Day 18 Moissac

Tuesday 4 October and I would like to start with a simple plea. If you want to tell a story, get your facts straight. Last night I was reading at the kitchen table when the Canadian came in and recounted the story of a punishment set by one of the Greek gods, you know, the one where someone gets to push a boulder up a hill for all eternity for cheating Death. Trouble is, the Canadian gets the person's name wrong thinking it was Pericles and he also gets the reason for the punishment wrong thinking it was for giving the power of language to mortals thereby prompting them to argue all the time. If that wasn't bad enough, he went on to compare that punishment with his own daily ordeal of carrying his rucksack. The carrying of a rucksack is not an ordeal, it gets easier every day as you become stronger and conditioned, and there is always an end to it whether you walk for a week or four months. One joy of going for a long walk is that you get to let things go, it's not a Sisyphean task set as punishment for tricking Death. So yes, it was Sisyphus who was tasked with pushing the boulder up hill for all eternity and I guess he is still at it.

In defence of the Canadian he merely did what we all do which is to fill in the blanks the best he could, or at least something in his subconscious did. You can see how it would go. It's a Herculean task so it must have been Hercules, but that's not right as the labours of Hercules were a set of challenges or quests. So what sounds like Hercules, I know, Pericles. Let's ignore the fact that Pericles was an actual Greek politician and go with Pericles as our boulder pusher. Nearly there, can't remember that the reason for the punishment was cheating Death so I'll randomly pick a reason that I can remember. 

Sorry for the rant but I was provoked. At least I can visit the pyramid and unwind.

Today I reach Moissac which is the third largest of the main towns on the route though none of the towns on the way are that large. Moissac sits on the river Tarn close to where the Tarn and the river Garonne meet so you can see where the department (Tarn-et-Garonne) got its name. The Garonne itself was made navigable and runs from the Mediterranean at Sete to the Atlantic at Bordeaux and is home to one of the standard French cycle tours for those that like it flat and also the Bordeaux-Sete railway which we will come to later. The walk to Moissac is the first of three less than average distance days for me after which I pick up the pace again. 

I mentioned Lamborghini tractors earlier and of course the car manufacturer Renault also make tractors though it is unusual to see any in the UK. In common with other agricultural machinery newer models have curvier lines, I assume for reasons concerned with aerodynamics and speed. You can see the boxier older shape in the background. 

I have been sitting down with the French every night for a three or four course meal with wine. The starter is often the vegetable course, the main is meat and rice or a variation of protein and carbohydrates, cheese is quality but small portion and desert is a small sweet thing. The French themselves manage to eat with gusto but not greed. The plate will be re-used for each savoury course for which bread is taken using the table rather than a side plate. Gusto, not greed.

Not much to report on the trail apart from more fruit and another installation; 40 turns gets you a minute of song.

The highlight of Moissac is it's Abbey, with the Saint-Pierre church and adjoining cloister. Like many churches Saint-Pierre was rebuilt and now has 12th century lower masonry (displaying Romanesque architecture) and now supporting a more perpendicular brick built gothic architecture from the 15th century as was the trend. It is Winchester cathedral in the UK that best shows this architectural upgrade. The old rectory was demolished in the 19th century to make way for the Bordeaux-Sete railway (I said we'd come back to that) and you can still hear the trains speeding past if you wait long enough.

Slightly unusually the main entrance faces south onto the town and the Romanesque tympanum shows heaven and he'll like the one at Conques.

This isn't the best photo but it shows a few things. The river Tarn which is small compared to the Garonne but it is still big enough to see at a distance. It was a long climb up to my accommodation where this photo was taken and which had no record of my booking but did have space; being French they made a long but friendly conversation of it. In the distance are the fertile plains I have dropped down to. I escaped the heat today and need to do the same tomorrow as it is hot and cloudless like today.

Despite a hand-wash yesterday I noticed a smell today and realised it was me. The gite do a wash and dry laundry service so I am in long trousers and going commando.