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Sunday, Sept 16th, 2007
Our host at the Gite in Bouseiyas was as good as her word: she was back at 7 and dinner was at 7:30. Next to us sat a very nice couple from Holland, who we were to see a few times over the next couple of days because they were also hiking along the GR5 (Grande Randonnee #5, a French long-distance hiking trail that the H2H is identical with at this point).
The following day we opted for the shorter option to get to Saint-Etienne (although this still took around 5.5 hours); after four straight days on the trails there wasn't much appetite among my fellow-H2H-ers for hiking further than necessary :-). As a result we had lunch in a nice little restaurant in the charming village of Saint-Dalmas-le-Selvage, nestled in its wild valley.
Afterwards we walked on to Saint-Etienne, passing various hikers, picnickers, and even five kids on off-road motorbikes: clearly we are returning to civilization.
Saint-Etienne is a pleasant little backwater, for the most part overlooked by tourists who in the summer go further into the mountains, and in the winter stay at the purpose-built ski-resort of Auron a few km to the south. In consequence it is not exactly chock-a-block with good places to stay. Our hotel, le Stephanois, is probably the best in town, but even so has no en-suite bathrooms. Not quite what I was hoping for when we decided to spend two consecutive rest-days here. But at least the toilet (one for all the guests, as far as I can tell!) is of the western type and the place is clean and the owner friendly.
And since tomorrow and the day after are supposed to stormy, it looks like we have timed things right for a break anyway.
