Walking Across France on 20 Euros a Day...

Sunday, August 22

Tomorrow it’s an easy 15 km to Mossiac where I’ll arrive by lunch time and relax the rest of the day. After a little over 2 weeks on the Camino St. Jacques I’m thoroughly broken in and settled into the walking life. My pack may still be burdensome but I’m stronger and managing fine while I cover 15 to 20 miles daily.

The landscape has changed once again as I’ve left higher grounds for a lower more fertile agricultural region. Everything seems to be growing here from nuts to seeds to fruits to veggies. It has also been quite hot. The last two days have been in the 90’s (Fahrenheit) but my good ol’ Houston, Texas up-bringing makes me well suited to handle it thanks to the humidity not being too bad.

When I first started this trip I noticed I wasn’t spending more than 20 Euros ($25-$30 USD - depending on current exchange rate)a day. I then decided to see if I could stick with a 20 Euro a day budget. For the past two weeks I’ve done it and done it well. It's required me to carry a tent, camp every night at a campground or gite (hostel like accommodation) and cook most of my meals which I had planned to do anyway. I simply pull out a 20 Euro note in the morning and if I have anything left over from the previous day I throw it in. Simple as that.

One of the best bargains I’ve found while walking in France have been the Gite d’etapes. They are hostel like accommodations with shared rooms and facilities but often there's a kitchen and sometimes a swimming pool. The only catch is that you have to arrive by foot or bike. Camping is usually around 6 Euros and sleeping on a bed inside is around 12 Euros. If you want dinner that’s usually another 12 Euros and breakfast is around 5 Euros. As you can see I save the most money by doing my own food. While camping I'm allowed to use all of the facilities. Not all gites offer camping but many will often times allow camping in the back garden or something like that if you ask.

Obviously camping makes staying at a gite very cheap as long as one prepares their own food. Tonight I’m camped at a very nice rural gite on the grounds of an orchard. I’m the only person here. I actually feel kind of funny having not paid for a bed because I have the run of the place but since I had an 8 Euro feast for lunch I’m camped just out the door.

After a hot days walk I arrived at the gite, went for a swim in the pool, did laundry, cooked some food and had a beer. I still have money left over for tomorrow. As I paddled around the pool and stared across and orchard, all on my 20 euro a day budget, I thought to myself, “I must be doing something right”.