Vevey to Aigle 29/7/17

29/7/17 Saturday
Day 2

Vevey-Aigle 30 km

Full sun, heat, clouds

0530 start.
Calm, peaceful Lake Geneva on a quiet morning; I swim luxuriously near Chateau Chillon.
Beautiful floral gardens along the way.

Villeneuve is a quaint and cobbled village (with Cannabis products at the tobacconist) from where we navigate our way confidently out and past community garden plots. This sense of ease is abruptly interrupted as we find we have taken wrong turns necessitating a long walk along a very busy road (after asking for directions at a petrol station) and eventually onto a cycle track.

Alternating all three sets of footwear, small blister hotspots appearing.
Sunflowers, blueberries.

I notice a young man sitting alone on the rocks by the lakeside- he looks bereft and I wonder if his bald head might be an indicator he is a cancer-sufferer.
Walk with music as a motivator for hours, stopping frequently due to the heat. Pass Yvorne village nestled high among grapevines.
Finally arrive in Aigle where the only food available is Thai.
Tired, hot, but no longer hungry, we walk further to the chateau hoping to find accommodation as suggested by Cicerone. This option is no longer available but with the help of a French phone conversation made by a shop-keeper, we're collected by a near-by B&B owner.

Merci for Mercy.


CHF 10 Coffee, croissant
         18 Thai meal
         25 B&B






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Welcome to Left then Right: Via Francigena pilgrimage in Italy. Buon Cammino.

This is about a long walk I took to celebrate the exquisite perfection of being alive.   I have written a simple account of my walk from Switzerland to Rome on the Via Francigena pilgrimage which I traversed July-September 2017. Rather than being a travel blog, it instead describes my feelings and encounters along the way. ‘Left then Right’ may be interpreted as ‘Wrong ‘(way) before ‘Right’ (way) as was the typical course I took due to my directional-dyslexia disorder. Or it may be interpreted as purely putting the Left foot ahead of the Right foot, step by step. Both of these could be considered accurate of my trajectory along the 1100 km which culminated in my arrival in Rome. Walking is the most mindful, often painful, but definitely meaningful, activity I can think of to align body, mind and spirit with the universal forces of humanity and divinity. Buon Cammino Laura. T. Rust
Read more

Rome 19/9/17

Image
19/9/17 Tuesday Day 46 To Rome 20 km Sun and clouds 0630 Departure from the convent. Find our way to Monte Mario using Sloways. The first vista towards the Vatican is exhilarating and calls for a Quiet Moment. The sun is rising over the city. The park itself is unmaintained: graffiti, weeds, damaged paths and signs. We step on, feeling a lightness of spirit as we reach St Peter's Square. Of course I feel triumphant; this is Rome. I am here. I have walked a very long way-mostly alone. I am awash with a feeling of warmth and peace which I recognise simply, as, gratitude. The morning is bathed in a mellow glow as we sit on the ground in the square quite unfazed by the frenetic activity of tourists amassing. We make our way towards the police guard, wishing to collect my reserved ticket to the Papal Audience the next day. I am met with brash rudeness and not allowed to pass through. I then approach the Swiss Guards who shake their heads at th...
Read more

Rome 20/9/17

Image
20/9/17 Wednesday 6 th Anniversary of my father's death In Rome I attend the Papal Audience with my Danish comrade. How apt to see the Papa of Rome on a day when the memories of my own father are so poignant. It is momentous, sublime and surreal.
Read more