The last few days.....

Yesterday (Monday) morning we ate breakfast in Lascabanes with some of the other pilgrims, and we were all optimistic about the weather, as it had rained overnight but seemed to be finished. We set off at 8AM, and it was quite beautiful climbing out of Lascabanes, and looking back to see the little church steeple in the village. While walking I was noticing the slugs on the trail, and thinking that we hadn't seen snails for quite awhile (this is what you think about when walking!). Just after that we came upon some bushes that were covered with a variety of snails, all different colors and sizes. We spent about ten minutes taking photos of them! Other pilgrims breezed by and didn't even see them. We also enjoyed watching a lovely black horse galloping around his corral, and acting really playful. His owner was walking by, and he was reacting to her. We suspect he is a racehorse, as he was magnificent, and the ranch had high security gates, etc.

Gite in Lascabanes - early morning

View of Lascabanes as we left

The town of Montcuq was our rest stop, and even though it was Monday, there was a cafe open, and more importantly, a boulangerie! After a hot chocolate and some pizza, plus two quiches in the backpack for lunch, we headed out to do the last 7 km to Montlauzun, our destination for the night. The countryside was beautiful, a patchwork of fields, some corn, some grapes. We passed through a farmyard with a little table that had an urn of coffee on it for pilgrims. We have seen several of those in our travels here, and it's always very touching! The village of Montlauzun is visible from a distance, as it has a church steeple on top of a hill, so we knew we would be climbing at the end. When we got to the top we found our Chambre d'hôtes, the church, and the town hall, and that was it! We sat on a bench near the church and ate our lunch, and were joined by a German pilgrim who had stayed at our gite the night before. He was hoping to have a beer, but no luck! After visiting with us he carried on to the next town.

The place we are staying at is called Ancien Presbytere, run by a British couple, who are very friendly and are pilgrims themselves. It is a converted abbey, very close to the church, and has a tremendous view of the countryside. The building itself is very stately, and beautifully built, with walls about a metre thick. Our room was on the second floor, with a wonderful view, and our own bathroom across the hall. This is the Chambre d'hôtes section, but they also have beds upstairs in a dormitory, that is the gite section. Last night we ate dinner with another pilgrim, a French lady, and we had cantelope and thinly shaved ham for the appetizer, then roast duck confit, green beans and roasted potatoes for the main course, and apple tart for dessert. A nice red wine accompanied it.

View from our window in Montlauzun

Today, Tuesday, we woke up to rain and fog......I will finish this post later when we have wifi.

Later....what a morning! We put off leaving until 9:30am, hoping the rain would ease off. No luck, it absolutely poured, and before long we were mucking about on muddy slippery paths- the muck sticks to your boots like glue, which is not terrific, as your feet feel like lead! One part of the path soon after leaving Montlauzun, had ropes tied to the bushes to grab onto and hoist yourself up the hill! Thankfully we didn't need them. By the time we arrived in Lauzerte for a break, we were ready for it. No sooner had we gotten a table and we were joined by our Aussie friends that we had met in Cahors- they had cheated this morning and had taken a taxi for part of the walk, to escape the rain. She has a broken wrist, so they had a good excuse. They were staying in Lauzerte for the night, but we'll see them again in Moissac tomorrow.

Leaving Lauzerte

Lauzerte from a distance

Building for??

St. Sernin Church, on the way to Durfort-Lacapelette

We bought a clump of these grapes- really good!

We had to get some food in Lauzerte, and ended up having omelettes in a restaurant, but the service was so slow that we were there for about two hours by the time we finished eating. It made for a really long day, as we arrived at our gite in Dufort-Lacapelette at 4:45 pm. That is late for us! I am making pasta for supper, as there is nowhere to eat in this town, so should be fun. Russ has poured the wine, which was an important part of the meal :)

Photos are attached....we didn't take many today, due to the rain.

 

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Saint Cirq-Lapopie to Lascabanes

Leaving Cambrerets on Thursday, we climbed up a rocky path which eventually led to the Pech Merle Caves. Unfortunately we didn't get a tour in English, as we would have had to reserve two days ahead, but we were given an easy to read booklet to carry with us, which was fine. The tour took about an hour, and was well worth it! We saw many drawings that were very well preserved, and dated back 25,000 years. The caves were beautiful, with so many different shapes of stalactites and stalagmites. We thought they did a good job with the lighting, as it was subtle, and they limit the number of people walking through at any given time, so it did not feel crowded. We highly recommend this stop on the Chemin, but book ahead if you want to be sure to have a guided tour in English! No photos are allowed, but there are some on the website, pechmerle.com.

It was about noon by the time we finished our tour, and with a chocolate bar to fortify us (no food for sale at the caves!) we hit the trail. In Bouzies we were hoping to find food, but no luck, it was afternoon and the only restaurant was closed. We sat in the park by the river and cleaned up our remaining emergency rations - trail mix, nuts and cereal bars. It was not satisfying, but kept us going which was the main thing. The walk to Saint Cirq was stunning. It follows the river Lot, and part of the path has literally been carved out of the rock. Eventually a steep path takes you up to the village, and we had the unfortunate luck to get stuck behind a large walking group! This has happened to us a couple of times now. We had enough energy (after eating some food) to explore the village after we had checked into our hotel, and took quite a few photos of the older medieval buildings there.

Walking to Bouzies on the way to Saint Cirq.

Path carved out of the rock on the way to Saint Cirq

Church in Saint Cirq

Saint Cirq houses (cemetery behind)

Leaving Saint Cirq in the early morning mist

On the way to Pasturat

The next day (Friday) we walked to Les Mazuts, which is about 5 km past Pasturat. We had booked a Chambre d'hôtes that was in the middle of nowhere, but the distance worked out for us, so it was fine. We ate dinner "en famille" that night with the owner and her fourteen year old daughter. Had roast duck legs, mashed potato & celery root, green salad, goat cheese, and an apple tart. Oh, and rosé wine. Interesting dinner conversation, as we were all struggling to communicate!

Yesterday (Saturday) was a beautiful walk to Cahors, about 15 km, and we chose the alternate route in MMDD which follows the river. We enjoyed it so much - the path meanders through trees, beside huge vegetable gardens, and of course the river is lovely too. The main route into town goes up a small mountain, so I'm sure the views of the city would be great, but we wanted flat terrain yesterday! We thought Cahors was a beautiful city. On the way to our hotel we found stores to purchase all the items we had needed for sometime, but couldn't buy in the small villages we've been staying in lately. Most of them don't even have grocery stores, and there is not one pharmacy in the Cele Valley. Once our errands were completed, we did a bit of sightseeing, and then bumped into some pilgrim friends at a sidewalk cafe. They introduced us to some people we hadn't met yet, and we all ended up having dinner together. It was so enjoyable! Of the seven people, there were three Canadians, one American, one German, and two Aussies. The Aussie couple were staying in Cahors for a rest day today, so we're hoping we see them again. Some of the others are staying at the same place we are at tonight (Gite-Chambre d'hôtes Le Bouy) which is in Lascabanes.

Our feet are holding up, and we're happy to be back on the GR65 again. Weather has been perfect, although rain is forecast for tomorrow. Perhaps the ponchos will get used for the first time this trip! Will provide another update when we're in a wifi zone.

Village of Lamagdelaine, across the river from the trail

Serious gardens & greenhouses on the outskirts of Cahors

Entering Cahors - view across the river

Valentre bridge, Cahors

Pilgrim dinner in Cahors

 

 

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Photos from Cele Valley

 

Can you tell I'm walking quickly?

 

 

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Cele Valley

We are enjoying a leisurely morning here in Le Bout de Lieu, near Cabrerets. Our Chambre d'hôtes, "Un Jardin dans la Falaise" we highly recommend. We have a large room with a perfect view of Cabrerets. We are also perched under the rock face that these towns are clinging to, so it's an interesting location! Breakfast is at 8:30, which is very late for a pilgrim, but today we only have 11 km to walk to reach Saint Cirq-Lapopie. We will stop at the Pech-Merle caves on the way.

Since my last post we have had two days of walking (that should be hiking!) in this valley. We had been expecting to walk along the Cele River, which is meandering through the valley, but instead we have climbed high up onto plateaus and pathways perched on top of enormous rock faces. It is a good workout, as there are many ups and downs in a day. We have passed several villages, some in the process of restoration, where the buildings are actually built into the rock face. The trail at one point took us under a large stone wall high up on the rock face, that we were told was constructed during The Hundred Years War by the British, as a defence against the French. There is a sheer drop of several hundred metres in that area, so it must have been challenging to do the construction! We met a nice older French man up there, who loves hiking in this area, and he told us about the history of the wall, as well as warning us to be very careful on the trail due to the steep drop! Fortunately it has been beautiful weather....I would not want to be up there in a storm!

Having some trouble posting Russ's photos, so will try doing it in a separate post. Stay tuned!

 

 

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Two long days....so far so good!

To continue from where I left off, our Italian meal in Livinhac-le-Haut was yet another memorable evening here on the Chemin Le Puy. It turned out that our host made the meal himself, as his partner was in Spain at their other house. While he prepared it, we were relaxing in our room and he had wonderful music going as he worked...it felt a bit like being transported back to Italy. There were only three guests that night, us and Eduardo, a fellow pilgrim who was Italian by birth but has lived in France for a long time. He is probably 65-70, and doesn't speak or understand much English, so Andrea, our host, was interpreting for us. Every so often the two of them would get into an animated exchange, mostly in French, and Russ and I just enjoyed watching. Andrea served us a penne casserole that we inhaled - the penne was of course cooked perfectly, and he assured me that you have to allow for the time in the oven by not cooking the pasta as long initially. We also had green salad with a nice dressing, little goat cheeses that were "not fresh", but older, so they were stronger in flavour. For dessert he served us a plate with fresh fruit slices, a dollop of homemade yogurt with a bit of berry jam drizzled over it, and the whole thing sprinkled with cinnamon - delicious. Everything was organic also. Breakfast the next morning was the usual fare- toast, coffee, juice and jam. The usual routine is to pay for your room after breakfast, and get your credential stamped. Andrea warned us that his stamp is his little toe print..we didn't believe him, but he then got a coloured felt pen, covered his little toe with ink, and stepped onto the appropriate place in our credentials. We loved it. As we were getting ready to leave, we found big chocolate bars sitting on our packs that Andrea had given us - so kind!

We saw Eduardo several times that day, as he walked about the same speed as us. Sometimes we heard him singing as he walked, or whistling. Today we again met him early in the morning, and he had a large bandage on his leg. All I could gather from our communication efforts was that he had a problem on the steep hill into Figeac yesterday afternoon, so must have fallen and he was taking it slow today. He is walking to Santiago, Spain so we hope he makes it. We parted ways today, as he is not taking the Cele Valley route. It is unlikely we'll see him again, but who knows.

Our walk yesterday to Figeac was 24 km, so it was a haul, but we enjoyed stopping for a picnic lunch in St. Felix. We sat at a picnic table in the shade by the church, and several other pilgrims (including Eduardo) were eating as well. The highlight was at noon when the church bells chimed twelve times, and a neighbourhood dog ran over to us and proceeded to howl until they were finished, then trotted back to his yard as if nothing had happened.

Before we left our peaceful little lunch spot, I checked our guidebook to see the location of our accommodation in Figeac, and noticed to my dismay that the place I booked was actually 5.5 km past Figeac, not in town! How I missed it I don't know, but we decided to look for a place in town and hope for the best. Have to say that it added some stress to our walk that afternoon, as it's not a nice feeling to not have a reservation. When we arrived in town I thought of trying the tourist information office, and they were so wonderful - phoned and got us the last two beds in a gite, then called to cancel our other booking. She even filled my water bottle for me - now I know why people recommend using them!

We met some great people yesterday who were all pilgrims...walked into Figeac with a couple who had stayed at our B&B in Conques, and found out they own two B&Bs in Beaujolais. They were only walking for a week and are now done. Met a French Canadian guy later on, while having a beer, and he is going to Santiago. He loves golfing, so he and Russ had a lot in common! We had to find a restaurant for dinner, as our gite did not provide it, and being Monday, most businesses are closed. Found one that was open, and ended up sitting with a couple I had met earlier at our gite. They have both lived in Paris for twenty years, but she is American and he is Australian. We may cross paths with them again, as they are walking to Cahors via Rocamadour. We are enjoying the contact with other pilgrims on this trip, and missed that when we walked in Italy last year.

We are now in the village of St. Eulalie, in the Cele Valley. Our B&B is very nice, and last night we ate dinner on their patio al fresco. I confess that when we saw the table set outside we ran back to our room and put warmer clothes on, as it's a bit chilly in the evening. There were seven of us eating together, three French, and Australian couple, and us. We had a very enjoyable visit with the Aussies.

Today was another 24 km walk, and Russ's feet are hanging in there. We have some shorter distances the next few days, which will help, and we are stopping for breaks more frequently. Our feet really appreciate the boots coming off, even for a short time. There is no cell service here, and we need to make a few more reservations for accommodation. Our host here is calling on our behalf. Some of the tiny villages in this valley do not have many places to stay, but we are also hoping the number of pilgrims on the trail will start decreasing, now that it's later in September.

Will post some photos that Russ has taken lately....was hoping to post some videos, but doesn't appear to be possible on this blog. Til later, au revoir.

Dark and stormy night in Livinhac

Old bridge at entrance to Livinhac

Linda walking in the morning mist

French rooster we see everywhere

Good day fishing!

Huts originally used to provide shelter for shepherds

Sun breaking through after we left Figeac

Figeac is in that white hole!

Foie gras factory is not something you see everyday

In the Cele Valley, close to St. Eulalie

 

 

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Conques (cont'd), Cows & Corn

I am writing this as we wait to check into our gite in Livinhac-le-Haut. The unfortunate thing about walking shorter distances is that you arrive before check in time, so have to hang out somewhere and wait. This gite should be interesting, as it is owned by an Italian couple, who will be feeding us also!

Last night we had a lovely lamb dinner at a restaurant in Conques, sitting on a romantic terrace overlooking the town. We had an hour to kill before the nighttime tour of the church started, so thought we would just sit in the church and wait. We hadn't realized that there was a benediction service for pilgrims taking place, so we caught the very end of it. Everyone filed out of the church and congregated outside in front of it, where a priest then proceeded to give a "talk". It seemed that he was explaining the meaning of the bas relief on the front of the church, but that's just a guess. By the time he finished, it was 9:30 and everyone filed into the church and climbed up to the second floor where we paid the admission to gain access to the higher floor. The same priest who had given the talk started playing the huge pipe organ as people slowly walked the perimeter of the magnificent building, up VERY high! Special lighting was used to accent the detail on the pillars, and it would change colours once in awhile - meanwhile the priest was playing the most beautiful music, a mixture of "churchy" and secular pieces. The climax came when he played both "Whiter Shade of Pale" and "House of the Rising Sun"!! We couldn't believe it at first, but it was very powerful, and he certainly is talented. He sells CDs that have both of those songs on them. I'm sure he would be on YouTube also. Russ did several videos while we were there. After we had finished the "tour", we sat in the pews and just enjoyed the music and feeling in there. Two bats were flying around, way up high, so that added to the atmosphere!

There was a lot of lightning last night in the hills around Conques, and this morning it was damp and foggy. We rode by taxi to a town called Noailhac and we were soon way above the fog, in brilliant sunshine. Our plan today was to walk Highway 580, which has marvellous views, is fairly level, and with a bit of planning on Russ's part, would get us to this town without too many ups and downs. We arrived here at 1pm, just in time to get a sandwich and a couple of cold beers before the bar closed! Despite being on pavement, it turned out to be a very pleasant walk. Russ navigated with the iPhone, and I don't think we could have done it without the app that he has been using, which shows where we are, but also the GR and all the other roads, etc. We always know where we are with this app, so it has been great! Not that we have really needed it until today...the signage is so good on the GR that it's hard to get lost. (Russ adds that the app is Pocket Earth Pro and the GR 65 tracks were downloaded from www.gr-infos.com)

Stained glass in Chapelle Saint-Roch

Saw a couple of interesting things this morning that we want to share with you. In a pasture we watched a young calf with its mom, and noticed immediately that the calf looked very weak. Mom's udder was extremely swollen with milk, but the calf was not feeding. As we were passing, a truck pulled up, a man jumped out, and ran into the field where he tried to get the calf to feed. It was not cooperating at all, despite the man's efforts. We had to carry on, so don't know if the story had a happy ending, but it was interesting nonetheless.

We also got to witness corn being harvested for feed at a large farm. One huge machine was driving through the corn plants, and the chewed up mixture (silage) was spewing out of a big funnel which pointed down into a dump truck that was riding along beside it. Once one dump truck was full, another would come down to the field and be waiting to take over, smooth as silk. It reminded me of a relay race! They were harvesting in a circular shape, and it looked very efficient. Russ got some great video footage of that too, if anyone is interested when we get home - haha.

Corn harvesting

Stylish scarecrow

 

 

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