Having traveled successfully our 20 km, we reached the village of Les Estrets where the gite Le Gevaudan is located. Checked in and showered in the very modern and nice gite. Went downstairs to work on the daily blog. The host was sharing a bottle of white wine with a friend. I asked if he had any more and he explained that he had but one of that wine and that his friend drank a lot. He did bring me a glass of house wine. There was a young health department worker who spoke a fair amount of English. He tried his best to correct my French pronunciation. He was very interested in Alaska. Fast forward to dinner.

Our host has all the French mannerisms of Kevin Kline in the movie “French Kiss”. I think he came by them naturally. A very handsome man and charming. Anyway, he also is the cook, owner and has a few other businesses. Served us a lentil dish that was amazing. He followed it up with wild boar in a sauce, a farm cheese plate and creme brûlée. He too was interested in Alaska for hunting and fishing. We explained our life in Alaska and some how we ended up with the La Porte last name. He said he knew that we were different than typical Americans.

We became cousins very quickly. He has many La Porte friends. The Aubrac and the Cevennes are full of them. I told him about George La Porte being a bear hunter. We quickly got French prices. Absolutely amazing evening. Any aches and pains disappeared. He called ahead to our next destination and told the host that he and I were cousins and that we were not just Americans.