Following Linda and Russ: 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.