Lost meaning

Slowly fading blue
The eastern hollows catch
The dying sun
Night time follows
Silence and black

Very windy overnight, the noise competing in effectively with the drunken campers in the bar. French rap with screeching, slurred accompaniment. I plug in a white noise app on the phone and awake at 7, to silence.

It's still windy. The path to Padern follows the winding road. There has been a bad fire here in the past few years - charred trees and vines, burnt signs, hastily replaced telegraph poles.

At Padern I was going to buy food and turn north, but there are no shops of any kind. Even the Café des Sports is closed. So, I continue west, towards Cucognon.

The path goes via Château de Quéribus which perches, as they do, at the highest point. It's a long haul, but the castle is impressive - excellent views, substantial remains and an impressive wind experience. The descent is steep and rocky - harder than the ascent in some ways.

I sit outside the post office in Cucugnon waiting for the épicerie to open. Over the street there's a busy bar serving lunch to an ever changing clientele. I have got something in my eye, which I rinse at the water fountain - it remains sore. I fix my broken sunglasses with "tenacious tape."

The shop opens and I buy saucisse sec, chorizo, and three small rounds of goat cheese. I head for Duolhac-sous-Peyrepertuse, which is a surprisingly affluent village. Peyrepertuse looms ominously above it, like some cut out shapes perched on the edge of a cliff.

My path takes me up towards the castle, but cuts off East before we arrive. It's late in the day, I've seen enough medieval military architecture and I'm hungry, so I don't regret missing it.

The path is steep and rocky. I'm on the lookout for camping spots, but I'm aware I'll have to compromise. I choose a small space by a holly tree and clear it of rocks. It turns out that, in some ways, my tent is too large, but I manage to squeeze it in.

Then dinner - sausage, cheese, olives, crackers. No shower tonight, but blessed silence and a full moon.