September 11: There was a spring in our step when we headed out this morning before eight from Le Soulie. We were walking to Conques, another fairytale village and major highlight on the Via Podiensis. It was sunny but with a little more cloud cover than we’ve had in recent days. We were hoping it wouldn’t be too hot again, but at least we only had 15 km to go. We went through some lovely little villages on the way….
September 10: We were up and out of our gite (B&B) in Estaing this morning at 8 AM, but didn’t leave town until 10:30 AM when the Compostel’ bus came along. Twenty minutes later we were in Golinac. It would have taken us at least four hours to walk there. Already the day was heating up so it was time for a cold drink (beer with lemon) before beginning a short six kilometre walk to Le Soulie. Pilgrims were arriving…
September 9: Oh how we love France! Three hours ago Dave and I were at an outdoor patio drinking what I imagined to be mead but was actually beer. It must have gone straight to our heads since we hadn’t yet eaten. What a perfect state to be in for people watching. Believe it or not, the people passing by were knights in shining armour, their ladies, jesters, wenches, scoundrels, and pilgrims. Dave said he thinks he could live here! 🤣 …
September 8: Aubrac, the village where we stayed last night, has a population of only fifty people. Even though it is tiny, it has an interesting history that began in the 12th century. The Flemish Viscount Adelardo described this place as “horrible, very lonely, terrible, wild, dark and uninhabitable.” He suffered an attack by bandits and then promised to build a hospital if he survived, so that pilgrims would not have to suffer his fate. Pilgrims were offered security against…
September 7: How can each day be more scenic than the day before? It’s true! There aren’t enough superlatives to describe the beautiful and unique landscape between Les Quatre-Chemins and Aubrac. Cows were grazing in extensive meadows with just small villages, chapels, crosses, and stone walls all along the way. Huge stones dotted the landscape as a result of glacial radicals deposited thousands of years ago. Another thing they have here are footprint toilets.🤪 Interesting! We avoided using the first one…
September 6: We thank our lucky stars for all the gorgeous mornings we keep having. This stretch of good weather wasn’t predicted when we left home at the end of August. This morning the sun was peeking up over the hills and the temperature was a cool 13C when we left Les Estrets – perfect for hiking. Low lying fog had settled in creases in the valley adding character to the already beautiful view. We climbed the trail that led…
September 5: Walking in the cool mornings is so much easier than in the heat of the afternoon, so we prefer arriving at our destination as early in the afternoon as possible. The temperature goes up to 31C by mid-afternoon and sometimes shade is nowhere to be found.🥵 The descent from Domaine du Sauvage to Saint-Alban-sur-Limagnole this morning was gradual (900 metres down in 13 kilometres) and the farmland was beautiful and so were all the cheese-producing cows. By the…
September 4: What a day! The scenery was gorgeous again but what stands out most is about getting lost.🤩 Can you believe we went six kilometres out of our way? That’s what can happen when you’re hot and in need of a cold drink. Going off trail to get it was our first mistake! We met Josie and Richard from Montreal who needed a cold drink, too. We sat on a patio cooling off, chatting, and we headed off together feeling…
September 3: When we woke up at 7:20 AM this morning, we started to panic! How could we possibly be ready to leave our gite (B&B) in 40 minutes? We splashed water on our faces, jumped into our clothes, finished packing, ate breakfast, and were out by 8 AM. Whew! 😅 Maybe we can sleep in like this all the time. Today was a blank slate. We had no idea what was ahead except for a very steep climb out of Monistrol…
Dave wanted to get an early start this morning so he could get pictures of the sunrise. I was more interested in breakfast, even though it was just the usual French bread with butter/jam, juice, and coffee. By the time I finished breakfast and headed out, I was surprised to see Dave still in Montbonnet! Unfortunately he had taken two wrong turns and had to backtrack. So we did end up leaving Montbonnet at the same time after all –…