Date: Thursday, 22 May 2025
Day: 22
From: Condom To: Eauze
Start Walking: 632am End Walking: 410pm
Time: 8h23m
Distance (Planned): 33.8km Distance (Garmin): 35.2km
Progress: 568.8/765km
Ascent: 541m Descent: 458m
Weather: A light sprinkle of rain, then blue skies.
Stayed At: Booking dot com apartment
General Comments:
• We had a very relaxing rest day yesterday which included cranking up the washing machine and managing to get everything clean and dry. Our shoes were less than perfect, but at least we had got rid of most of the mud and they were dry again.
• So, it was with some trepidation that we stepped out the front door this morning and the streets were wet and it was sprinkling rain. Oh joy, more moisture on an already sodden trail.
• Yes, the mud-larking continued today although it wasn’t as bad as Tuesday.
• It turned out to be a bit of a strange day where no distances aligned. What the guidebook said, what the signs said and what my watch said, were all different and none of those numbers were particularly attractive.
• With a long day planned, we definitely weren’t taking any of the optional detours such as to the smallest fortified village in France – Larressingle – until we walked down a hill to see the sign for Larressingle! Yes, we’d accidentally taken the detour adding a further two kilometres to our day! Ugh! I know that doesn’t sound like much, but at the end of the day, it feels like a lot!
• By the time we got to our first break after 19km (that coffee didn’t even touch the sides), The Husband had Google maps fired up trying to work out how to avoid some muddy trails and shorten our day.
• And just like that, we were freestyling again. It wasn’t the most attractive walking on the edge of a busy road, but it was mud-free and marginally shorter. That has to be a good thing!
• Agricultural report: grapes everywhere! This is Armagnac country!
Top Tips:
• Talking to some other pilgrims today it seems that it is perfectly acceptable to walk on the road to avoid the mud…as they sensibly did on Tuesday. So we are just following their lead.
• Grab a coffee from the bar in Montreal-du-Gers – the barista is an Aussie!🦘🦘😁
Bon Chemin.
Life...one big adventure 
stunning sunbeam photo
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Many thanks. A lucky happy snap!😄
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Eauze looks attractive. As do those waterlilies. I think it is more than sensible to avoid the mud! As long as you are safe on the road that is.
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Yep, I’m hearin’ ya! Thankfully the drivers were very respectful, even if they drive very fast!
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I may have missed a day or two, Mel. I’ll backtrack. I’m not sure I always see the point in caminos. I’d rather go to a place I want to see and take local walks around that. 35km sounds to me like a colossal slog, but I know I’m a lightweight. Sorry if I give offence xx
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Not in the slightest. Each to her own! I like the sense of continuity that comes with walking a Camino, but I agree…35km is a little too continuous, even for me!🤣🤣
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Can’t beat a coffee made by an Aussie 🙂
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My thoughts exactly and his Melbourne training was on display!☕☕☕
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Yes, 2 km extra seems like a LOT given what you have been doing for the last 3 weeks! I clearly remember circumnavigating your lovely Uluru and then moaning vociferously when the Husband insisted we walk a little further to the visitor center.
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😁 and it’s never a direct route, is it? The path has to take you half say around the World!🙃🤣
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Ahh an extra 2km is a lot, especially with all that walking already in your legs!! Day 22; this walk is a big one!!!
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It’s a biggun’ alright! Still loving every day, but starting to get a bit weary in the ol’ legs.😁😴
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I agree, no problem walking along the road when a muddy walk is still fresh in your mind! Isn’t it amazing how just 2km extra can feel like 20km after a long day on your feet!!
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Agreed, and the last 5km of every day is always the hardest!😖😏
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Good you could void the mud, although watching out for vehicles is another issue in itself.
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Yep, swings and roundabouts!
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