Day 49 – to Trabáu

Saturday night is always a bit later to bed than usual, and often with a Talisker. I watched a good new French drama film, called La Nuit de 12, before I was tempted. It did well at Cannes, and is a thought-provoking and different take on the unsolved murder of a young woman, based on an actual crime. It focuses on the effect the case, which is still ongoing, 12 years later, on the dozen or so police officers, and their young female examining magistrate. It’s theme is much deeper, the proliferation of violent crime against women, ‘something is wrong between men and women’, as the lead detective says.

Consequently it was a later start than usual, but a less cold morning than recently, pleasant to sit outside reading with coffee.

I took on a loop that began high, took in a peak, and descended through the village of Trabáu, before climbing back up to the pass on an old Roman road.

I wanted to check out the tavern that I had been recommended yesterday, and it did indeed look good.

Back at the van, I moved the huge distance of two kilometres to the parking for the village, and settled to watch the last European quarter, from La Rochelle.

Later, I wandered up to the tavern and had dinner, the first dinner out if this course.

Over a glass of local wine, I chatted with the new landlord, who had been in place, with his wife, only since Thursday. He works four jobs, in the craft workshop, as a mountain guide, running the bar and restaurant, and has some cattle and sheep.

Inevitably our conversation got round to the depopulation problem in the area.

He explained that the problem was increased by the coal mine that had been nearby in the 1990s. The miners were very well paid, and their children were therefore, all very well educated, moving away to University and never came back.

Most of the houses that fall vacant are huge, as they were previously for big families, and therefore beyond the means of young couples who might consider settling in the area. Some sort of incentive is needed, to enable the tourist industry to be staffed, and get young people back to the area.