Breakfast at the local village cafe in the main street. Outside tables and the hikers start to congregate as the morning goes on. We visit the outfitter for some bits and pieces but we are surprised how poor his stock is - perhaps it is a sign of the times as half the shop has been made over into an ice-cream parlour. The owner says there are fewer hikers at this time compared to last year. Digby ends up at the local shoe shop which has a better boot range and buys a new pair of boots.
We have lunch at the local village cafe - burger and chips - 5 hours later I get my first dose of food poisoning. There is a local IGA supermarket and no Walmart. How come this town has not been 'walmarted'? The residents would never allow it - they are all rich enough to not need Walmart, educated enough to know the damage a Walmart can do, and smart enough to employ laywers to fight any approaches that Walmart make to the local council.
We catch up with Stickwalker and Belle the Wonderdog, Red Lobster, Scatters and Stucco - everyone is doing their laundry and resupplying. But none of them are staying in Kent - it is too expensive - once they have done their chores they walk the mile out of town to the trail and set up camp in the forest.
At around 4.00pm I start to get the shakes. This is followed by a 5 hr bout of severe diarrohea and vomiting. Lucky I have a luxurious hotel room to repair too. It continues all night and I am completely exhausted. This is my first sickness on the trail. A picture postcard town but the kitchen of the cafe doesn't sound too cute.
No comments:
Post a Comment