Culmont to Champlitte – 28km Champlitte to Dampierre-sur-Salon – 17.5 km Dampierre-sur-Salon to Gy – 28km

3 days of solid walking through fields of now brown wheat and rape seed but the sunflowers are just coming out and should be in full bloom as we head further south. Every town, regardless of how small, has its church, town hall and memorial to the fallen.  The churches are mostly closed with notices such as that Mass will be celebrated in August or September (presumably due to the shortage of priests).  I am not sure what purpose the churches serve anymore, France is a thoroughly secular society, but the church steeples remain a great navigational aid.  

In Dampierre-sur-Salon we were hosted by Helen and Christophe, a very charming couple who also run a catering business named Nam Viet, specializing in Vietnamese cuisine.  We met Lois, a German walker on his way to Rome for the third time.  He is a long walker, walks 3 months out of the year.  For example, he recounted that when he was invited by a friend to a wedding in Portugal he just walked out the front door of his house in Aachen and walked to St Sebastian.  He walks with 17 kg on his back, including a tent.  His wife does not walk with him. “I like to sleep under infinite stars,” he said, “My wife likes 5 stars.” I asked him his destination today “I don’t know” he said, but I bet he is already several stops ahead of us.  These long walkers are a crazy bunch.