Rest Day
Weather: Cloudy and cold and passing showers
Accommodation: Auberge Saint Jacques
Feelings: Neil - Relaxed ,Henk - Relaxed, Di - Tired and relaxed
We met Bree and Cathy at breakfast and farewelled them dressed in their wet gear. The forecast for rain was 50%. We won’t see them again on the walk as they are having fewer rest days than us and will arrive in St Jean Pied de Port a couple of days ahead of us. As they left we took a photo outside our hotel alongside the wooden statue of St James.
We were pleased to have the rest day. I woke up feeling very tired as I’ve now got Henk’s minor sore throat and I consequently had a restless night, so the timing for a rest day was good for me.
Our hotel is only 100 metres from the basilica along a cobbled lane. The entire village has cobbled lanes and we strolled through these narrow, medieval streets and it felt like we were walking back in time.
It is remarkable that the small village is so well preserved from revolutions and renovations. We went to the tourist office to have our credential stamped. These are starting to build up.
The village is dominated by the large Romanesque basilica dedicated to St Foy and the Benedictine monastery. The semi-circle low relief architecture of the Last Judgement at the entrance of the basilica is very well preserved and impressive. It consists of 124 figures and dates back to the 12th century. On one side is heaven and the other hell.
Following a morning coffee we attended part of the mass at eleven o’clock to listen to the Pyrenees Men’s Choir during the service. Their voices carried throughout the interior and was beautiful. Neil saw them perform yesterday afternoon and said they were impressive. At six o’clock we went to Vespers and we missed it again. Yesterday we arrived too late at 6.30pm and today an hour late! Neil says they are very good yesterday evening. It was disappointing but I’m sure we will come across more on this pilgrims’ route.
Prior to lunch we visited “St Foy’s Treasure of Conques” which remarkably houses many priceless gold and silver and jewelled relics from the basilica. They have survived religious revolutions and troubled times as they were hidden throughout the village and returned to the church and almost forgotten. They were rediscovered in 1837.
We had a relaxing light lunch at a cafe, La Charlemagne, across the lane from our hotel. We had very good views over misty wooded mountains.
Tomorrow is a big day. The forecast is 100% rain, the walk is 26kms and there are 1000 metres each of ascents and descents. The first place we could buy food tomorrow is 20kms away from Conques at Decazville. This will be too late so we bought some pastries and bread from Conques’ Boulanger as it will not be open earlier enough for us. There is no grocery store in Conques but it does have quite a number of tourist and artisan shops.
We may see fewer walkers from now on as our guide book says that the most popular section of the walk is the ten-day walk from Le Puy-en-Velay to Conques, after which the number of pilgrims diminishes significantly. We shall see. A couple of them left their walking boots at a cross as we entered Conques.
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