Day 16: Auxerre - Saulieu

Another pretty tough day, with a lot of climb! We left Auxerre à bit late after visiting the cathedral (beautiful) Leaving Auxerre and the first 25th were lovely. We were on the canal towpath or along the River Yonne, so it was easy, peaceful and pretty. We saw an otter, fish jumping.. Unfortunately, we had to leave it and we were directed to an "unpaved road" which turned out to be rougher and rougher until it became so wet that it was totally impassable - and infested by mosquitoes who had a feast! So we turned back, had lunch (always helps), and carried on via an alternative road. Eventually, we found ourselves back on a bigger road and the last 20 km to Saulieu felt interminable. Mostly uphill, with some short and steep descents, then it started raining - great! Still, we found a great place to stay in Saulieu - nice surrounding, excellent food, so hopefully we will be refreshed for tomorrow!