- conditions will be very difficult in the rain and underfoot, and the forecast is not good,
- Clare and Liz are not keen on spending up to 7 or 8 hours walking in the rain and it would not be satisfactory if just some of us do it,
- we would have to stick to the road throughout, which would not be pleasant in the traffic
- we can always do it next time.
But there is a general sense of shared regret that we are "failing" to meet our objectives because it is after all a bit more than just a pleasant holiday.
So we order a taxi for 11 o'clock to take us to Aire and meanwhile
Des and I don our capes and walk into town. We saw Nogaro after all! We visited the old and modest church, bought some newspapers and had a coffee in a bar that also doubles as the town bookmakers. As we returned we passed a circus on the edge of town having difficulty extricating itself out of the mud. As we rejoined the women we saw the group of young men who had been gathering last night with special shaped luggage and they turned out to be bullfighters - I had seen one early this morning scrubbing his cape and I must say I thought he was hotel staff scrubbing a sunshade. They left the hotel all costumed up but returned later as their Corrida has been cancelled (due to weather conditions?).The taxi to Aire took 20 minutes. On the way we saw perhaps 10 walkers in all bravely leaning into the rain as they battled along the main road. At least they have avoided going across country.
We don't see Aire at its best in the rain and our very
modest hotel (Les Plantanes) doesn't help. We stroll into town for lunch and pass over the river in full flood. Nice lunch at the Hotel/Restaurant Chez l'Huzet and then back to our rooms. Clare stars by producing cups of tea all round from her travelling kettle. To break up dull afternoon there were nice cheerful messages from:- Pat who is doing 12 hours babysitting including a trip to Whipsnade Zoo while T&R are at a wedding
- Ben wanting to know precisely WHAT cleaning of the house was required before our return
- Nicki phoned her parents (finally) from Cambodia to say all well.
