constanttrek

The Long Delay

October 9th, 2004

Given that by now we had anticipated being somewhere in the South of France, or at the very least past Chartres, I thought I had better post an update on the reasons for our long delay.
Sadly there was a death in Gary’s immediate family, which meant he had to fly back to the UK for some time. When he returned to Paris late last week, we discovered he had picked up the same infection which had knocked me out a few weeks earlier. Currently he is one very uncomfortable fellow with an abscess the size of a football on the back of his neck, so we are waiting for that to subside before we move on. According to Le Docteur (and he truly is OOH LA LA, let me tell you, I nearly kicked Gary off the couch and lay down myself when he walked in) we should be right to walk by Wednesday.
We managed to walk from one side of Paris to another before Gary got really crook, so at least we are on the right side when we go to leave. It may sound very little – but it took two days to get through!
I have no desire to turn this column into pathos, but it has been a fairly ordinary few weeks one way or another, and we will both be extremely glad to put the packs back on and get moving. It is great walking weather now that it has cooled down, and the country side is absolutely beautiful with all the autumn colours. At least the enforced delay has given us time to improve our French and get all the little things like pack repairs done, so when we set off again this week we are hoping to make good time. In the meanwhile I am devouring the contents of fnac’s English book section (it is a department store something like Marks and Spencer) and enjoying a comfortable bed while I still can.
We are staying some way out of Paris, so I may not get into town again to post an update before we leave, depending on how long it takes for Gary to get better. All being well – and we are sure it will be – the next post will be from Chartres.

Entry Filed under: trekking