Day 15 and 16: Chauny to Laon

April 28 and 29th, 2019

It rained ALL day. Not sprinkling rain, but gushing, pouring, incessant rain. I’d used up all my grit and good will yesterday and spirits were low. I cried a lot. My feet flared up again (it’s not blisters anymore, but pain in the balls of my feet). I stopped at a town square and threw away everything I hadn’t used in 5 days in a desperate attempt to lighten my load. I almost slipped in mud a few times.

The mud prompted me to play the gratitude game: I started listing all the things I was grateful for (e.g., not falling in mud, having a rain jacket and umbrella, etc.). This helped me meditate as I progressed through the day.

I didn’t take many pictures because I was afraid I’d get my phone wet or drop it in mud. Also, I just wasn’t in the mood. The weather lifted a bit as I made my way toward Laon.

Arriving in Laon I started to cheer up a bit. It reminded me of Budapest–lots of hills and cute nooks and seemingly secret alleys.

After I checked into my lodging, I called M and he helped with perspective. He’s good like that. 🙂 I took a hot shower and went to bed. I knew these days would be part of the trip but they’re worse in practice than they are in theory. 😉

I had an extra day here. I’m having trouble with Internet speed and uploading them, so I’ll add them here soon. Also, I talked to another pharmacist here about my feet and she suggested taping my 2nd and 3rd toes together to help manage pain. I gave it a test run, and it helps alleviate the pain in the ball of my foot a bit.