Via Podiensis; the GR 65 in France

Friday 30 September and the forecast is good after a couple of days of mild dampness. Talking to the gite d'étape owner over breakfast I am only the second Brit to stay at this gite this year and that is normal as most Brits think of Spain and perhaps Portugal for the camino.  I am trying not to repeat earlier blogs such as my French cycling tour but today was the purest form of French breakfast; tartine with coffee served in what the English would call a cereal bowl. Also, I am walking through an area with lots of dolmens, and as I passed a place offering truffle talks I assume the place is rich in this delicacy.  "Thirty days has September..." goes the popular rhyme and tomorrow being October might explain the brown leaves though I suspect a scorching summer had a part to play. And here is another installation. I had it wound up (40 revolutions!) just in time for a party of four French walkers to hear the song which they h...

Thursday 29th September and I see a small vinyard which I take to mean I am dropping in altitude and I see that I am up and down at around 350m to 150m today. The scenery at the moment is more... Yesterday I had to find a needle in a haystack. Very nearly literally, as I glibly offered a safety pin to a pilgrim who had sat down next to me and was examining his feet. After a moments hesitation I emptied half my rucksack, found my 'on-the-road' bag and tipped it out revealing all my lotions and foot care products. The safety pin revealed itself and was given; I had no wish to have it back. My feet later received a good smooth-down and cream. Perfect. Over this stretch of path someone has built sections of wall with seating and pictures. One provides a clue to the use of the circular stone huts assuming that is smoke billowing out of the apex. Later I come across a walk that takes in quite a number of these cabanes, or stone huts. ...

Wednesday 28 September and the start of an odd sort of day. I didn't see so many people on the way, the forecast rain turns into occasional light drizzle and when I arrive at the gite d'étape I am the only one staying leaving eight empty beds; admittedly it is in the middle of nowhere but it is well placed between two main towns and right on the way. The gite d'étape itself is fairly new and the small collection of buildings it sits within still looks like a building site. The gite has been built with basic materials and fitted out with second hand furniture and bespoke built elements such as pallets for a coffee table and shelves. It does all work and the pilgrims have a large open plan kitchen, dining and living space. Figeac town had been fully booked when I spoke to a member of a group on their phones in the town centre and the people I did speak to today had complained about the long walk to the next town so I wonder why this place has been overlooked.  The host who gr...

Tuesday 27 September and I give no apologies for dating these every day as it's the only way I can keep track of time which can become one 475 mile blur. My reading material so far has been Mark Beaumont's book "Around the world in 80 days" where he describes his 18,000 mile cycle ride circumnavigating the globe in under 80 days starting and finishing in Paris. That means pedalling 16 hours a day maintaining an overall average of 15 miles per hour, only getting 5 hours sleep and the remaining 2 hours 45 minutes (approx.) given over to eating and health management.  I mentioned keeping track of time and the mathematically minded - or time aware - may be asking where the other 15 minutes went. Well, travelling east, Mark was always losing time in every day he experienced. That time is regained on crossing the International Date Line when you put your watch back a whole day. In this way, Mark would enjoy 81 23-hour 45-minute days while the Parisien onlookers experienced ...

Monday 26 September brings a not unwelcome cooler day starting with a climb out of Conques that had an almost jungle feel to it; struggling up through the mist once I had exited the town itself.  The previous night the Abbey put on quite a show which included a concert, a talk about the stone carvings on the outside and a 10 minute long animated illumination of the carvings to highlight the stories, characters and what colours they may have been painted. The concert included an organ recital of Procol Harem's Whiter Shade of Pale and The Animal's House of the Rising Sun which is about a brothel though the music does have an ecclesiastical feel when performed on a church organ. This is the finale but the animated show highlights specific areas at a time. Another up the hill and down the hill day and I started out too brisk so weary towards the end. There is still lots of vintage farm machinery left gathering dust and rust in open barns. ...

Sunday 25 September and I slept well in a double bed in a room to myself. Breakfast was the usual tartine then off into the very light rain that quickly stopped. Interestingly there was a megaphone installation that you wound up then waited to hear part of a song, then wound up etc. I have chosen this imperfect village view as it reminds me that there are still plenty of toilets along the way and today especially. This didn't stop one frenchman crouching behind the small crash bars at the side of the road with his trousers down by his ankles. Luckily I was walking on he opposite side of the road.  Today was the first day I felt any walking fatigue so I didn't rush as I've a few more full days before a shorter day. It was a day of gradual ascents and descents with fantastic views and just a hint of autumn colour which will surely develop over the next three weeks.  I continue to see the cattle crushes and this one h...

Saturday 24th September and I have a 7:45am start to avoid potential rain later; and as the rain did come 30 minutes after my arrival that was good planning. I am walking along the Lot Valley so it is a different feel to previous days. The first town is Espalion and as you approach along the river Lot you get very fine views.  For some reason I am reaching for my phone to check directions on mapy.cz like a trigger happy gun slinger though the signage remains good. This reminds me that people don't bring their phones to the dinner table even though they will be managing bookings and communicating back home. We pass plenty of interesting chapels today. The walnuts are ready and dropping off the trees so I have a pocket full for later. So much so one fell loudly on a tin roof as I took this photo. After a while the route takes a climb up out of the valley floor which is fine though I expect I'll drop back down again; and yes we did drop down aga...

Friday 23rd September and I am dropping down off the higher reaches of the Massif Central. This means no frost and an altogether warmer feel helped by the wind coming from the south-west. It's a short 16km day and I get a good view back to the last village before a roller coaster walk, albeit mostly downhill. If you looked at my Brittany cycling blog you might recall the multitude of calvaries. In this region the crosses are more subtle.  I am including a few scene shots; they aren't photos that catch the eye but they do accurately reflect the landscape, its scale, and its lack of man-made objects such as roads and villages.  Dropping down to the Lot valley.  I have had a deliberately gentle start over the first week but now I am in for 8 days where I am walking 23km to 28km a day. I am keeping an eye on feet, legs, shoulders which are all fine. My only niggle is my rucksack creating some soreness on ...