J12 – 12/29/2005

It was a rather pleasant day because Serge ran all the way and the sun came out in the afternoon.  Daniel followed in the four-wheel drive all day and took care of Serge.  Arlette and Laure replenished supplies at the supermarket in Chaumont.

Leaving Chaumont Serge was met by Régis, a runner from Vichy who arrived by train the previous  evening  to run the stage.  He will return from Vittel on Friday.  What a trip just to share 42Km with Serge! 

At 10H30 Stéphanie and Thomas arrived from Rennes.  They came for a short visit to get a feel for the atmosphere of this expedition, for they will join us next July for the portion Lhasa-Lanzhou.

At 16H35 Serge was in Damblain in the Vosges and huge snowflakes were falling.  We followed the A31 until Saulxure-les-Bulgnéville. 

Brigitte and Jean-Yves, our neighbors, came expressly to bring us white sausage, home made by papi Malhouitre, which we eat every almost year at this time.

To sum it up, at the end of this stage our caravan numbered 4 vehicles and 9 people who will sit down  together with pleasure in the restaurant of Bulgnéville.