On the road again...

Well, not quite as I still am waiting for some essential gear to be delivered. Today was my planned departure from the farm but it will have to wait until monday or tuesday. What's two or three more days anyway? Seing the distance we cover in a day's walk, this trip should not take the ninety days I calculated. Yesterday, I took Justin to the Carnaval in St Sauveur again, to get him used to crowds, loud-speakers and bangers, just to make sure he is not cardiac... He behaved like if he'd been partying all his life. He took a dislike to South American music though. (he's probably watched a few western films in which mexican donkeys were not treated very well...) People probably thought I was a nut case walking my donkey and my dog through the crowded streets. It was funny to tie them up at the the supermarket entrance and at the church yard, disappear for some time and find them quietly waiting for my return. All went well. Average moving speed was still five point one kilometres per hour. (see GPS trip data on photo) Nine hours on this trip, that was tiring but we arrived fresher than two days ago. Justin's hairs are getting shinyer and his pace is springyer. Since after the fiesta in St Sauveur I was in an hispanic "mood" and as we approached the five giant wind turbines a few miles from home, I decided to fullfill the dream of being Don Quixote de la Mancha... As I could not find Rossinante my proud tall horse anywhere, I decided that my "hidalgo" status would not allow me to mount an unsignificant donkey so, with reluctance I decided to be Sancho Panza... and climbed on top of Justin, just to see how he would react to being loaded. I might be slightly lighter than the Don's famous servant but nevertheless a lot heavier than the kids of the very nice farmer who sold Justin to me and the surprise or my sheer weight took his breath away... and I went aflying... From Sancho Panza to Superman in a split second... From on my asse to on my arse in a flash. No harm done and no bad feelings towards my friend, only a bruised ego. Should have known better, after all these horse whisperring sessions I have been practising in all these years of looking after horses. By the way, the 30 km/hour Max Speed recorded on the GPS was probably my "airborne" speed when Justin bolted.
Will have to work on that this week-end. I did not talk to him for the rest of the trip and ignored all his signs of affection like putting his head on my shoulder while we walked and nibbling my sleeves, I went back to listening to Pink Floyd, Dylan, REM, Joan Baez, Sting Marley and the others in my Ipod.
I got my new topographic IGN map for the Garmin GPS and have started registering tens of waypoints from the map graciously supplied free of charge by the FFRP (French Ramblers Federation) in Paris who are trying hard to help people preparing their long distance treks.