9km Moustey to Saugnac et Muret

This was our shortest day so far, cut off long before midday by rain that poured from the sky for the second day running. It’s supposed to be spring but the weather and temperatures feel more like winter. Life on a bike is not much fun in the rain and even less so when you know there is no warm house waiting for you at the end of the road. With visions of a wet tent and wet shoes in our heads, we didn’t take long to decide that a nearby campground would become our home for the day. As we examined our map in Moustey to find the nearest campsite we stood amazed at the sight across the road: no less than 10 local men, all elderly, standing under umbrellas and doing nothing other than watching the traffic go by and chatting to each other. We would have given anything to be in a heated room and here they were voluntarily out in the rain! Was life that interesting on the streets of this village, or did their wives kick them out despite the weather? We had no desire to sit under the shelter offered by the bar, so we headed for a rural campsite and sat down under its large covered area on a picnic table, with no end in sight to the rain. Believers in Murphy’s Law will realise that days like this always come along when you are least prepared. In our case this meant that of course we were out of gas (needed for our stove, to cook hot meals) and running low on food and money. There are no shops in the village of Saugnac so Andrew courageously volunteered for the 10km round trip to the nearest supermarket and gas station to stock us up. It looks like a long day of playing cards and reading our books lies ahead, along with some prayers to the bicycle gods for sun tomorrow!