Hiking the GR6, GR5 & Tour du Mont Blanc 

Day 5: Wednesday June 6th: Jas des Bailles to Sisteron: 21k walk, 6hrs 30 mins: blue skies with some cloud: 15°C to 24°C

We wake up to a cool morning, but none of our clothes have dried so we attach them to the back of our backpacks - it pays to have black undies so it's not so obvious we are a walking clothesline.  We have breakfast of hot fresh bread, butter jam and tea.  Then it's time to pack and leave.  We get away at 8am and decide to take the quiet road instead of the stony track.  There's no traffic and we make good time - it's all down hill to Sisteron. After 12k we are almost at the bottom of the valley, the sign says 23k to the top of the Lure - we do some quick calculations, and yes it really was 30k yesterday.  We come across a stream of cyclists heading up to the top - its about a 7% gradient on the road and some of them are struggling from the bottom.  Our two new friends Eric and Eric whiz by on their mountain bikes- they haven't planned a route yet - no need to in France. Anywhere is nice. We watch them ride off into the distance.It's time for a cup of tea by the side of the road.  We have made good time.  

We decide to continue on and old dirt road to Sisteron instead of going via the hills - we wan tho get there early enough to go to the Post Office - I am on a mission to post back home dead weight.  The countryside is so beautiful it takes your mind off hips, feet and hunger.  We come across part of the GR653D, the track from Montgenevre to Arles that is the fifth route of the St James way - we will link up again with it in a few days time on our way to Briancon.  Time for another tea- 2 morning tea stops today as we started relatively early. We find a spot under a shady tree in amongst the flies, ants and goat turds - we had just seen a herd of goats pass by.  Only 4k to go into Sisteron. We follow a winding gravel track right into the heart of Sisteron and see the ancient Citadelle on the hill, built in the 14th Century - it remains largely intact.  

We are booked in to the Hotel La Citadelle and it should be close by so we head in that direction and pass the Post Office - we'll be back here soon.  We find the Hotel but there is no record of our reservation.  Good one.  I drag out my computer and show hime the email correspondence and he says, ah oui, then rattles on in French - is there a booking or not? yes, we can put you in a room with a view for 69Euro - that was exactly what I thought we had booked anyway.  We go up the stairs to Room 18 - it certainly dose have a spectacular view of the Durance River flowing swiftly below.  I immediately unpack and start sorting clothes - this stays, this is posted, this can be chucked - I have thought about it for so long over the last  few days that my mind already know what is going and what is staying.  I get a collection of stuff together and we head back down to the Post Office - 2.3kg (2kg of my stuff, .3kg of Ian's).  That's a load off my mind and my back.  

We stroll back along the river and see the rock climbers on the near vertical rock face on the other side of the river.  We also see the sign to the GR^ where we will be going tomorrow.  It looks steep.  Good thing I am 2kg lighter - I think my backpack is down from 10kg to 8kg.  Back at the hotel, we get the WiFi code and sit and have a wine/beer and check mail and do diaries.  How good is this. 

We reflect on the day and decide that our GPS overlaid on IGN maps is proving invaluable - its takes about an hour off each day.  Instead of standing around looking at the map arguing about where we are, the GPS doesn't lie - it's accurate to within about 10 metres so it can tell us immediately if we take the wrong goat's track.  The little arrow even points to North - no need for a compass.

Before dinner, we duck up to the SPA grocery store - kind of like a seven eleven, and buy some Camembert, sliced ham and dry ham, and tomatoes - enough for the next 2 days, because as we see it on the map, there's no villages between Sisteron and Authon, our next destination, nor between Authon and Bayons the day after.  Back for dinner overlooking the Durance River from the Citadelle restaurant.  Ian has duck (they ask if you want it well, medium or rare - well done please, raw duck doesn't appeal) and I have salad Provencial - green salad with a veggie spring roll and olive paste on toast.