Rocky Mountain High

I forgot to mention in yesterday's post that the route I walked yesterday, from Limoux to Puivert, is a strong possibility for the first leg of VBW - although in reverse. The other contender is Puivert to Mirepoix. Mirepoix is always worth a visit. It has a delightful mediaeval market square, complete with carved wooden gargoyles which have survived exposure to the weather for several hundred years.

The route I am beginning to map out for the whole walk is more likely to take me in the direction of Mirepoix than Limoux. It is one of few stages I would do mainly off-road. An old railway line was recently turned into a walking/running/cycling/horse-riding trail from Chalabre to Mirepoix, which would account for 21 of the 29 or 30 kilometres of the day's walk. It achieves this without wandering too far from the road, so the distance is not much different and of course it is much safer and more pleasant. We have cycled it several times.

There may be other stages where there is a convenient off-road alternative. Where these can be used without too many extra kilometres, I shall use them, but I shall not always be aware of their existence. I know about the Chalabre-Mirepoix trail because of local knowledge of my own area. If I were a stranger I would not know it is there. The signposting from the road is non-existent.

Yesterday I had a visitor to my blog from Denver, Colorado. This is where the Democratic Party National Convention is taking place this week. Could the visitor be Bill looking for a bolt-hole? Does he want to join me on the walk? Or could it be Hillary looking for somewhere to hide Bill for 70 days? Or Obama looking for somewhere to send Billary ...?

Speaking of Americans, we have been immortalised in someone else's blog! We have had an American family as temporary neighbours for the past two months. Unfortunately they went back to Nice (where they are ex-pat-ing for several years) yesterday They are a delightful family. They run a blog on their life in France and their last entry from Puivert is about Gay and myself, complete with photograph. Click on this:

http://www.frenchforawhile.blogspot.com/

It is the posting about "Our temporary neighbours" which you need to look at. At the time of writing it is the latest posting on that blog.