June 10 and Ed’s/Charlie’s 74th birthday. We toasted him with Armangnac tonight.

It was an easy peaceful day, truly restful. Only 10,500 steps! About 5 miles. We did laundry. Groceries. Lunch for the road tomorrow. I got our itinerary straightened out – rooms booked, canceled – because, oh no, the Gîte is actually in a town 5 miles from our intended point, and rebooked. Got Transport Claudine worked out for the next three legs. Just got to. Malle Postale who we used in the past, stops at Lectoure.

We did go to a small museum displaying artifacts from ancient paleolithic times and Roman treasures discovered nearby.

Can you imagine… You receive word that invaders are coming. You hide your loot, intending to return for it. But you don’t or can’t.  Maybe you didn’t survive the siege. Maybe you survived  but can’t return. Thousands of years later, by happy accident, a trowel displaced some dirt, some rock and … behold!

3 photos of ancient Éauze:

Great apartment, except no windows that open.

I just fell asleep 😴,  so it’s to bed!

It’s so easy to get behind. Should I start at leaving La Romieu and go forward, or start with today and go back?

Today: a wicked rainstorm last night – thunder, lightening, torrential downpour. Which meant flooding today.

But it made for cooler walking in lovely misty rain as we made our way to Seviac, a variant from the Chemin, that brought us to amazing Roman ruins, discovered in the 1800s by a farmer building his home.

A concise story about the wealthy owner, his grand home, and lifestyle. This would have been the country home. Heated. Thermal tubs. A church. Baptismal fount – think large for full immersion. 

Along the way:

I also saw my first ever live hedgehog,  although it was dead – a victim of drowning, I believe. Ever so cute.

Condom – the first city in France that I/we did not like at all. Though we did appreciate this bit of local political view (using Google translate, screenshot)

And I liked this artwork…

Had a fine dinner last night (June 8) with Katrine and Pierre, with whom we have been crossing paths for days,  always having a bit of a chat. More French practice for me! And great to learn of their knowledge of the covid cover-up and political corruption. Marilyn and Michel (La Fezendes) also expressed distress over unelected powerful people making rules for the rest of us, but not for them.

A lot of folks we have met day to day and had conversations with are leaving the Chemin about now. In France, it’s common for friends to get together and walk a part of it – for 7-10-12 days. Then return the next year to pick up where they left off. C’est chouette! And a lot easier for them to do it that way than for us.

BTW, walking distances, you depend on the guidebook, on maps, on a wing and a prayer maybe…but, the distances are always longer, never shorter.

May your nights be long on sleep and peaceful dreams.

For the past 3-4 days we have been hearing gunshots. What’s in season – rabbit? Nothing. Hunting season is October through March. We’ve been hearing compressed air blasts. Farmers use them to keep birds away from the newly sewn crops. How do I know? A little birdie told me. [Groan) Marilyn and Michel at La Fezendes told us.

Bird calls, chirps, song have been with us every day, through forest and filrd and village.

We often hear the coucou bird. This has given rise, in this area, to the greeting,  “Coucou!” It’s also used to get someone’s attention.

Walking, we never fail to see and smell banks of wild roses, honeysuckle,  and jasmine. It does a soul good on a hot, humid day while you’re laboring up a steep hill.

On a different bank topic, we’ve found that Banque Populaire is the best for ATM. They don’t charge a fee. Others are 10-12%.

Today was such a humid day. Blessedly, there’s often a breeze to help.

At the end of a significantly steep grade of a climb, I launch into the Rocky tune. That occurs at least once a day.

Today – nothing hurt!! And we reached our halfway point between Conques and St. Jean Pied de Port at about 4 km into the day!

It’s already 22:20 here. The days disappear when you’re walking town to town.

We had a grand meal, thanks to our host calling and making a reservation for us. These towns of 500-2000 or so have limited dining possibilities. La Romieu, tonight’s town, has a population of 555.

La Romieu has the remnants of a collegiate church, flanked by two towers. Of course we climbed them. One is only open a short way up. The other has about 140 very narrow steps up a circular staircase.

In 1342, multiple years of bad harvests culminated in famine, to the point that pets were eaten. (Did they have pets back then?) Anyway, a story says that young Angeline saved two cats from being dinner. The next year an abundant harvest was threatened by rodents. Thanks to Angeline’s cats, disaster was averted. A local sculptor honored this tale by sculpting multiple cats and placing them around town.

Leaving Lectoure on 6.6:

Today we go to Condom. Go ahead and snicker.

We have left the countryside of sheep goats,  and cows for farms. Acres and acres of wheat, sunflowers (newly growing), garlic (being harvested today, the 4th June and smelling oh so good and made me hungry!), alfalfa, soy beans, rye, and I don’t know what else.

Yesterday was a really flat day of walking from Moissac to Auvillar a long way along a canal. Thought it would be easier, but it was actually more tiring. I think the body responds better to changes in elevation.

Some sights:

Our Gîte here is a 15thC building – in far better shape than the one where we stayed in Rennes last fall.

This Gîte washed and dried everyone’s clothing – no charge. That’s a first. We were also treated to an aperitif, Floc de Gascogne, a vin de liqeur fortified with Armangnac. It was lightly sweet. I’ll take my Armangnac straight, thank you.

At dinner I sat next to a voluable man, Don, from South Africa. We’ve run across one another the past two days. He likes to tell you the languages he speaks, where he’s been,  where he’s going, and what to expect – as he did this same Chemin last year – a few times!

After Auvillar, we walked through St. Antoine:

And Flamarens:

Yesterday, the 4th June,  we walked Auvillar to Miradoux. We arrived early and so had a beer ( okay, 2, but they were each half pints), bread, and cheese while waiting for our Gîte. Laurance joined us for a bit and I got to parler français  with her. It was a good warm-up for the evening with our hosts. We were their only guests and so I had quite the time – three hours of listening to and responding to French.  We covered all kinds of topics and I really enjoyed it! When we are at a Gîte with lots of French speakers, it’s too hard.

It was a wonderful stay!

Today, June 5, was another pretty easy day of 10 miles past more acres of farmland. It was hot, but with a cooling breeze, so not bad. Until…arriving at our destination, Lectoure. A steep grade up. And when you thought you’d arrived at the top, more up to get to town. I’d much rather go up than down though. Down is hard on the knees and feet.

Tonight we are not dining with others at our Chambre d’Hote. Taking some down time. Tendinitis is getting a little inflamed… It’s nice and cool in our room. And I think I’ve come to a stopping place.

A plus tard!

I was sitting in the garden of our Chambre d’Hote this afternoon looking over next stages of walking. I noticed a bird finding lots to eat. Big pieces of something. I soon discerned that it was cherries. An almost denuded (of cherries) tree was just overhead.

Then I recalled an incident earlier on our trek. An old man getting our attention…I didn’t understand at first. But his motion of fingers to mouth and pointing to his yard had me listening carefully. I heard, “Viens! Cerises! Cherries! Into his yard we went and commenced to plucking g cherries 🍒 from his tree. What a sweetheart!

Today in Moissac at Sunday market glistening red strawberries 🍓! This area is renowned for them. Natural. Untreated. Tasty. Vibrant. We ate the pint toute de suite!

For our ‘rest’ day we walked 9 miles. No packs, except from our Gîte of last night, 2.5 miles outside Moissac. Our host in Moissac was kind enough to welcome us at 9:30 so we could stash our packs for the day. (In fact, our room was ready and we got keys to come and go as we pleased. Returning around 3, pilgrims were sitting outside waiting to get in at 3:30.) Our host, Veronique is so kind. Then around the market. Then to see the boat canal and back.

The canal connects the Atlantic and the Mediterranean  – no longer in use since the train.

We are now sitting outside the Cathedral and Abbaye St. Pierre. It’s massive with a beautiful cloister area, each of the 76 capitals atop the columns has a unique decoration. More than half depict episodes from the Bible (Samson in the lion’s den) or saints. The others are decorative – palm leaves for instance.

Which reminds me – wanted to hear the nuns sing inside the Cathedral for Vespers,  but it turned into a procession outside. So. We’re here having a drink instead.

Time to return to the Chambre d’Hote for dinner!

I last posted in Cahors. Since then we’ve stayed in Granèjouls, Montcuq, Lauzerte, and right now we are just outside of Moissac. We arrived at the early hour of 2:45! A 12 mile day makes such a difference. And we are the only ones here, so I finally have time.

Tomorrow night, we’ll stay in Moissac, taking a rest day before heading to Auvillar on Monday,  June 3.

The two nights before last we were asleep by 9:30. After full days of walking, exploring a bit, showering,  and having dinner, plus using my brain to speak French, we’re pretty exhausted. Last night though was a party. There were 18 of us at Gîte La Ferme Parry. The hosts like to provide a proper many course meal, though in a down to earth manner. We started with aperitif of either kir or whiskey. Red wine with dinner, tea and eau de vie after dinner. We had soup, duck rillettes, which is OMG delicious, pasta, duck sausage, cheese, and fruit salad for dessert. Bread, bien sur. Rillettes is shredded whatever, in this case duck and prepared I don’t know how. But I plan to find a recipe. La Ferme Parry is a working farm, specializing in duck and various fruits. There were some English speakers there, so that helped Ed. Me too,  tbh. We didn’t get to bed til after 11. I slept deeply and soundly.

In Granéjouls we stayed in an older woman’s grandfather’s house. She lives next door in a converted barn. She must be in her late 70’s herself, at least. Very friendly and a singer, as a hobby, but a retired pharmacist. She sang for us at breakfast  – microphone and music accompaniment, via computer. She also provided the tradional menu complet of entrée of a piperade tart, main dish of cassoulet, cheese course and dessert, which was croustade au pomme.

Most places have put on some great meals, even when cooking for many.

In Moncuq, we stayed at Gîte Soulleilou, which is the Occitane language for little sun. I thought it was a play on soul+sun+ou, a mélange of French and English. The living area was very comfortable. Upstairs in the bedroom the smell of citronella was strong. I opened the window wide for fresh air. I can’t abide citronella!

Moncuq is a dear small town, about 50% French and 50% Brits and Dutch, we were told by the Irish owner of Restaurant le 6. We stopped by there for a drink and dinner (eschewing the pilgrim dinner at the Gîte) after touring the town. I had such a good glass of wine 🍷 that I had a second.

On the way to Moncuq:

In Moncuq:

I think it was somewhere along this day that my long toe was hurting – to the point that I fantasized about having the tip surgically removed. It’s ridiculously long! But then it stopped hurting. So. Aches just seem to move around the body. They dissipate and take up residence elsewhere.

Yesterday on the way to Lauzerte, we saw some beautiful fields of flowers and wheat.

In Lauzerte:

Seen on the way to the Gîte:

I’ll close this with these 2 photos:

We’ve hiked with and shared meals, and sometimes lodging, with this group for two days. We’ll likely not see them again as they all hiked into Moissac and we’re staying 4 kms outside of it. Plus which, we’re staying in Moissac tomorrow night. They’ll be long gone. New acquaintances will be made and lost. Life on the Chemin…

Bonne soirée! !

Aromas of the day were broom and honeysuckle. Maybe the humidity brought out their perfume.

Nice and easy today, in terms of miles, about 12.5, with full packs. There were 3 significant uphills, the first right out of Cahors. It was super steep, but not too long and thus, not too bad really. Here’s a view of Cahors from a lookout point we climbed the day before.

We spent 3 nights in Cahors, expecting to spend just one. Again, finding an auberge or a Gîte where we wanted to stop was proving a challenge.  We are going for shorter stages. I rather liked wandering around Cahors and seeing the historic sites, happening upon hidden gardens, and finding unusual or odd bits.

After two days off, I was looking forward to the Chemin! Today did not disappoint. And! My body is getting used to this. Still pretty tired at day’s end, but not in pain.

Where to begin? It feels like days since I posted, though it was only  the night b4 last. That should give you an idea of what yesterday was like.

We left Figeac around 9. The guidebook stated that the 19.25 mile hike would take about 8.5 hours. 10 hours and closer to 23 miles later, we arrived. Has to be an error. Part of the problem was that the Gîte was another 1.5 miles out of town, which we didn’t realize when we booked it. So we didn’t get to see Cajarc.

There was some harsh going with ascents, descents, mud, and rocky terrain. I was a wreck after 15 miles and wanted to hitch a ride. Better judgment and support from Ed prevailed and helped a lot.  I also kept thinking of people on long, tough marches with greater loads to bear and not nearly so well fed.  And though I was in a sour mood some of the time, I also found the strength to muscle through.

Then the Gîte wasn’t so comfortable, and I was annoyed with the French people at dinner for a variety of reasons, none of which made sense in reality, but that’s the mood I was in.

Now for some photos from that days walk, Figeac to Cajarc.

Somewhere along the way on the day, I stopped to take a pebble from my shoe in the middle of a paved country lane. Sometime later, not too long grace a Dieu, I reached for my phone. I just knew it had slipped from my pocket. Running back, I prayed that another had found it, that a car wouldn’t come by. An approaching pilgrim recognized my panic, and before I could say anything, pulled it from her fanny pack. Two seconds later, a car came by. The Camino knows how to play games with you.

Here’s another Camino episode of salvation. After that strenuous day, and being so so tired, we decided to take two days in Cahors, after one easy day to Varaires from Cajarc, and one more long arduous trek, Varaires to Cahors. In our zombie state of mind, we booked an apartment in Cahors,  then realized Malle Postale could not deliver there since no-one would be there to accept them. No way did I want to carry my pack on another 20 mile route, even if it was a relatively easy day, length and terrain-wise. Divine intervention stepped in again when I received confirmation from the apartment and saw that the owners also had a hotel! I called and asked if our host if our packs could be delivered there. Bless the man, he agreed and even said he’d deliver them to the apartment! And thanks be, because somehow we got off route and onto a variant. Our 20 mile day became 23 miles.

I was so bone tired. Ed too. We had dinner at the closest place we could find, even though all it served was charcuterie boards. I was thrilled when olives were delivered to the table.

Now for photos, Cajarc to Varaires, May 27:

That’s all for now. Will get caught up on Varaire to Cahors tomorrow!

Hi!

I think I wrote about having to carry our packs for 2 days due to a Gîte not allowing baggage transport. So. That meant 2 hard days of walking – 17 and 18 miles days. The stages were Conques to Livinhac-le-Haut and then to Figeac. Each night after arrival,  shower, dinner, and planning the next day, plus looking ahead to where to stay, which now involves checking with La Malle Postale (the baggage transport company) to ensure that they deliver where we want to stay and THEN ensuring where we want to stay has availability – it was time for ibuprofen and bed! Right now we have the next 2 stays set. Walking lots of miles,  but just with a day pack. Yahoo!

I’ll simply post some photos to give you an idea of the route and places.

Conques to Livinhac-le-Haut

We had quite a bit of rain off and on throughout the day, but not pounding and not windy. It was beautiful! And we had some breaks, like during lunch:

Livinhac-le-Haut to Figeac

I’m going to start with a few photos of mud – la boue. We hiked through plenty, including the day before,  which was really worse  than on this stage. Thanks be for poles!

We took today (Thursday the 23rd mai) off and spent the day in Figeac. Changed from our Gîte of the night before to a hotel. Ed says we didn’t train enough for this journey. I reckon he’s right. Not that I want to admit it. But there sure is a difference between last fall walking and these first two days.

Here are a few photos from today.

Et voilà. I’ve been writing this in a place called Hop Hop Hop, a beer joint with great music. We met Caroline here for a beer. We’d met her and hubster Paul in the laundromat earlier.

Lastly, we had a wonderfully French dinner at La Terrasse, by the Celè River. Ed had a salad with a delightful assortment of delicacies: gésiers, thinly sliced duck breast (it resembled prosciutto,  but darker and smoky), foie gras, and those crisp and thin French green beans. Mine was straightforward: cuisse a canard confit and pepparade. Here’s a photo.

Oh, dang! Next time, the photo first!

I guess that’s all, folks! It’s been great so far, and we’re confident it will get better!

Bonsoir!

This post is by Charlie

Tomorrow we leave Conques for part 2 of our Chemin de Saint Jacques.  When I look at the elevation profile for our morning walk, I see this:

After fretting about it for a bit I realized that the scales on the graph create a misleading impression.   Although we will climb about 350 meters in the first 5 kilometers it won’t be the near vertical trek as it appears in the diagram.

Retrieving some basic trigonometry from the dust bin of my brain,  I determined that the horizontal axis can be considered the measure of a hypotenuse, and the slope of the ascent can be determined using a sine function.   The steepest part accordingly will average about 8° with an overall average for the initial climb of about 5°.  (I used a different map to get a more accurate estimate of distance and elevation)

Looks like we won’t be needing pitons and rope after all.