Day 4. March 28, 2025.Caen to Evrecy. 23 kms.

 

I was reminded  of my age this morning. “Laissez une place pour le vieux monsieur,” shouted the bus driver to the students on board. Well, she didn’t actually say “vieux” but her tone implied it.

I managed to find a place surrounded by seven students, each glued to her phone. To be fair, two of the students exchanged a word on the way to Caen. 

It’s a rather ironic, isn’t it, the name, because smart phones probably make us dumber. If anyone is around to write “The Decline and Fall of Human Civilization” then Smart Phones will warrant a chapter. And a major theme will be the role of AI. I know it’s hypocritical to rant since I am relying on a Smart Phone app to follow the trail. 

The express bus dropped me at Église Saint-Pierre, on the edge of the city centre, and a tram took me to La Gare SNCF where I had ended yesterday.

I found my starting point at an old church at the beginning of a very old street. Nearby was the waymark, la balise, for the Chemin de Caen, this particular path of the Chemins du Mont-Saint-Michel. Henceforth, I would be following, not the yellow arrow, but le Mont bleu. From time to time I would encounter a colourful bewilderment of balises: red and white for the grandes randonnés, the network of long-distance walks across France, yellow for local ramblers’ trails, and blue for my path.

Yesterday was easy, flat and monotonous. Today was more undulating and more interesting. I crossed and recrossed the river, passed a race course, walked along minor roads, climbed a few slopes, ambled through the woods, and passed through a few villages. No café, though, I would have had to make a detour. Finally, I was out of the woods and traversed a couple of fields to find a cycling path that led into Evrecy.

We have a dear friend, Agnés, in Ouistreham who conducts the community choir. When I mentioned the difficulty of getting back to Ouistreham by bus and returning to Evrecy the next morning to resume walking, she immediately phoned one of her choristers and arranged a bed for me in Evrecy. That is where I am staying tonight. Quelle gentillesse!