Easter Sunday

Well, the last week has been far from boring. When I first showed up, it was just one other wwoofer besides myself. Since then, four others have joined the crew and all have similar stories as to why they’ve come here. Discontent with their 9-5 city jobs, they have decided to learn more about agriculture in search of more fulfilling professions. I’ve learned about their backgrounds and their future plans. We’ve shared meals, coffees, and pitchforks. Apparently there are many more female wwoofers than males. The ratio is 4-2 here. The other fella, Antoine, is here with his girlfriend, Laura. Today, instead of going to the market, we had a slow morning. I made some deviled eggs for the crew and we took a drive to Besse-et-Saint-Anastaise. This busy little village was full of little shops, cheese caves, bakeries, and restaurants. Being in the Auvergne region, which is known for its cheese, Antoine mentioned how he’d love to work in one of these little fromageries. He and Laura are staying at their third dairy and plan to continue touring France bouncing around and learning about the cheeses in each region. After walking around the town and through the local church, we sat down to eat at La Rando, a restaurant specializing in the local fair. The walls of this joint were decorated with taxidermy and skiing memorabilia to suit the tastes of recreating tourists. Antoine and I had an aperitif of Ricard. Laura went straight to Auvergne red wine. The wine wasn’t too impressive, but what came next left the three of us happy and stuffed like the wild hogs on the walls. Antoine ordered the Truffade, a dish of potatoes cooked with a local cheese, Saint-Nectaire along with ham, saucisson, and green salad. Laura and I both went for the Fondue aux Saint-Nectaire. After lunch we went for a walk around Lac Pavin, a crater lake with a view of the ski hill, Super Bess. It was nice to pause and skip a rock. The last week was a lot of work with little free time. We harvested some nettles upon returning to La Ceppe for the goat cheese nettle cakes Dennis had the girls make to sell at the Monday morning market.

One week left to go.

Happy Easter,

Clayton

11. Easter Sunday