Circle tour 13: on to Mauleon

We noticed the stream running past the hotel had swollen overnight reminding us of our theme verse, Habakkuk 2:14.

Another gray day, rain off and on. Group meeting was shorter, with promise of more that evening in another town. Then the cyclists took off and one of the vans left to pick up two new members joining us from Illinois.

The rest of us left for Mauleon (Maule Lextarre).

My view from the back seat

The landscape speeding by was beautiful though a bit hazy.

We arrived in Mauleon around noon just as church was letting out on First-Communion Sunday.

After the crowd dispersed, some of us walked into the church. I was especially interested in the well-worn prayer books in three languages: French, Basque, Latin.

Check-in time was not till after 3 p.m., so we walked around the town, exploring, enjoying.

Again the rushing water interested me.

However I did not walk up to the old fort.

It is sobering to see the many names of the enfants--the children/sons the town lost in the World War.

These details fascinated me.

After checking into the Hostellerie (built in 1810 and added onto many times thereafter), and after seeing what our accomodation looked like, next--find a spot for internet access!

Before too long Charlie's van arrived and the cyclists followed.

Another welcome arrival--Micky and M.C.--the couple we'd heard so much about.

To our surprise, the hotel people prepared and served us a lovely dinner that we all enjoyed together.

Would our new members be able to ride in the morning after their loooooong trip?
...or even stay awake for our special Sunday evening meeting?

Our friendly hotel staff provided bread and wine for our communion service...
and a torch to light the candles!

A perfect way to end the Lord's Day!