Day 17 - Cajarc - Limoges-en-Quercy - 18 May

Time Departed: 8.40am

Time Arrived: 2.30pm

Distance: 20kms 

Cumulative Distance: 296 kms

Percentage Completed: 38% (501,700 steps) 

Weather: Initial fog, fine and sunny, max 22

Accommodation: Chambres d’Hotes, Mme Gavans 

Feelings: Neil - Happy, Henk - Enthusiastic,  Di - Content 

We walked out of the lovely village of Cajarc in a thick fog firstly under the suspension bridge and then alongside the river. We chose the alternate GR65A route so we could see Cajarc’s river. All was calm and quiet with beautiful reflections. Before a weir we rejoined the GR65 route at the end of the riverbank and started climbing up the escarpment. As we slowly climbed we could see the fog lifting above Cajarc. 

There was a route diversion through the very tiny village of Gaillac and this avoided a busy road and added about a kilometre to today’s route. We saw the village with the church spire and rising fog from a ridge across the valley. It took us fifty minutes to descend down the valley to the Lot River, cross its bridge and take the route diversion up to Gaillac. Once again Gaillac is like so many of the small hamlets with very old and rustic buildings. 

After the initial climb most of our walk was easy-going in pretty covered woods of oak trees. It was good to have the shade for a cooler walk. This is our first full sunny day since the Aubrac Plateau more than a week ago. The fog quickly disappeared and the first two hours of walking was a steady, long climb to our summit of the day at 350m. 

We then had morning tea and removed the grubs that had fallen on us. We called them ‘drop grubs’ as they were hanging low by a fine thread from the overhanging oak trees and we either collected them as we walked passed or they seemed to fall on us. 

About three quarters of an hour later we came upon a quirky outdoor coffee place and we stopped for a cool drink. It was popular with walkers and also with the locals as an older group of about twelve had set themselves up at a large table with cake and aperitifs. At one stage it looked like there were more bottles of spirits than locals! We were sorry we had to leave as they looked like they were going to have a jolly good time.

Lunch was under shady oak trees on the path at 12.45pm and once again we used a stone wall for seating. We only had about six kilometres to our destination so we were in no hurry. 

Fields of poppies are now springing up everywhere and it’s hard to stop taking photos. We came across an old shepherd’s hut and a field of poppies not far from Limoges-en-Quercy. 

We arrived at our accommodation at two thirty and our bags were waiting for us. The sign on the door said the reception wasn’t opened until four o’clock. There was a cool, covered outdoor area and we made ourselves comfortable and waited. I quickly wrote the blog, Henk practised his French and Neil caught up with his emails etc. All very relaxing after a very pleasant day of walking.

Tonight we were booked into a nearby restaurant. We met up again with the older Sydney couple, Jeremy and Kris. The three course meal was salads with terrines and pates, orange pork and a variety of desserts. Neil and I also tried the local red wine which was very good. It was a great end to a great day.