Why do I live here? Today I needed to take my car to the garage in the next village 6kms away. A friend offered to give me a lift home after I dropped off the car or I could have waited for the bus...But today is the first day of spring and to celebrate that I actively WANTED a walk so I decided to walk home on the 'passa pais' also known as the 'voix verte' (http://www.ot-caroux.fr/fr/bouger/voie-verte.html) It is a large section of the old railway line connecting Mazmet to the coast at the moment it runs for 76km between Mazamet and Bedarieux...I have walked various stretches of it before but not the bit I did today...Corniou to St Pons: 6.5km...
Starting in Corniou and looking over part of the village...I knew it was going to be hard...Comfortably strolling in the sunshine at the beginning of spring with just the sound of birdsong for company...someone had to do it :-)
The voix verte is pretty flat for most of its route...It is of course an old railway line! Walkers seen: 6, Cyclists: 2, Dogs: 1, Butterflies: countless...
On the outskirts of St Pons I saw a sign (the walk route is well signposted) directing me in two opposite directions...both saying: St Pons 2kms...I knew where one would take me to but not the other...Oooooh rebel that I am I took the unknown route...It took me high! But what a treat...
I love not quite not knowing where I am when I walk...But I ended up in St Pons in the right 'quartier' for home...I had left the garage at 2pm and the garagiste had told me he would call me when he had a price for the parts and work on my car...As I stepped off the walk path at 3.15pm and back onto the street my phone rang and it was the garagiste with a quote for the work...An ouch moment but I was so calm and de-stressed by my walk that I barely noticed...