Day 25 - Moissac - Auvillar - 26 May

Time Departed: 8.30am

Time Arrived: 1.30pm

Distance: 20kms 

Cumulative Distance: 439 kms

Percentage Completed: 56% (732,800 steps) 

Weather: Sunny and warm 

Accommodation: Hotel de L’Horloge 

Feelings: Neil - Happy, Henk - Happy,  Di - Good

We started the day at the Saturday markets at Moissac. They were just starting when we arrived and there was an interesting array of both foods, plants, flowers, new goods and second hand goods. All the food was very tempting. 

Today we moved into the Gascony region which is a rich agricultural area and has the natural borders of the Pyrenees Mountains, the Atlantic Ocean and the Garonne 
River. The walk was flat all the way until shortly before we arrived at our destination of the fortified village of Auvillar. Auvillar is classified as one of the most beautiful villages in France. We walked mostly alongside the Canal of Garonne which runs parallel to the Tarn River. It was a lovely, easy walk mostly under large, shady trees on tarmac. We tried to walk on the grass verge to lessen the impact on our feet. 

We met Tom from Bude, England and spent some time walking with him. He had lived in Darwin so there were plenty of stories to share. At eleven thirty we came across a pop-up type cafe at one of the canal’s locks. It was a good opportunity to stop and have a break and have an early lunch. 

As we walked into Auvillar the French were making the most of a sunny, warm Saturday by lunching in the outdoor cafes. We arrived at our hotel at one thirty and our very friendly hotel manager gave us a cool, local mineral water. It was very refreshing. As we arrived early our rooms weren’t quite ready but we didn’t mind sitting in the lounge area drinking the mineral water. Our bags hadn’t arrived either so when we went to the rooms I had an afternoon nap for thirty minutes. It’s the first time I’ve done hd an afternoon nap on the trip and I fell into a very deep sleep. I was only woken by Neil knocking on our door telling us that our bags had arrived. After a long soak in the bath we were ready to visit the village. 

The circular market hall, the Halle, is an impressive circular structure built in 1830. It is large and twenty columns support the roof. The village was an important producer of earthenware and goose-feather quills.

Our timing was perfect as we came across a loud, shambolic parade of the whole town celebrating the cutting down of a tree. The celebration was called “Fete de la Saint-Noe”, the weekend after Pentecost and is a two-day event. 

The whole town, young and old, seemed to be decked out in traditional costumes including the men wearing very old clogs. It was a lot of fun as the parade first came through the village with tractors and cars with the tree. The tree was then carried through the streets with women and girls leading the way in circular dancing accompanied by a small brass band. 

Following the initial festivities we went onto the church for the Pilgrim’s mass. This was followed by drinks on the terrace at the front of the hotel and the band came by again. It was a lot of fun. As the evening wore on the young were getting more inebriated and we withdrew into the hotel at eigtht o’clock for dinner.