Timing

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Tuesday morning, my hosts fed me well and sent me floating off on the strength of their good will and prayers. I made my way to the cathedral in Lausanne and proceeded to spend an hour and a half there before actually setting out. Vevey was only 22 km away, I reasoned, and there was no need to hurry. When I reached Lutry, I went slightly off the trail to visit the 12th century church and again spent some quality time there.
The weather was not as cool as I’d hoped it would be, so I took frequent breaks to rest and hydrate myself. Sooner than I’d have liked, it was 5:00 pm and I still had a ways to go. I abandoned the walking trail for the more direct route walking on the sidewalk beside the road. That in itself probably saved me an hour and a lot of climbing!
As I neared the centre of Vevey, the rain which had been threatening for the past few hours finally came. It was still only scattered drops by the time I reached the hostel, but as I entered the foyer it began to pour. I was doubly relieved to reach my destination when I did, as I discovered on arrival that the reception closes at 8:00 pm. I had made it with half an hour to spare.
At that point, my priorities were food, a long hot shower, and doing my laundry. I tossed my clothes in the wash before hitting the shower, and then waited around for the coin-op machine to finish churning. Then I transferred the clothes to the dryer, and was somewhat dismayed to learn that would take 80 minutes. I’m about to collect my clean dry clothes, fold them, say my prayers and finally -FINALLY- get to bed. (I’m very grateful that the thunderstorm didn’t knock out the power while my clothes were drying!)
I’m not sure how far I’ll walk tomorrow. Looking at my guidebook, Aigle seems like a good choice, but I’ll make ‎that decision on the road tomorrow. 

Tuesday morning in Lausanne

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‎I arrived in Lausanne Monday afternoon and hiked up to stay with friends of Fr John and Lara Oliver. Micah and Naomi graciously opened their home to a complete stranger on the basis of Lara’s request. The good food and hot shower were both very welcome, but more important to me was the loving atmosphere with which this family ‎greeted me. Their daughters were very eager to know when I would be coming back to stay with them. While I hope that this will be possible, I also hope that it won’t be any time before Pascha.

This morning they gave me coffee and fed me and then pointed me in the direction of the cathedral. Here I hope to get the first stamp‎ in my pilgrim’s passport, and then begin walking. Vevey is 22 km away, which seems like a good first stage.