrounding it. the other town i loved was arles, where i began walking. it was a roman outpost. there is a colliseum and an amphitheatre that are still being used, happily for less brutal entertainment. arles is a very small town; so the colliseum and theatre are imposing. i think it is also a tourist town. there were many beautiful stores and places to eat. the first area we walked in was carmargue. it is known for it's beautiful white horses. the whole area has a cowboy, western feel. there were many cattle and horses and wrought iron crosses. speaking of crosses, they are everywhere. some are simple and beautiful, others not so much. i keep thinking how oppressive it would feel if you weren,t christian. the really bad part were the mosquitoes. they were horrible. i thought provence was perfect, but no.

from the cattle area we walked into orchards: apricots and necterines primarily. we ate the ones on the ground. yum. from there we went up up up into the chestnut forests and pines. the chestnuts were very important in ancient times for flour and protein etc. i was thinking last night about telling you about the hunters in the woods. it was one of those times when i thought what am i doing here. their are men with guns in the dark and i guess there must have been wild boar. and their was mary daniels and her backpack and her cute little scarf. good lord.

the other time i had this feeling was the day after i wrote to you from lodeve. dominique and i got really lost. we walked out of town in the wrong direction. we are following a national hiking trail that is marled with a red and white design. it doesn,t specify direction. we walked on an ancient roman trail for 3 hours and we met a man who pointed across the valley at the road we were supposed to be on. i of course have no idea what is being talked about, but suddenly we are walking very quickly with this man and his two dogs. after about an hour we arrive at his car, the dogs, backpacks and dominique get in the wayback and i am in the front seat with this very handsome man. he looks like big from sex in the city. we are driving through woods and villages and i thought how did it happen that i am here? the man looked at me and said this is the dogs car. he could speak great english and so i started talking with him. it is such a good feeling to be able to talk with someone. i am so sorry i dont speak french. dominique is giving me lessons as we walk. we spend our time walking drawing pictures in the dirt to discribe what we are talking about and singing christmas songs because they are common to both of us.

i am thinking about what is important to me on this pilgrimage. for me it doesn't feel religous. it feels spiritual in the way being outside always feels spiritual to me. the most dominate feeling i have is one of being healthy. my heart races with the effort, i sweat and drink gallons of water: all of my aches and pains that i had at home are gone. i feel so good. maybe later i will feel the pilgrimage in a more spiritual way. i do have a deep respect for the history of the way and the thousands that have gone before me.

dominique is sitting next to me, anxious to start. goodbye again.

Love,

mom and Mary