Day 13 - Termignon to Modane - Le Petit Bonheur

Today we will be walking down the Arc valley to Modane; it's a relatively short, easy day. But I will have a little moment of truth today. There are 4 topo-guides (combined guidebook + maps) for the whole hike and they each weigh 200g. Rather than carry all 4, I've been carrying 2 and the next 2 should be waiting for me in the post office at Modane. I need to collect them and send the 'old' 2 home. So I want to get to Modane early enough to sort out any problems.

'Italian' Forts to defend against France

The hike to Modane is pretty flat but not uninteresting; it's called Le Petit Bonheur (the little happiness). At one point we hike up a bob-sleigh run. There are exhibits that claim this is (maybe) where Hannibal crossed the alps with his elephants. There were impressive forts, built to protect against French invasion (the frontiers have moved over the years). We have lunch together but afterwards I go ahead to make sure I get to the post office on time; everything goes according to plan.

We get back together again and Jill has a flapping boot; we get glue at a hardware store and repair it (fortunately this happened at a decent sized town...). Modane has a well deserved reputation as an ugly town, but we found a reasonable hotel and had a nice meal in a pizzeria. After the meal we were given some grappa, which I found a bit rough but managed to drink.