Trail Day2 (18 km, +1316 meters, -929 meters) (11.1 miles, +4318 feet, -3048 feet)
Because the first day of TMB was very hard, we thought that it was better to start a hike early in the morning. So we woke up at 5 a.m. On the way to the pass (col du Bonhomme), we stopped at a hut to have a cup of coffee (refuge de la balme). All huts in Alps are at the great location. The view was spectacular from the hut. Green mountains and glacier with many falls from glacier. How nice to see those with coffee.
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What a view! Near the hut
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When we were at the table, one party came in. They were three American females. I knew that they were American, because they spoke American English and one of them had Wholefoods hand sanitizer. Three of them were at a table, but they only tried to order one coffee.
The staff said, “Everyone needs to consume.”
One American female said, “What do you mean?”
I thought, “Come on! Everyone should order if you are at the table!”
French seem to have different English word choices from Americans. Probably that made the American female ask the question. After they understood staff’s comment, two of them ordered drink and one person went outside, because she still didn’t want to order anything.
I thought that it was manner to order something if you go inside and sit at the table. Furthermore, coffee there was only 1.5 euro. If she had money to buy (unnecessary) expensive Wholdfoods brand 70% ethanol, she could definitely afford to buy 1.5 euro coffee.
I think that it would be nice to behave and enjoy where you are. If you are traveling in Europe, it’s better to enjoy behaving in an European way rather than demanding American thing in Europe.
On the way to the pass (Col de laCroix, 2483m) was very pretty. A
lot of flowers were in bloom, such as Edelweiss. It was great to see an
iconic plant in European Alps. I had never seen this European Alps
specific species. It reminded me of the music piece Edelweiss. In Japan,
it was mandatory to play Edelweiss with recorder at 7th grade.
The view from the pass was amazing. European Alps has a lot of glaciers.
I saw at least a couple of glaciers each day. Although they are melting
fast these days, it was still massive and amazing. Because Alps is very
steep and and thick glacier is melting, there are tremendous numbers of
falls all over the TMB. That makes the view more gorgeous.
This day we climbed two passes and then descended to a campground near
the hamlet. This campground is free, probably because the village wants
to attract people. There are some hostels and shops in the village. We
checked out one of them. I bought apple juice and learned that apple is pomme in French. It was useful to know French names of food for the later TMB. Mr.N got goat cheese, which was made at the farm in the village. I am not a cheese fan, but Mr.N is a big fan of cheese. He ate all of it quickly.
２日目 (18 km, +1316 meters, -929 meters)
初日のハイクが非常にきつかったので、２日目は早めに出発した方が良いだろうということで ５時に起き、まず最初のパス、col du Bonhommeと向かった。col du Bonhommeが見えて来たところで山小屋があったのでコーヒーを飲んで一休みすることにした。MrNはコーヒーを、私はココアを注文した。
ここで３人の女性アメリカ人グループがコーヒーエリアへと入って来た。３人のうち１人しかコーヒーを頼まないが３人ともテーブルへ座った。山小屋の人が全員注文しなければならない旨を伝えると、何も注文したくない人はテーブルエリアの外へ。
私は、”えーっ、失礼やろー”と思いつつ、”これだからアメリカ人はヨーロッパで嫌われるんだろうな”と思った。やはり中に入ったらコーヒーくらい頼むのがマナーだろう。それに日本の山小屋みたいに飲み物はヨーロッピアンアルプスでは高くないのだ。コーヒーはたったの１．５ユーロ（１５０円くらい）だ。
そんなこんなでcol du Bonhommeを目指し歩く。景色が綺麗だ（１枚目の写真）。そしてたくさんの可愛い花も咲いている（２枚目と３枚目の写真）。アルプスの花、エーデルワイスもたくさん咲いていた。まさにサウンドオブミュージックの世界。
この日は２つのパスを超え無料のキャンプグランドに泊まった。ここは小さな村のそばにある芝生のエリアで無料。ラッキー。この日もたくさんの登り下りがあり疲れた。村にはちょっとした商店街があり、そこで私はアップルジュースをMrNは手作りのゴートチーズを買って食した。
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