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Saturday May 10. Jougne. 24.3 km.

 Today started out in the nicest way possible - walking with the cows!


They were going to their pasture, and I was headed up hill.  This is the view that waited for me.


The rocky cliffs reminded me a bit of Robertson cliffs at home. My kinesiologist trains by running up and down the cliff paths four or five times. People were running here too.


The fort in the distance is the Fort de Joux. Here it is closer up.


A bit later on I came to Fort Maheux.


The two forts guard both sides of a very narrow cleft through which trade has passed since Roman times.  The highway still does pass through without climbing, but the Via makes you climb.  

Prior to WW II the French established a defensive line, la ligne Maginot. These forts were renovated and became part of it, but it was totally ineffective in combatting the German advance.  It seems rather obvious that such fortifications around a pass belong much more to the medieval than to the modern times.

The path went down to the valley and up the next side to reach a nice stretch of alpine meadow.  Here is a new (for me) kind of stile together with some nice path signs (paths are getting better marked - there are quite a number of hikers here as various trails cross each other in this area).


Back into the woods and a little shrine.  Someone must take care of this one - fresh flowers and a light that works.  It is usually Mary who does the protecting at both churches and shrines.


I got a bit off trail and snapped quickly a photo of this gypsy encampment.


A typical barn and house of this region (houses and barns were frequently just two parts of the same building).


And here is the lovely little hotel Rebecca (the Australian nurse) and I stayed in in the border town of Jougne.  The best hotel on my trip so far, mainly because Madame, the owner, is such a sweet lady. She seems to do all of the work. She explained why help is hard to find. Wages are way higher in neighbouring Switzerland, so the French go there to work and the Swiss come here to grocery shop.  Proof of that - two big supermarkets in this town of 2,000 people.







Comments

  1. RitaMay 11, 2026 at 5:53 AM

    What a lovely day, Celia, and great pics. Not sure which I liked better--the core, the view, Fort de Joux or the hotel. Thanking for inviting me to enjoy them all!

    ReplyDelete
  2. RitaMay 12, 2026 at 7:11 AM

    That first choice was supposed to be "the cows", not "the core". Sheesh.

    ReplyDelete

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