May 16th/Day 47: Col de Crie - Le Cergne

Tiring and hot: the stage planning allows for nothing else: 35 km and hundreds of meters of elevation gain and loss.

Ivan drives me to Col de Crie early at 8 am with a friendly farewell.

The Mont-St. Rigaud spring at 950 m elevation has been attributed with healing powers for hundreds of years: against all types of bone diseases, rheumatism, and even female sterility. And the many thank you crosses testify that it really does heal:

Healing spring St. Rigaud

Shortly afterwards, Mont-St. Rigaud is conquered at 1012 m elevation with a wonderful view.

There are ups and downs all the time, and I have to reach the 35 km by 5 pm because of the key handover. But there is still time to take a contemplative lunch break at a rest area:

Lunchtime

Way crosses and Madonnas accompany me every day, they show the way or are pilgrimage sites.

Vierge du Mont Joly

I don't encounter anyone all day. In the forest, I meet an older French man who explains to me: "Puhabiter vous!" I interpret it as "You can live"😊

The last mountain before Le Cergne still offers a Fatima chapel high up on the mountain, then it is done. A beautiful bungalow is my accommodation.