Day 19 Espalais
Wednesday 5th October and I have taken the high road today rather than the option of following the canal so I can see the confluence of the Tarn and Garonne and here it is.
You will no doubt be wondering about my book trade on day 11 at Figeac when I swapped my Mark Beaumont book for the Sidney Poitier autobiography. He was the first black actor (and first Bahamian) to win the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1964. This is despite the fact that when he was growing up Sidney Poitier's family were as poor as you can be without actually starving; his trousers were homemade from used rice sacks. Imagine going to school with 'Tilda' emblazoned on the seat of your pants (trousers). Sidney got a strong start in life because he managed to develop a keen sense of who he was as a person. As he got transplanted into different (and more racist) environments he kept hold of, and further developed, his values and his sense of himself. Remember that he was born in 1927, published his autobiography in 2000 and died in January this year, 2022. His writing style is very consistent, it is clearly his own 'voice' and rather than using generalisations, he manages to talk about the specifics of the challenges he has faced, the things he is proud of and the things he is not proud of. The book is about the human condition as it applied to him and he only uses film and celebrity references where it links directly to his core values. The book itself has a lot of worth and the issues of self-identity and a person's moral compass apply today to everyone.
Switching tracks abruptly now, Google Translate didn't help with this sign. I took it to mean that the train trumps everything else so watch out.
People are still messaging to say they'd love to do a long walk but are worried about toilet facilities. You will be relieved to hear that the toilet situation continues to be good.
This is the Garonne canal where the tow path is now a popular cycleway. I make a note to myself not to cycle towpaths for too long.
I am hoping this wine press means I am getting closer to bigger vinyards though last night's rose wine was local.
Though the book review is over we are left to ponder a plaque in the spiritual pyramid of yesterday. The plaque in the temple to tranquility just displayed a number.
1.61803398875...
After a short period of reflection I knew in my soul that the number must have meaning so I pondered a while. The pondering prompted some real thinking and I came to an answer. This is the golden ratio and being an irrational number I guess you know it as one plus the square root of 5 all divided by 2. But I need a way to link this to my walk otherwise it's just plain confusing. I could just leap in and say that the positioning of seeds on the sunflower heads I see along the way are governed by (or even defines) the golden ratio but that is a big leap and might leave you wondering about my state of mind on this 475 mile hike. The stepping stone to bridge that divide is our old friend the Fibonacci series, you know the one, 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8,13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, ...., where every number is the sum of the last two numbers. 89 divided by 55 is 1.6181818182 which is close to our golden ratio, certainly closer than 8 divided by 5. If we keep going with our series, say out to infinity (but not beyond) then we get itchingly close to the golden ratio. The conclusion? Relief for all mankind that I didn't persue a career in teaching. Oh, and the phrase "the spiritual pyramid of yesterday" will be the title of my next blog.
UPDATE: A few people have already messaged me to ask how sunflower seeds are related to the Fibonacci series. Well, the seeds create spiralling arms which arc out to the right and if you closer, maybe zoom in, you will see arms that spiral to the left; amazingly the number of spiralling arms to the right and the number of arms out to the left are always two successive numbers of the Fibonacci sequence. The sunflower above has 34 right arms and 21 left arms which are consecutive numbers in the Fibonacci series and 34 divided by 21 (1.619047619) is a fair approximation to the golden ratio displayed in the spiritual pyramid of yesterday. Now, either spend an hour meditating in your own pyramid or pour yourself a stiff drink; though don't overdo it.
On a quiet stretch I meet a walker who is walking in the opposite direction. Chatting, it soon transpires that his intention was to be walking towards Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port the same as me. He had taken the low road, picked up signs in a town which brought him back along the high road and thereby bumping into me. Easily done as the GR65 signage goes both ways but he had travelled maybe five miles against the flow of signage telling him which way Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port was; I suggest he keep an eye on the sun in future as we are usually heading south-west.
I also pick up the Tahitian couple from last night's gite and walk with them for the afternoon stint. Tahiti is a French province but they are happy speaking English. John catches up as I hit my destination and Cloe is sat resting so I get to say hello to both.
In a freshly sown field by the path I noticed that the ground was disturbed. Something had been rootling about and I initially suspected foul play until I realised the grooves and holes made in the soil were too big for chickens. It had to be wild boar and this I verified with my host in the evening. Of course the problem isn't with the boar themselves but the wild boar hunters who can accidentally shoot you.
Looking for my gite d'étape I find it's actually a very affordable Chambres d'Hotes; €50 for half board and they've given me the 'princess' room. Dinner is courgette soup followed by rabbit casserole with dauphinoise potatoes and an apple tart for dessert. Both the aperitif and the wine were local. I was the only guest and the wife was practiced at speaking French that was basic and slow so we actually managed to chat, kind of.
