People were everywhere in the streets of this old Swiss village. It’s Saturday market day and all ages are setting up stalls from the valley of the village, winding up like a stretched ‘s’ and then flattening out for a long way at the top. We had a very long day ahead so we can’t report on the finished product.
An older couple were moving out, we know our Swiss friends are sleeping in, so little movement on the track. Through forests, across creeks, we saw a dozen people ahead climbing slowly up a steep narrow track. We passed two struggling Swiss women and then saw Marcel, the large ‘table and chair breakfast man’ from Thun.
With him were a dozen disabled adults and children, quietly and independently walking under his laissez-faire guidance. We hugged, chatted for a very short time (it was a ‘breath-taking hill’) and continued on.
On top of a hill is where we usually look for a chair to fix shoes, have a drink, remove our pack etc. And there were lots of chairs but they were all availing themselves to about 15 walkers. This was a long weekend holiday so most of these people were walking for a few days only. I continued on and after 100 metres there were 3 chairs and a table, but not for the public. This pleasant man had a ceramics shop and was very happy to have walkers in his back yard.
Corrie and Philip soon caught up. They walk up hills more casually than I do. I walk up fast because, and I’ve said it before, I can, and if I don’t, I get very tired. Corrie has been doing the fast walking program with me and is finding that if she walks slowly (mainly on the flat for her), she, like me, also loses energy. So, because I am ahead I am the one who finds at least a good shady view, and at the most, a seat. On this occasion we got both.
What a welcome surprise to come across our two young Swiss athletes, who were willing to fall back a little to chat. So we walked together for a few kms., then left them behind at a cool spot. It was a water fountain with a chair, a view, and shade, just about ideal to have lunch. Earlier on we had taken photos for a very special memory of a lovely Swiss chance meeting.
Soon after, I suffered great pain in my left foot that nearly stopped me 10kms from home. It wasn’t my lack of cartilage or a bruise close by, it seemed probably a large arthritis spike. So at last a dip into our vast drug bag for anti inflammatories and pain killers. After lunch and more walking the drugs took hold and we made it to our home looking over the cathedral and old town of Lausanne.
