La Grande Randonnee - Day 3 - Morning - Lalinde - Mauzac

well, this was it, the start of our walk. We jumped out of bed (only slightly slowed by last night's cheese), ready to throw open the shutters and greet the French sunshine.
It was raining (of course).This was the moment that I realised that despite having brought 3 raincoats, a rain poncho and two umbrellas to London, I had carried none of them across the Channel.
Oh well, we had just enough time before our taxi arrived to find a sports store, remedy the deficit and buy a map.

Our taxi arrived just in time, driven by a charming lady who I swear was either wearing an original Chanel suit, or a very good imitation. She explained that she was only driving the taxi for the day, but didn't explain further. We chatted happily in somewhat broken French on the 45 minute drive to Lalinde.

We arrived under the dripping plane trees of the town square and pulled out our maps and guides to work out where to go. First items on the agenda - find something for lunch and a public toilet.

Finding a public toilet was fairly easy. Finding a public toilet that was actually tolerable took a bit longer. Fortunately the robo-toilet has made it to the Dordogne, and we found one a few metres from where we left the taxi after wandering disconsolately around in the rain for a while.
Lunch was even easier - cheese! We were bludgeoned into submission by two charming cheese vendors who persuaded us to buy 30€ worth of sheep cheese. It was delicious, and lasted us several days, but every now and again as we walked, I would hear a snort from behind and a muttered "30€ for cheese!".
We finally found our way onto the trail, and spent the rest of the morning walking along a canal toward Mauzac.

This was the first and last flat stretch of ground in the whole walk - obviously planned to lull us into false confidence.

Mauzac's main attractions were a small hydro power station and a nautical club. We bought bread and tomatoes to go with our cheese, and clambered up the hill on the outside of town to find a lunch spot.The hill was only memorable for a brief sighting of a red squirrel, but the picnic table in a grassy hollow at the top of the hill was a perfect lunch spot.
Next post - the afternoon...