Today the rain set in properly, and the hiking turned into a trudge as we worked our way along a rather torturous forest path that ran along the valley towards Le Sage. In practice it was a short day - only about 3 hour's walk, and after a tip off from Tim's parents we knew that the only hotel at Le Sage was closed and up for sale. On this basis we took a diversion to a neighbouring village that had a couple of guest houses and cafes. Our route became increasingly ridiculous as a couple of the group decided to take an alternative side path in the hope that it would get us down to the road - after a couple of hours in very wet forest the novelty had worn off for some! Unfortunately, although it looked promising, the path lost several hundred metres in height, switchbacked, and then came to an abrupt halt at the same spot as a rusting wood saw and an abandoned digger that had been used to make the trail... A rather amusing diversion followed as we initially followed the paint blazes on the trees that probably indicated the intended new route, and then slithered down the soaking forest slope to the road before marching the final few kilometres to our destination. Our accommodation was in a very eccentric hotel - the sketches on the walls of our rooms were unnerving to say the least, making Dali look gentle and restrained. The wooden structure of the building served to amplify every sound, and the great beam over the bed was carved with religious names, several sets of initials, and dated 1869.
We spend a worryingly long time waiting to be served crepes in a local café. Each took approximately 10 minutes to cook, and we reckon they only had one frying pan. An hour after the first one had arrived, Margaret, Jane and I were on the verge of eating the table mats, and were shamelessly scrounging. There was a strong consensus that we should look for the evening meal elsewhere... We spent an hour playing pool in the bar opposite our hotel, and then walked for a while trying to find somewhere to eat. The place we ended up was very friendly, but they had very little food and it was easier for them to tell us what was in the kitchen than to go through the menu. Increasingly I get the impression that we are travelling out of season...