2017-04-14 Col du Mont Sion - Frangy (25/134 km)

(Good Friday / Viernes Santo)
At breakfast I talked to a Frenchman that spoke good English. He worked for ABB in Switzerland with power products.

Just outside it was already Christmas with the houses of Père Noël (Father Christmas) and Mère Noël (Mother Christmas). A bit strange with all the decorations and reindeer but I guess a paradise for children. Nevertheless I did not stay but walked on.

Beautiful landscape with paragliders over the hilltops. At one place you could actually see Mont Blanc. (I less than a month I should be there.)

Narrow roads and tracks across hills and small forests. Had walked behind a couple of persons that walked almost at the same speed as I. Caught up with them a bit further. Two Germans that used to walk a week or so each year - originally from Regensburg in Bavaria. They hoped to reach Santiago eventually. That was my first encounter with two of the persons that I came to share much of the way with later. But I did not know that there and then.

A bit later the three of us caught up with two women that came from the northern German speaking part of Switzerland. All of us hade company for a while and at a less well signed crossing I helped with the navigation using my GPS.

A bit later we crossed a stream that had made its way down into the limestone rock. The other four stayed to rest and take photos but I wanted to continue so I continued on my own. Steep upwards through a village. Then after crossing a road further up through a forest. There I made a less good choice of way that made me pass outside the village Chaumont. When I realized that I thought about walking up to the village but changed may mind an continued. It was not very far to Frangy that I reach after a steep downhill.

In Frangy I first found an ATM (distributeur de billets) and got some more euros, and then a café and had a little to drink in the heat of the day. The owner pointed me across the street where I got a pizza. Had planned to continue but realized that I was very tired. So I decided to stay at the restaurant that proved to have 2 rooms to rent. I rested on top of my bed for a while and then phoned home only to find out that my sister in law had died during the day. To me that happened unexpected fast. I knew that she had cancer but had expected her to live for another month or two. My wife told me that it was chilly at home with unstable weather. Quite different from the summer weather I experienced.

Walked around Frangy a bit and went into a shop but realized after a while that I had forgotten my money and had to walk back to my room. Went out for dinner and ended up close to two persons from Haute Savoie the province where I was at the moment. One of them had participated in the Swedish Rally. The night became an exercise in French mixed with some English. A good end of a "tired day". I wonder what tomorrow brings.

Había visitado Papá y Mamá Noel en las casas de estos en Mont Sion continué. Entre las colinas altas encontraba dos hombres de Alemania y después dos mujeres. Separamos en un arroyo y yo continuaba. Llegué a Fangy donde comí y después comprendía que estaba cansado y me quedaba allí. Cuando comía encontré un hombre de Haut Savoi había conducido Svenska Rallyt (Rally Sueco).