Walking in France – Page 3

Up and out of Cahors

Today’s climb out of Cahors was my last big climb before I get to the Pyrénées . I’ve noticed that I’m a lot stronger on the hills now and I can power up those climbs. Hopefully I still have that strength when I hit the big hills of the Pyrénées. But I’m also getting quite tired. The effort across multiple days is starting to build. I generally feel pretty good once I’m out walking though.

Leaving Cahors I also said goodbye to The Lot, the river I’ve been circling around for the last week now. From here things will start to change again. I’ll move from seeing the cows of the Aubrac region and into fields of sunflowers and corn. I passed my first sunflower field today but sadly they were yet to bloom. Hopefully there’ll be some more down the road.

Me on the bridge, trying not to let the rain or the big hill worry me

Quick trip to Cahors

A 14km walk today, the shortest day of my Camino so far. And mostly off the road so it felt like a holiday for my feet. More rain, and once again, compared to the heat of last week it was welcome.

Today I walked the whole stage with Karina and Annie. It was nice to chat as we went. When we could see Cahors Annie demanded that we stop and declared that Cahors is the half way point to Saint John de Pied, the point before the Spanish border and the end of the French Chemin. Saint John de Pied will be my half way point, and so I am one quarter of the way through my walk.

Rain

Rain today. After the heat of the last 2 days I appreciated the cooler air. And I’m getting good at pulling out my poncho. Today was also the first stage that my guide book used the lowest category of ‘easy’. The terrain was definitely flatter and easier on the legs.

I walked for 28km, I passed through 4 villages but only one of them had a shop. None had cafes, boulangeries or bars. This will become more common over the coming stages.

My new friend Donald just said, ‘we always start in a hole’. It’s true. Most of the towns we stay in are down in a valley so we have to climb up out of the hole at the start of the day. But tonight is an exception. I’m sleeping up on a hill in a tiny place called Le Pech. So for once, my day tomorrow will start with a downhill walk.

Light forest in either side of the track in the morning.

Opening out into scrub, the scenery keeps changing

Leaving Cajarc

Leaving Cajarc this morning was stunning. The town was having a Sunday sleep in so everything was quiet. I left the town and walked along the The Lot river for some time before climbing up out of the valley. It was going to be another warm day but cool morning air lingered for a bit longer today sling with a cool breeze. The scenery was stunning. I was really tired after yesterday so I took the morning super slow and stopped for quite a few breaks and took lots of pictures.

This part of the Chemin is a lot less popular with the French walkers so the Way Marking isn’t as clear. I need to pay more attention and sometimes at crossroads I have to stop and find the markings. They’re still there, I just have to look a bit harder.

I have now passed the 300km mark. Soles of the feet are hurting quite a bit, especially on the roads. And I have a new blister on my heal. Other than that I’m doing quite well.

I Will Survive

Tough day today. 32km, 32 degrees. More big hills. And much of the terrain was on the roads. The roads are hot and very hard on the feet.

The last 2km into the town I planned to stop for lunch were exhausting. I wasn’t looking forward to the afternoon. But somehow the break revived me a bit.

In the afternoon we had DJ Annie on the decks playing songs on her iPhone speaker. Fun songs everyone can sing along to – Hot Stuff, Higher Love, That’s the Way (I like it) and finally I Will Survive. Sing along and dance. Donald found us half way through singing and dancing to Higher Love.

It was a fun way to get thorough a hot and strenuous afternoon and up some of the steep hills. Tomorrow will be lighter I hope.

Friends on the trail

There are little patterns emerging now. Most people on the trail seem to keep the same routines and walk at a steady pace. So it means the daily interactions I have are becoming predictable. It’s nice.

There’s Donald from Canada who starts a little later than me but walks a lot quicker. He’s always smiling. He plans to walk the French portion of the trail and will finish in St Jean de Pied. That will be my half way point. He usually passes me about an hour into my walk.

There’s Laurence, who I often start the day with but as we walk at slightly different paces we seperate during the morning or up the hills. But we regularly arrive at rest stops at around the same time. Today we took our lunch together at a park in St Felix. She is walking a different route from tomorrow, so we’ll be saying goodbye tonight.

There’s also a large group of campers who are always at the bars at night. They seem to start a bit later, but they are strong walkers and often pass me during the day.

And then there’s Karina and Annie who I see regularly and often catch up with at the end of the stage. And we’ve taken to meeting at the church to go for evening aperitif. Obviously my favourite part of the day.

Todays walk was a little bit quiet. Very peaceful but without the breathtaking scenery of the last few stages. At one point I felt like I could have been going for a bush walk on Red Hill in Canberra. But of course I’m in France and I’m resting in Figeac tonight.

Just like a walk on Red Hill. But different

Big climb

One of the toughest that I’ll do. A 3km ascent that was so steep my watch didn’t even register the distance I was covering. Normally when people come up behind me on the path I hear the clack of their poles. Today I heard the breathing first.

When I pass others we normally exchange bonjours. About half way up the bonjours stopped and were replaced with nods of mutual acknowledgment . Eventually the nods stopped too and it was simply a moment of eye contact.

We all got to the top in the end. And when I did the scenery and landscape changed again. In the afternoon the bonjours were replaced with ‘we made it’. Everyone was so happy to have that hill behind them. I’ll rest well tonight.

Looking back on Conques about half way up

Counting Butterflies

On my way today I noticed that there were butterflies all around. So I decided to spend the next 10 minutes counting my butterfly sightings. At one point there was a flurry of them into the air and I actually couldn’t count them all. There were so many colours, and when I took the time to notice even the ones that I thought were just white had intricate patterns. 75 butterflies. That many butterflies will put a smile on your face that lasts. What a way to spend the morning.

My destination today was Conques. In a happy miscalculation my day was 5kms shorter than I’d anticipated and I arrived early. I went to my Gîte and sat down in the sunshine to enjoy the bread, fromage and apple in my pack. The owner of the Gîte came up to my table with a small glass of champagne from the bottle they’d had at lunch. Surely life cannot get any better.

But then it did. My Canadian friends Annie and Karina who I’d said goodbye to a couple of days earlier walked in. They had decided to take a rest day today and remain in Conque. Champagne and 2 old friends, that’s 78 butterflies.

Conques will be the last stop for many of the people I’ve met along the way. I have spent 10 days walking. If I took the train back to my start point that ride would take a little over two hours. End of post.

Leaving the Lot

Leaving Estaing today I weaved along The Lot river walking along the road through the forest. My ascent was 300m taking me up to an altitude of 600m, not that high compared to the climbs of my initial days on the trail. But the hill was steep and for the first I wondered why on earth I’m walking between towns when I could be enjoying a coffee and then jumping in a cab to my destination. I’m sure this won’t be the last time I have this thought.

The hill kept going. Even when I was sure I was at the top there was more to climb. When eventually I did hit the top the descent started straight away. It was hard on the legs and once again I was very happy to have my waking poles.

Despite the tough hills there are other moments that are breathtaking. The scenery continues to change and reward. And the walking is very peaceful.

P.S. My blisters seem to have healed. Very relieved. Feet are in good shape!

Google says…

That my walk will take 2.5 hours today. What?? I was checking the location of my hotel before I left this morning and yep, if I walked along the roads my 6.5 hour day would have been much shorter. Why on earth am I walking up all these hills?

While I was walking a guy pulled over in his car and wanted to talk to me. In Australia this might have felt really threatening, but here it was ok. He asked if I was going all the way to Santiago and he told me I was crazy, ‘Haven’t you heard of a plane?’, he said gesturing a plane taking off. We both laughed and went on our seperate ways.

As I left Saint Come today I walked over the Lot river. It was swollen from the rain of the past few days and there was mist all around. My path today would take me up and through 2 other towns along the river. Once I left Saint Come I climbed up over the hill through the mist. It was hard going but lovely to be in the mist and the thick green forest. At first when I got to the top I thought I was going to miss the view due to the mist. Luckily the mist broke and I saw the stunning valleys below.

Why am I walking up all these hills? Many reasons. I am enjoying the challenge of the steep inclines, and I love looking back and seeing where I’ve been. Today I also had the privilege of descending down into Espalion and Estaing. It was breathtaking.

Looking back to Saint Come after crossing The Lot River

Goodbye to Aubrac

As I left St Chelay this morning I said goodbye to beautiful Aubrac region. As soon as I climbed out of the valley the terrain started to change. I was in the forest and today I would walk part rivers and streams. In Aubrac I saw many different shades of green. Now I see yellow in the countryside.

While I am descending off the Aubrac pass, the terrain is undulating and there are still many challenging climbs. The downhill stretches are exceptionally steep. I am glad I split this stage into two. I could enjoy the scenery and an easier pace.

The number of pilgrims is starting to thin out. Unfortunately there are stories of people ending there path due to blisters or other injuries. Others simply stopped due to short holidays. I’m now walking longer stretches where I don’t see other pilgrims. I like the time to think but I have to be careful to pay attention to the way markings when there’s no one else to follow.

I am now one week in to my Camino. I am tired but I am also adjusting to the weight of my pack and my feet are holding up. At the end of my stage tomorrow I will have walked more than 150km.

I rest tonight in Saint Comme, another pretty village. Looking forward to a shower and dinner as always.