Monthly Archives: April 2015

It wasn’t the cock crowing -

At 5H00 the alarm went off to announce breakfast at 5H15 because Serge wanted to run from the baobab to his boat and then back to where we are staying, which is a bit further!
Danz and Hassina go along to guide Serge on this short run. When he gets back, Serge tells me that he would have like to continue because he felt so good on the road…. It’s impossible to stop the man!
After his shower, we leave together for Majunga to take care of various items which this evening I find too boring to list. We are knocked out by the heat. Is it a change of rhythm that upsets our thermostats?

Back around 12H30, we lunch, then Serge leaves, always accompanied by Dan and Hassina, for the Malagasy Maritime Authority to have his Temporary Admission book stamped. Serge’s departure for Mozambique has been confirmed for Wednesday, April 22 so I have to organize René’s and my departure for Maputo, then Namula. I ask myself if it is preferable to wait here a few days, in case Serge comes back to the coast, for whatever reason, or to go immediately to Mozambique, where there is so much to do to prepare Serge’s arrival.
Tomorrow, all our attention will be directed toward “Sir Middleton” whom we did not see today. Serge contacted the team of routers and spent quite a bit of time going over paper maps but also the maritime charts on the Internet. He appears to calmly soak up all the information. Thanks to René for the beautiful photos of the dugouts, which give a good idea of what the “Majunga world Tour” is all about. Each dugout has a sail from a country, region or province partner and schools study the history of each of the countries. Again, it was Delphine who had the brilliant idea. It has become an unmissable event in Majunga over the Easter weekend.

Majunga and its baobab -

34.8km in 4H15.
What if the world tour were to end at Majunga’s baobab….
Once again we will drop our bags a bit longer than usual in this gorgeous spot, which is new to us. Delphine Andriantsitohaina, back in Tana, organized the warm and enthusiastic welcome that greeted us. Delphine is the organizer of a nautical event, “Majunga has its world tour” and she asked her friend, Guillaumette, who has been living in Majunga for 25 year, to coordinate Serge’s arrival in her city.
At kilometer 27, young athletes and football players of Majunga gathered around Serge to run with him across the city. Serge was in the lead and kept a fast pace, almost overwhelmed by the crowd around him. Serge is a solitary runner. Accustomed to the peaceful bush, he now found himself on the outskirts of a chaotic city of bush-taxis, carts drawn by Zebus, motorcycle taxis, rickshaws and all of a sudden some 30 runners around him. Return to civilization was made in 7 kilometers and at the end we saw the ocean. The estuary of Betsiboka is majestic, if not to say grandiose.
Guillaumette called the press, the director of the tourist office, and the president responsible for sports in the city. There were musicians and dancers under the patronage of « Majunga has its world tour ». On the traffic circle with the baobab there is a beautiful world globe for the regatta of dugouts. The analogy could not have been more fitting!
In a festive atmosphere, Serge and the runners circled the baobab 7 times, a lucky number. It was my opportunity to make a wish, which I did, as the runners went round and round in rhythm, smiling and singing. Serge forgot to switch off his beacon due to the cheerful atmosphere. Tired as he was, he remained available when the press and the kids had questions.
We left the center of the city at 10H30 to go to La Petite Plage, where we will stay until Serge leaves. Delphine offered us the use of her vacation house, a small paradise which overlooks the ocean, looking west toward Mozambique….We look often at that far horizon which we will soon reach, Serge rowing and René and I by plane.
In the meantime, we are not going to be bored. Monday will be a city day to take care of administrative matters concerning Serge and his boat, shopping for all the things he will need to take with him, recharging the 3G key, which will enable me to update the website and on Tuesday work on the travel site. Tuesday, René and Serge will prepare Middleton to go into the water. The departure is scheduled for Wednesday, providing there is at least a 5 day window of good weather. Danz and Hassina will stay with us until we leave, to watch over us as they have with such care since we left Tana.
Serge had hoped to see the Barcelona-PS match but he just told me that it won’t be a reasonable thing to do if he is to leave Wednesday morning. The future will tell us if desire or reason wins!
Sincere thanks to Delphine, our « phantom » hostess, whom we have not had the pleasure of meeting, her friend, Guillaumette, and the whole team for « Majunga has its world tour.” You can learn about them on the following link. It’s a fine initiative which saw the light of day several years ago. Thanks for this welcome, as spontaneous and warm hearted as it will be unforgettable!

Majunga on the horizon -

61.3km en 8H17′
Tomorrow we will reach the terminus of this terrestrial, Malagasy epic.
Serge arrived at Sainte Marie on 20 March, a holiday in Madagascar to commemorate the martyrs of the revolution against colonization.
He started running on 1 April. It was not an April fools and he was full of self-doubt. 9 April we reached the capital, Tananarive and were welcomed like kings by the entire Malagasy Tours team. Serge had run 443.4 km.
Tomorrow, Sunday, before noon we will be in Majunga and this evening Serge will have totaled 995.6 kilometers.
We will remember the heat, little rain, with the exception of one storm and a half day of rain. We camped 10 times. Serge drank about 12 liters of water per day on stages of some 60 kilometers. He used 1 pair of Pro Touch P1.0 running shoes. He did an average of 55.31 km per day over the 18 last days of the course. He was relatively at ease on all these stages, with the exception of 4 and 5 when he increased the distance and had to change rhythm, as well as on 16 April when he suffered slight heat exhaustion. The time run and the distance had the regularity of a metronome. He left every morning between 5 am and 6:30 am. We discovered varied scenery and I think we have not seen all the diversity this surprising island has to offer. There are such animal and vegetal diversity and we have only seen a small portion. We end this crossing with a desire to return.
Serge has not yet pressed the button “sea mode”. If all goes well, he should be at the helm of his Middleton on Wednesday, 22 April. We have encouraging news from Xavier and Maxime of Sat Ocean, as well as Michel, who called today. The Mozambique Channel seems to be calm right now.

A false start and only … -

61.2km en 8H21
at 5H37 it is still night and we drop Serge at the milestone before we realize that it isn’t the right one: it is 1 km too soon. It is worth mentioning that the sun is barely coming up and the semi-darkness makes it hard to see things. Serge turns off his beacon and mumbles……1km further at milestone 156 from Majunga it’s the right start, the beacon is turned on again. The orange on the horizon is splendid and promises a beautiful day.
For the first 15 kilometers, the asphalt has been dug up and cause instability. When the nuts behind the wheel drive at breakneck speed, the dust, gravel and stones hurled at his legs makes Serge furious. Luckily, there is asphalt again at the 23rd km, at the soup stop when there is also a change of clothes because they are soaking wet. As you know, Serge fears chaffing so he changes 3 times a day, except for his socks. This morning we found banana fritters, cooked under our eyes, pure delight! Serge does not turn up his nose when we offer him one at his refueling.

Once again the road is full of life, with
More villages
More pedestrians who are ambling to market
More children going to school
More children who are not going to school
More schools
More churches
A greater variety of trees: Teak, Singapore Almonds, bananas eucalyptus, varieties unknown to us and always mangos and jujubes
More life
The variety of flora is very nice, compared to the two previous days where everything seemed flat: small, flat hills, little contrast. Color has returned with life, to our great pleasure and once again we are surprised to see the change of scenery in just a few kilometers. I think we would not have noticed if we had been driving quickly several hundred kilometers per day.
Serge suffered less from the heat today, however, he felt tired due to a bad night in Ambondromany, which never seemed to quiet down. I slept in “a hen coop, next to a kennel, near a garage and a night club”. Those were our words this morning and while the image was very funny it did describe what our night was like.
Hassina ran 5 km but at km4 his calf hurt and he finished walking. Danz continues to do 5km per day. René darkened the pages of a notebook…. This evening it’s « magnificent Friday » and we did not forget to celebrate the end of the week at our camp site, in the shade of mangos, even if the weekend will be just the same as the past week.
Between two refueling, we had the pleasure of listening to a Malagasy singer by the name of Mafonja. It was a song which I dedicate to my nephew and godson, Benjamin on his birthday.

Too Hot -

61.2km en 8H20′
Last night we were completely cut off, there was no network from the 3 Internet service providers in Madagascar. We are cut off and the scenery has closed us in. We are surrounded by magnificent mango trees which provide shade while we wait for Serge every 4/5 kilometers. There is a succession of villages, small rivers and bridges. After 5 kilometers Serge is already dripping. We were expecting a dry heat and it is not the case. According to Danz, yesterday’s rain and the heat from the ground are responsible for the humidity. Nothing dries, Serge wrings out his T-shirt because he fears chaffing and he applies anti-chaffing cream every 5 km.
There is something new. From the start Serge has been running without his heart rate monitor. The GPS watch is there only to give his mileage and he never looks at the stopwatch by the way. It shows only the day’s mileage and there is no pressure on his time. A few days ago he thought it was 14H45 but it was only 14H15….This detachment is beneficial and it’s surely responsible for Serge’s serenity on the road. Yesterday, for the first time, after taking his shower and lying down for a rest, out of curiosity he took a reading of his heart beat: 44 hbm.
Another fact, Serge would rather be hot on the road than at the camp site. Yesterday there was not a breath of air and you got wet just standing still. Serge prefers to move in the heat than to rest in the shade at the camp. This morning he decided to leave at 6H00. This evening he is not sure about it because he had a hot flush at the 35th km and another at the 45th. He asked me to look at the site to see the temperature indicated by the beacon and I have to admit my surprise to see 34°C/34°C. I found it hard to believe. It is 18H30 and I’m dripping on the keyboard of the computer, as if I had just come out of a shower, and it is already dark. 34°C, hard to believe and too hot to work, too hot to do anything, even sleep.
See you tomorrow

Rain and the bridge -

63.5km en 8H16′
We have been on the road for 15 days and there has been no rain during running time. One night there was a storm but the sun was shining the next morning, however, this morning the sky is overcast. The scenery is all flat due to the grayness. And to think that it’s a beautiful, sunny day in Paris (dixit Zette).
The start was at 5H00 AM, not only because it was cooler at that hour but also because a bridge will be closed to traffic between 6H00 and 18H00, with 2 slots of one hour when vehicles can cross, between 10/11h and 14/15h. We should be able to cross with the truck between 10H and 11H.
In any case, we are not hampered by the heat and it’s nice after the furnace of yesterday. Serge still has a fine stride and seems to be at ease, even if last night was rather uncomfortable: too hot in the tent, then gusts of wind and finally the rain. This cocktail did not make for a peaceful night. Serge always needs to eliminate the heat he accumulates during the day and last night it wasn’t possible. It reminded us of Senegal, where Serge wet a bath towel ever few hours all night long…
Yesterday we were contacted by Delphine, a friend of Fifou (from Sainte Marie, he ensured the exit by plane) Delphine organizes dugout canoe regattas, these took place on Easter weekend. Our paths crossed when she was going back to Tana. With the help of her friends, she is going to organize a fine welcome for Serge in Majunga, which has the 2nd most important harbor in the country. Guillaumette, her friend, has lived in Majunga for 25 years and her husband is an ocean navigator. They are expecting us which is heartwarming.
The mood of our troops is a bit soft : an early rise at 4H15 for us but even earlier for Danz and Hassina, the stress of crossing the bridge, however, we were privileged to have been warned by Danz and Hassina’s friends yesterday. There was no sign or information about the hazard of a closed bridge for ten hours a day!
I met the head of the construction site who explained that this single-lane bridge was built in 1927 and since then no maintenance has been performed. Overweight trucks had damaged the structure. The repair work is divided between France and Madagascar and financed by the world fund of ??? I don’t know what. The 276 meter span is over the Betsiboka River, the estuary of which is at Majunga. The color of the water does not invite one to bathe or to wash one’s laundry but its width and the amount of water that passes are impressive. Such a force of nature makes us feel very small. The rain stopped shortly before Maevatanana (literal translation: beautiful city) and this strategic place allows us to do some quick shopping because Serge does not stop. We had just the time to tell him that he should take the left fork, to buy some mineral water and chocolate, which Serge has requested for the past three days (with the heat it has to be eaten immediately), some gasoline for the generator, bread for everyone’s pleasure, especially Danz who eats 2 or 3. Danz bought us menakely, sort of donuts, which are excellent except for our diet and of course the mofogasy (sweet rice cakes with or without coconut) which we have taken to eating almost daily but with moderation because they are fried in oil. Serge, who has no weight problem eats them too, but my visual scale tells me that he has not lost weight.
This afternoon we are at an altitude of 200 meters. From behind the clouds the sun is hot, which is hard to explain. In any case, you are sticky even if you don’t move and Serge is ringing wet even when it isn’t raining. He changes clothes at km 48, after the bridge, and rinses off with a bit of fresh water because he has chaffing between the thighs which is rather painful. The camp is set up a bit further than Serge planned but good spots are few and we always do what we can to find the best spot in relation to the mileage our runner wants to clock. Having to run an extra 2km did not affect him, which is a good thing.
Today, except at Maetavanana where the network pulsed, there was no network, even for our cell phones! René could not speak with his wife, Michelle, with whom he talks every day. I did not see anything of the city because I was on the computer answering e-mails or updating the website. Hassina had a headache today and Danz, wearing his earphones, walked 5 km in the rain. I had a good laugh at camp when I saw Serge lying outside, practically naked and with his sun glasses: “Moogli superstar waiting for his mother wolf” the title of a remake? Maybe I’m the only one to laugh at this. Who knows?

A day looking toward new horizons, on the road halfway between Tana and Majunga -

61.8km in 7H48′
If Serge is still heading north, my thoughts are directed more westerly, toward Mozambique. We still have so much to organize and the section north of Beira is not full of expat French or tour operators. The fact that we will not settle there or have access to WIFI will also complicate matters. So today it is my part in the adventure that takes my mind off what is happening on highway #4. René takes care of refueling and I am left to thinking about what will happen next.
Danz covered 15 km yesterday, which was overdoing it a bit, however, this morning he walked 5 km. Congratulations! Serge appears to be programmed, in spite of the heat, the blazing sun and the voracious mosquitoes last night and this morning. I think today’s priority will be to find a shady spot for our camp, which means trees and nearby water, which means mosquitoes. But our preference tends to shade and mosquitoes over blazing sun and heat.
As we go down the mountain, we are greeted by a slight breeze which is not at all refreshing. Since yesterday there are more small villages with very little for sale in the shops. We have found no bread, fruit is rare and there is no meat. This morning we found eggs so this evening we will have an omelet. We still have quite a bit of rice and Danz bought potatoes and carrots. The fruit which is so plentiful in the East has not arrived here. Actually, there is no organization which would allow the four corners of the country to have the food they need. The fruit from the eastern part of the country remain there because there are truck drivers who stop at the roadside to buy from local producers. Bananas, for example, go as far as Tana. It’s a parallel trade organized by the truckers and completely unofficial. We saw fruit rotting on the ground in the East, whereas here there is nothing. Distribution between regions does not exist. Olivier explained that if the roads were in better condition it would be easier to move merchandise and Danz explained that the Malagasy eat what nature supplies, which is not necessarily fruit. We have seen a few very small rice fields at the bottom of valleys. It’s incredible that Madagascar, where rice is the staple food, does not produce enough rice for its own consumption and has to import it. Lychees are exported to the west and we find them in our super markets. It is a production managed by investors, who see to the planting of the trees, which do not grow wild. The fruit is treated before shipment so it will not rot. At the end of the stage we see mangos and jujube trees with fruit which is green because it is not the season.
Our camp is set up near the mile marker 280 km from Majunga; we are half way between Tananarive and Majunga at altitude of 273 meters. God but it’ hot. Serge’s face is crimson and for the first time salt has appeared on his clothes. I don’t know how he can stand the heat of the asphalt for so many hours.
At the 50th kilometer, we go through the village of Antanibary, which stretches out for 2 kilometers. There is a succession of dilapidated and dirty huts, nothing pleasant to see here. Hassina and Danz tell us that it is a village of gold prospectors. In this part of the country mechanized good prospecting is not authorized, only manual search, so the Malagasy come independently to search for a lode. It is worth noting that the Chinese are interested in mining. During the transition period, from 2009 to 2014 (following the putsch that overthrew the president Marc Ravolomanana) the Chinese invested heavily in the island. Some Malagasy speak of the pillage of their island.
But the Malagasy are not belligerent and seem to be resigned to all these transaction at a high level under cover of corruption.
In the end, we camp under 2 mango trees and, supreme pleasure, without too many mosquitoes. Below us the wide Ikopa River runs through two low hills. The scenery has changed again, which enables us to discover this multi-faceted country.

Back to school -

61.3km – 8H01
Mada (Madagascar) – in a few figures:
Estimated population in 2014: 23 millions 210 000 hbts
Population breakdown by age group:
– under 14 years = 40,7%
15 -24 years = 20,6%
25 – 54 years = 31,3%
55 – 64years = 3,2%
65 years and above = 3,1%
Life expectancy = 65 years in 2012
birth rate in 2013 = 13 37,13 per 1000
Infant mortality in 2013 = 46,13 per 1000
Literacy : 64 %
32% of the population lives in cities
In 2007: 0,5 doctors per 1000 people
In 2009: 19% of the population had access to electricity
After the two-week Easter vacation, children are going back to school in Madagascar. It’s now time to tell you some of what we have learned while we traveled several hundred kilometers.
Normally, school is mandatory but for many because of poverty there is no school. Parents are unable to buy the necessary supplies: ballpoint pens, note books or books. Some villages have a primary school and secondary schools are too far for children who live in the bush to attend. There are no school busses.
There are public and private schools. The public schools are often over crowded, for example 143 pupils for one teacher, who is often badly or not even paid and whose absences are not counted. He/she has to have another activity in order to live. Consequently, teacher training is haphazard… Private schools charge tuition and they have a cafeteria (something that is not available in the public schools). The level of education is higher because teachers are paid better and they do their job, which consists of transmitting their knowledge to a reasonable number of children (40 students maximum). For information, Tananarive has a French Lycée, the largest in Africa. There are 20,000 French in Madagascar…

As for Serge, he has no vacation, no homework and he doesn’t have to go back to school. His mission consists of advancing every day in order to reach Majunga, on the west coast of Madagascar. In spite of uneven terrain, 833meters of positive ascent yesterday and 730 today, he proceeded at a good pace. The heat is back; we had almost forgotten it over the last few days. At the 23rd km we were almost at an altitude of 900 meters and this evening we set up camp on the banks of a river on the outskirts of Kamolandy, a village at an altitude of 584 meters. Because Serge had not run enough kilometers, he ran2.3 km further which also took him higher. We try not to use the vehicle to accompany him because with only one vehicle, it carries all our camping material: bedding, kitchen, baggage, food; but that is a detail. Danz and Hassina are super organized. The advantage of camping is that all our baggage stays in the vehicle, we only take out the tents and the kitchen. The truck is also our office. We decided to stop near a village because 1) there was and flat spot and 2) near the dispensary there are big trees which will give us shade and a bit of cool. Naturally, we asked permission from the village chef, Sefo Fokotanay. After a short discussion with Danz, he accepted our request so our caravan spent the night here.
Physically Serge is hanging on, with his right Achilles tendon which has been protesting since last night. It is another weak point we know well. Today he added a small heel pad. Serge is using beautiful yellow running shoes, Pro Touch P 1.0 by Intersport, who recently started a line of running shoes. Intersport is one of our main sponsors. Unfortunately, the shoes are no longer very yellow but they are comfortable and he does not want to change them for the moment. I think this pair will take him across Madagascar.
For the moment he is wearing his anti-UV T-shirt with long sleeves which cover the back of his hands. He was supposed to only wear these shirts on the water but the Malagasy sun decided differently. There are lots of kids who are observing from a distance of a few maters from our camp. We are an attraction and it is certainly a rare treat to be able to look at vasahas. Their beaming faces warm the atmosphere and we melt!

Spectacular! -

60 km – 8H00
This is a typical day on the road
5H20: Wakeup call
Hassina and Danz are already at work folding up camp so they can leave about the same time as Serge.
5H45: it’s time to get up and get dressed. There is hot water for breakfast, for Serge fruit juice, coffee for everybody, soft rolls, biscuits, jam.
6H10: Getting ready: A quick wash, then applying anti-chaffing cream on the feet, something Serge has done by himself for a long time.
6H30 the beacon is turned on and that signals the start. After last night’s storm everything is wet.
6H50: the truck leaves, prepared to stop every 4/5 km to refuel Serge
1st refueling = weak coffee + Madeleine
2nd/3rd/4th refueling = muesli/ crushed bananas/fruit compote + crumbled Madeleines/fig biscuits of La Trinitaine brand.
5th refueling = Chinese soup. Frequently a hat goes on and it’s time for lip balm and most important, Serge sits down for 5 to 8 minutes
6th/7th/8th/9th refueling we need to be creative! Fruit salad/a second fruit compote with crushed Madeleine/a rice cake/a bowl of rice/coffee with biscuits
10th refueling = Second Chinese soup (while sitting down) often application of sun block to the back of Serge’s legs
11th refueling = this is the last refueling and it consists only of liquid.

During this time : the team prepares and provides refueling, does shopping at the roadside, dries the tents if necessary (it was the case today because of last night’s storm), writes, listens to music, tests for network availability with the 3G key!
All day we were at altitude (between 1300 and 1600 meters) and it was spectacular! Serge loved the magnificent 360° panorama of the semi-arid scenery. For the first time he asked for his ear phones and listened to music for the last 20 km. Always alert, he kept the volume low enough to hear approaching vehicles. There is a lot less traffic on highway #4 than on highway #2. And the road is in better condition, at least on the portion we have taken so far.

However, the low, bare mountains were not always treeless. Massive deforestation over the years and which continues today is a real ecological disaster. There is even talk of looting varieties of rare woods such as rose and palissandre, which of course endangers the ecosystem. In colonial times, pine and eucalyptus, which we saw along the road as we left Tana, were imported and planted: they are not indigenous to Madagascar. Brush fires and slash and burn agriculture are also a plague that contributes to the ecological catastrophe.
The countryside we are crossing is rather verdant because we are at the end of the rainy season. As Danz says, the countryside will become yellow and red before finally turning black and red, completely burnt during the austral winter.
In the meantime, we are enjoying this sumptuous scenery, which Serge is enjoying with music. A truck driver near his stalled vehicle hails Serge and asks what he is doing here, where he is from, where he is going and if he is alone? He is rather astonished to hear Serge’s story; it is all unbelievable.
We have no problem locating a camp site since Serge gave us a 2 km “gap” in which to look for it. This evening we have a spectacular view and we take delight in our good fortune to be on the road in this country and in such good company.

A different country? -

60.7 km en 8H28′
We are still in Madagascar but the scenery is completely different. Highway #4 is a narrow asphalt ribbon which winds over peaks and around hills. There are no villages along the road but you reach them by taking small paths. There is a succession of hills and dales as far as the eye can see. The roofs of the houses are made of small tiles or thatch and there are rare plantations with terraced fields which are as well organized as the villages.
Merina is the dominant “highlander » Malagasy ethnic group, one of the country’s 18 official ethnic tribes. Each tribe had its king and queen. Today, there are descendents of royalty but their only power is to manage situations between clans and encourage tribal traditions. Two ethnic groups are polygamous; they are located in the Deep South. Each group maintains its identity and for a long time inter-tribal marriages were unthinkable. With time, the change of customs and ease of movement, thanks to the automobile, there is now mixed blood in the tribes.
The French entered the history of Madagascar in 1885 and « the submission » of the Malagasy took place in 1895. Colonization ended in 1960. French remained the official language for speeches and in the administration, however, between 1975 and 1990, the president, Dider Ratsiraka proceeded to free the country from French influence: the French language was no longer taught in schools, cities were given Malagasy names, for example Tamatave was changed to Taomasina. Today, the French city names are still used by the people and French is again taught in school.
This April 11, 2015 a Frenchman is running east to west across the country. Like every other morning the day begins at approximately 6H30. The time it takes to say goodbye, Momo, Bob and Tahina leave us to return to Tana. We continue on our route with the truck driven by Danz and Hassina, who are also attentive to our needs. We are becoming “spoiled children”. Danz is on a diet following a physical checkup which was not good: high blood pressure, high cholesterol and high triglycerides so he is taking his diet very seriously. Olivier suggested that he run every day so his training started yesterday with 5km, today with 8km and tomorrow he plans to run 10km. It is indeed serious!
The end of the stage will be rather steep; with a 300m elevation gain over 5km (I let you work out the percentage). Just after milestone 459 (from Majunga or Mahaganga), we set up camp on a vast clearing at an altitude of 1600 meters. Serge is not short of breath but his legs hurt and he heaved a great sigh of relief as he sat down to eat a portion of rice and ham before going to take a shower. Then it’s time for a nap. He doesn’t sleep, only rests before dinner at 17H00, which is not really Malagasy time. At 18H00 he is in bed because the wakeup call is set for 5H00 am. As Serge says, “I need a lot of sleep and I feel that I don’t recuperate like I did a few years ago”.
There was constant wind today, with sunshine and a few clouds. The air is dryer now. We will come to our next town in about 226 km and maybe Serge will be able to watch the PSG-Barcelona football match on April 15.
In the meantime, the route heads North West on highway #4