Cahors

Have been listening to cuckoos along the trail. Spent much of the past two days on rocky limestone trails that are original Roman roads--not kind to the feet! When we are on asphalt we spend time picking our way around myriad snails, slugs and earthworms. We have come more than 340 kilometers so far. We are sleeping ten hours at night and seem to need every minute of it.

Cindy*s Achilles tendons have been causing her some concern and she spent a couple days tottering about but is on the mend, her speed increasing and no apparent pain. I don*t have a time limit so I will attempt some pics.


Alas it won*t read my card. I*ll try to figure a workaround soon. We plan a rest day in Moissac on Saturday and will, hopefully, find Jack again.

Have I mentioned how much the French like their bread???

Figeac

The environment has changed fairly dramatically. In the Aubrac region it was high, cool and barely spring. The buildings were mostly of rock--moss and lichen covered with slate roofs. Now it is more Mediterranean with stuccoed houses with red tile roofs, even a few banana and palm trees. It looks like we will be walking in rain the next few days.

We walked 30 miles in the last 2 days so we will go only 6 today. We have met some interesting people--have walked the last few days with Jack, a big Dutchman who farmed in Sweden 17 years and then sold everything and is now walking the Camino. Latesha is a young (22) French woman with the most musical laugh that always makes us smile. Sharon was an attorney from Connecticut married to a Frenchman and living in Paris for 20 years.

We stayed one night in a tower where they once raised silk worms. Many of the villages are so small there are no restaurants so we have a communal meal with all the guests at the auberge.

Time is up--buen camino

Conques!

We are taking a day off here in Conques (pronounced conk), having walked a bit over 200 kilometres in all. We've had sun, clouds, and a couple days of light drizzle. We've spent nights in a yurt, an old prison, a monastery, an old farmhouse. The food has varied as well. Breakfast is generally coffee and tea, juice, bread, butter, jam--then we stop and have a picnic about two hours later!

The trail surfaces have run the gamut from asphalt to cobblestone to dirt to gravel and fairly slippery rocks. I think we're through the worst of the up and down until the Pyrenees. We're feeling strong and are able to cover more ground faster, though we don't cover more miles--we just stop earlier.

End of day 6, 133 kilometers--you do the math.  The weather has been absolutely beautiful--clear blue skies, frosty in the mornings and warm in the afternoons.  Two nights ago we stayed in a huge rock farmhouse/barn/dairy that is part of a 19 farmer cooperative. All of the food is from the farm or produced locally. The next night our host fixed a local specialty called aligot--potatoes and new cheese and creme fraiche pureed into a stiff paste like bread dough. It was delicious but we were tiring of meat and potatoes. Last night we stayed in a yurt. The countryside was very much like the moors in Scotland. The proprietress was a teacher as well. She fixed us lentils and rice. The yurt was big enough for ten but we were the only ones there because it was not really open--I think she just did not see Americans very often. (I cannot find the apostrophe)

Tonight we are in St Chely d Aubrac. We have come down nearly 1500 feet in elevation and are back to spring wildflowers.  We plan to take a rest day in Conques on Tuesday so I will write more then. We are all well-no blisters--and are having a fabulous time.
Buen camino!
Robyn

Bonjour...working on a borrowed computer with a french keyboard and slow internet. We are better than well--it has been an amazing trip so far. We have walked 37 miles in three days through a picture-perfect springtime: fruit trees are blooming, lilacs, buttercups, violets. Our first night was in Montbonnet where we met a mother-daughter from Germany, a mother-son (he is 12) from France and another single woman from France: a raucous good tome. Weleft them behind the next day by walking 15 miles--a hard day but good food and great hostels. Must return this computer. More later (and photos I hope). Last night was Sagues, tonight is Le Sauvage.
Robyn

Thanks before we go...

People go on pilgrimages for a variety of reasons, many religious, some spiritual. In my case, I hesitate to call this a pilgrimage--I just like to walk! I'm also pretty happy about going nearly 3 months without vacuuming or cleaning a bathroom, but somehow that seems rather shallow. Tom and Cindy will have to weigh in with their own reasons.

At any rate, we're off to the airport in a few days and are in the final throes of getting packed and organizing the pets. We owe a huge thanks to Pat, Marel, Daniel, Lu Ann, and in Cindy's case, Jim and Carol for taking care of our pets and possessions, allowing us to be away for so long.

Buen camino!
Robyn