Time Departed: 8.15am
Time Arrived: 3.00pm
Distance: 25kms
Cumulative Distance: 245 kms
Percentage Completed: 31% (411,600 steps)
Weather: Cold, very overcast
Accommodation: Hotel des Bains
Feelings: Neil - Excited, Henk - Happy, Di - Positive
This was a good day of walking as the poor weather of the previous day had gone. Martine brought Neil back to our accommodation in the village and she took our two suitcases back to her house for collection. She runs her business like a well-oiled machine. Our day started in the usual manner with a trip to the Boulanger for morning tea and lunch supplies followed by a steep climb from the village for the next half hour. At the top we had limited but pretty views over the countryside.
It was cold but not as cold as yesterday as it hit a high of 12 degrees at one stage and there was no wind. We set out in six degrees and it was drizzling and this quickly turned into an hour of Scotch Mist. After this we didn’t have any wet weather for the remainder of the day. The majority of the walk again was on the UNESCO World Heritage List. We walked through boggy forests, small villages (with no shops), alongside farmland, country tracks and tarmac roads.
An hour into our walk we came upon a cross which signified the junction point where three provinces met. From the 17th century a large cross stood at the site but this eventually succumbed to the elements. In 2013 the three provinces erected another cross on the site and it is based on the original design.
After only 1.5 hours of walking we came upon a small coffee room at the back of the church at Montredon. It was pay by donation. As both shelter and coffee places are few and far between we decided to stop even though it was a bit early. Henk put the kettle on and we settled onto the park bench with our pastries when a group of eight French walkers arrived. We made it just in time.
The track took us to the small 12th century Chapel of Mary Magdalene which has 15th century frescoes in the vault area. They looked quite primitive and are apparently animal representations of the four evangelists.
We are still passing many rustic farm buildings which are still used.
There’s also increased sightings of sheep. Today’s sheep were a special breed of the area as they have a black rims around the eyes and black ears.
We arrived at the little village of St Felix at 12.30pm and it was a good time for lunch. We found park benches alongside the village church and it was good to sit down. We rested for about thirty minutes before setting off again.
About an hour from our destination of Figeac we saw a small, circular stone hut which was built by shepherds.
It was a very, very steep descent on tarmac into Figeac. I remarked that I thought it was the steepest so far and was grateful it wasn’t like the steep bog of yesterday when we walked into Livinhac-Le-Haut. Our hotel is directly on Figeac’s fast flowing river so we are in a good position. We have a good view of the river and old bridge from our hotel room. Figeac is the largest town we have stayed in on the route with a population of about 10 000.
We made good time today as there were a couple of sections which have been changed and reduced the length of the walk. When we arrived at the hotel we were given covers for our shoes. They are experienced dealing with walkers!
Neil’s bag had arrived but our’s hadn’t. It was a good opportunity for me to have a quick snooze prior to their arrival.
As previously arranged our hotel didn’t provide dinner and we had a delicious four course dinner at a local restaurant.
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