A rest day both needed and appreciated. I woke up this morning still feeling a few aches and pains and glad that unlike on the H2H this time I only planned three days hiking before the first rest day. Occasionally I do learn....
The rest day was as rest days usually are -- filled with busy immobility. After breakfast I said goodbye to Oliver, then washed and hung out to dry the hiking gear used so far. I answered various emails and looked at my daily blogs and websites. I wrote yesterday's blog entry. I snoozed. I spent a couple of hours on a conference call for one of the companies on whose board I sit. I made a few other phone calls. I read a book on my iPad (Dune... seemed appropriate given the hiking experiences so far :-). Had lunch and dinner and drank lots of mineral water. In a short while I'll go to bed, early, so as to get up early tomorrow for the hike to Rustrel. Such are rest days on a long hike.
And one last thing before I post this. It occurs to me that (as usual) I've been focussing on the most striking things from the hike... and since the most striking thing has been the heat, you might have gotten the impression that overall this has been an unpleasant time. Not at all! The countryside has been beautiful, the villages also and ancient, the company excellent, the food and drink very good, and the places we have stayed in (barring the odd mosquito) lovely. I'm having a great time and still get up each morning thinking, "Man am I lucky... today I get to hike while others have to work".
So don't get discouraged and cancel on me, fellow hikers!
:-)
Sent from my iPad
