Our first step in the morning was to find a taxi to take our bags ahead to our final destination 5 days from now. We were able to negotiate a fair price with a driver who was willing to take our carry-on rolly bags to our Airbnb in Mont Saint Michel. Our Airbnb had agreed to store them during our hike. We were just left with our 25 liter hiking packs that were each holding about 7 pounds of our most important clothes and gear. It was great to lose all that weight, but it also made us a bit nervous to be traveling with so little.
We were not feeling our best on the morning we were supposed to start our four-day hike to Mont Saint Michel. We still have not found any Covid tests in the pharmacies so we were not sure if it was Covid, but we were struggling with fevers, coughing, congestion and just overall feeling crummy. But once we got outside walking a bit, we started to feel better and the hiking wasn’t any worse that sitting around on a couch coughing all day. We also didn’t like the idea of getting our contagious bodies into a taxi and skipping our first hiking day. The whole day 1 hike was incredibly scenic and we quickly forgot about calling any taxis. We are on the GR-34 walking path which is well signed and taken care of, but we felt like we were the only ones hiking it. There were plenty of people out walking, but they mostly felt like day-trippers. We enjoyed the walking along the Saint Malo boardwalk and then the seaside cliff paths and ignored our angry germs.
Our destination for the first night was the area of Saint-Coulomb. Months ago, we couldn’t find much on Airbnb, Booking or Expedia so we started just searching on Google Maps. We found a Gites (French Bed and Breakfast) that had a small website and we made reservations for the first night of our hike. The lack of accommodations in some places mean we have to reserve months in advance and lose a little bit of flexibility on our trip. We then have to choose whether to hike in the rain, or when sick, or take a taxi… but oh well… :>) The Gites was very nice but it was very French. The host spoke only French and we may have been the first American she has ever hosted. At breakfast, it was very quiet at our table because the rest of the French guests didn’t speak English either. I think I need to work a bit harder on learning some more French. That night we decided to go to the local village restaurant that looked really good. Unfortunately, we were turned away because we didn’t have reservations. It was the only restaurant in town…. and after walking 12 miles that day, we weren’t excited about walking to the next town for food. We ended up finding burgers at the snack shack at the campground only a half a mile a way. Things just work out usually. The next day would be even longer – 13.7 miles; we were feeling better but now we were worried about rain and thunderstorms. Luckily they weather cooperated and we got some more great views.
We made it to our halfway point of our hike in the oyster town of Cancale. We have 2 nights and one full day to rest up and fully recover from sickness and also wait out the rainstorms that were blowing in. We got an Airbnb with a couch and a washing machine right in town! We had a wet day of rest in Cancale but at least we didn’t get wet out on the trails. Every restaurant and bar had their focus on mussels (moules) and oysters (huitres) so of course that is what we ate. They even had stands right on the boardwalk where you could buy seafood and wine and then sit on the steps to the beach and throw your shells away.
Our accommodations for the first half of this trip. Airbnb in Sant Malo, Gite in Saint Columb, and Airbnb in Cancale. Part 2 will be another 2 days of hiking to end at Mont Saint Michel. It should be flatter.
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