CHÂTEAU PUY-FERRAT – MUSSIDAN
Before I left Puy-Ferrat the next morning, a group of French pilgrims were singing the pilgrim’s song in the breakfast room of the Château. It was a nice start of the day. By walking through a Hameau -a small village – I met a very nice woman and had a chat with her.
Soon after that meeting, I began a long, long walk through a huge forest area. The way was marked badly and sometimes there was no sign of the shell visible for long stretches. Nobody was around to ask if the way was correct. It was an exhausting hike.
In the village of Sourzac, I visited an exhibition of ecclesiastical, liturgical robes for Catholic priests. A local woman, who once worked for a famous fashion house in Paris, renovated these dalmatics.
When I arrived in the town Mussidan – after having been nine hours on the road – the refuge was closed and nobody answered the phone. I had to stay in a hotel, the Grand hotel of the town. When I entered the hotel, a soccer game was broadcasted with overloud speakers; only one guest watched the game. I was the only guest who stayed overnight. It was the first time that I felt lonely on my pilgrimage. I missed the warm welcome of the hospitaliérs, the volunteers of the refuges, and the whole spirit of the Way. But the nice dinner I prepared for myself – avocado, baguette, cheese and a tartelette aux fraises (a strawberry cake) – was a real treat.
