Shared Illusions

I was too tired last night – felt like I was coming down with a cold so went to sleep early.

Felt fine today for an 11 mile plus hike through more meadows and pastures, lush green grass, and more wild flowers.  When wind blows over the grass it undulates and looks, especially from a distance,  like water. It’s mesmerizing. When the morning sun shines upon it, the brilliance bedazzles.

Cold start to the day. It was about 36 degrees with an icy wind. Thankful for the sun. It did make for comfortable walking!

Noticings: roadside crosses here often have a Christ placed on them. Not something we saw hiking the Chemin de St Jacques.  How calming it is to walk amidst a vast amount of green. Wild birdsong nonstop! The great rush of wind in the trees. The comfort of having a warm buff around my neck to keep that wind out.

12th C! The 1100s. Catholisme was well entrenched here. Then Calvin, a follower of Luther, trained a bunch of priests to spread the ‘Truth’. It got ugly. The Catholics routed out the Protestants by burning their homes and farms. Many escaped to Switzerland where it was safe. The Protestants of course retaliated. The above church was damaged. The Camisards fought back, but in the end were subdued. The area Robert Louis Stevenson walked through is still Protestant territory. Please excuse the truncated history lesson which is certainly not deeply researched.

Most people we’ve met at Gîtes are walking the RLS. Have only met 1 guy from Bretagne, walking La Régordane.

We spent last night in Langogne and the night before in Landos. There are not many villages on this trail; there are hamlets – clusters of homes. They are very quiet…we don’t see people outside, save for a few men working in the barns. A few cars when we’re on road,  tractors off road.  Roads/farm trails are so narrow we stand well off to allow vehicles to pass.

The trail is mostly well marked,  though at times we have had to retrace our steps due to confusion or missed ballisages – the marks used here are a white line over red for straight ahead.

Today we head to Luc. Signing off…