Stage Twelve: Eglise Saint Roch to Figeac (Aug 22)

The rest day was lovely, and we were really lazy! The owner of the gite lived next door to the gite so we felt we had the home to ourselves.

Another wonderful dinner was had last night and the only other occupants were a French couple hiking a few days with their son who was 22 and in college studying Philosophy, and another female hiker who came in later right about supper time. The gite owner has a Rottweiler named Jade who was a real sweetheart pie!  

I’ve done something I’ve never done before and that was to book most of our stages ahead of time.  Had we not we would have had to camp as everywhere is “ complete” the term used when they are “full”. We were able to take an unexpected rest day and not ruin our booking because I removed a side trip to Racamadour, a place we went five years ago. It was not a part of our pilgrimage and was the only time we took transportation to a place. A train took us the forty minute journey and brought us back to where we got on it in Figeac. By removing that variant it opened up that night. We did the right thing, I personally think every pilgrim should try to go there, and we have, so nothing lost I don’t think. I remembered having to get up before 0500 in Racamadour just to take down hammocks and walk through the woods to the train station, and that’s far from a “rest day”, so we were good!  

Today was a difficult hike because there was no place to stop and get a drink, nothing was open being a Sunday.  We were slightly prepared for this and considered the chances but each time we approached anything that resembled a community our hopes did peak. Arriving to Figeac was like last time, exciting! The river runs through it and a bridge takes you to the city. We had no accommodation and last time camped outside of town, before town. It was nice but a long walk to town. We grabbed drinks, planned our dinner at the same spot as last time and I left Bronwyn to run across the bridge and look for accommodation.  Lucked out to get us in a nice hotel! Lovely bed linens, cozy atmosphere and we felt spoiled! We will sleep in because tomorrow’s hike is not really long and takes us on, in my opinion, the best part of the Le Puy route IF you take it, the Cele Valley, which is a beautiful variant along the Lot river and we are so excited!!!

Stage Eleven: Conques to Eglise Saint Roch

After saying good bye to Laurence and “the boiz”, Paul and Maxence it was difficult to muster up the energy to keep walking. Their absence from our journey is a void, a wonderful bond of friendship developed so quickly between us. 

I’m behind on my blog by about a week so I forgot what I shared but we definitely had tears in our eyes with this good- bye. Bronwyn and I stuck around Conques for coffee and a croissant, best coffee thus far. I forgot that France’s coffee doesn’t really woo me which is a good thing as it’s expensive and I might as well make my own instant coffee (now Spain that’s another story!)….

We hit the post office where I sent off rocks to Jordi, literally heart shaped rocks that we’ve found on the way that will go home with us. At around 11 we were off an hour exactly up out of the valley of Conques. I had taken a look at this stage in my blog from five years ago and we stopped for a wonderful lunch with a heavy old white lab, it ends up I had an image of this exact dog five years ago. When I showed Bronwyn we noticed another dog from the day and both agreed it might not be alive now, it looked alittle older. An hour down the road out comes a bossy dog ordering us to keep on walking, I went to my phone and it was our old dog and even the owner concurred! 

Today we would say bye to the young group of “Leader Scouts” that we see through out the day, an impressive group of about ten teenagers who take turns carrying two huge circular tents on their pack. They are an adorable bunch who were supposed to be in Africa on a mission trip but due to Covid hiking the Camino instead.

Tonight we would pass where much of our group was going, Decazeville and co to us for about an hour more up the hill to a small gite right across from the Eglise Saint Roch. I wanted to stop here because five years ago as the sun was going down the owner motioned all six of us over and asked if we wanted dinner, one of my many regrets on the camino I wish we stopped. It has a new owner now and while we couldn’t communicate freely because of my lack of French and hers of English I can say her place is a gem on the Camino and her dinner was amazing!!  We had a room to ourselves, nice beds, the gite had a piano, drums and just oozed comfort. We arrived exhausted ( don’t we always?), and arrived to beautiful classical music being played on the piano by the only other two occupants there, a lovely couple who had just met on the way!!! We lucked out because often without notice the young guy would go to the piano and just start playing. What a treat to walk up to the door and like a Siren being called to enter by the sound… This young man will never know the gift he provided to us, although I certainly tried to relay it to him. The dinner was absolutely fabulous, the sleep amazing and I’d wake up and ask Bronwyn , “do you want to stay another night?”

































Stage Nine: Saint Come d’Olt to Estaing….???? or onwards….

Decisions, decisions… 

We would wake up this morning with an excellent rest, at a most excellent gite and sent of by our lovely hosts Sabine and Sylvain, a two days hike would put us in Conques the ending point for most of the people we are hiking with. We’ve met only a handful of people going to Santiago and only a handful of non-French. Laurence would explain with school starting back up things would be quieter on the Camino after this point. 

When the kids and I came about two weeks separated our timeframes from this one, and the difference in activity was night and day.  Is it because of Covid? is it because of popularity, is it because of time frame…? I suspect all three…

We had reservations in Estaing, for many, there was no place to stay, and we did know this was pre-reservation was needed. Today would be a normal hiking day and tomorrow a long one at a time we wanted our evening energy to listen to the monk's organ music, have dinner at the monastery and see the light show of the Tympanum at the church. It would be our last night with Laurence a the boys and we didn’t want to be exhausted. 

We arrived at Estaing, had a Coke, and decided to keep on going as close as we could to Golinhac and where the boys were staying. Their destination was complete, but we decided to stay in our hammocks. At 5:15 pm we decided to walk on, sent an email to our host for the evening offering our beds up for the evening, having no idea where our heads would rest this evening. 

We shared that with “MomPower” ( our WhatsApp group with Laurence and the boys) and took off… I estimated 3 1/2 hours of walking. We both admitted we were tired but when we put it into perspective we were tired every day at any moment, so what was the difference? Upon departing from Estaing we ran i to Jeremy, the only American I’ve met so far, a lovely guy, heading to Santiago!!! He and his friend had no place to sleep nor the ability to sleep outside so we shared our reservation with them and they would text later to say they did indeed secure our beds which was a relief to us! 

One hour from golinhac I texted MomPower a picture of the map saying we were a little over an hour away… we arrived at 8:45 at a campground with a gite where the kids and I had stayed five years before!!!!! The lady remembered us as “arriving late, eating lots of fries with ketchup, chocolate milk and being hungry”. Though I remember no one else really there tonight was busy!!!!! Though she had said she was full MomPower had beds in their rooms that we got to sleep in and we fell asleep relieved!!!! We could not be happier!!!!

What a huge sigh of relief and the right decision to keep walking there was no doubt!!!!

Stage Eight: Saint Chely to Saint Come d’Olt

We woke excited that we would be arriving in Saint d’Olt this evening! We would stay Gite Roumiou, a highlight of any Camino! Owned by Sabine and Sylvain, two of the truest angels of any Camino I have ever met! They too are pilgrims and it shows as they know just what a pilgrim needs at the end of a long day hiking. 

Five years ago they motioned for the kids to remove their packs, and an offer to keep them safe at their gite for us to visit the church and enjoy the town. Sabine brought refreshments for the crew, and some of the pilgrims had their feet soaking in tubs of water when we arrived. I knew this year I wanted to stay there!  This morning we got out and had coffee and met up with a group of Ducati motorcyclists, my hubby has a Ducati, or as I put it “ he has the Ducati but I have a cute jacket”, and spent our coffee time chatting about Ducatis. 

We were excited to meet up with Laurence, Paul and Maxance and walked to our gite together. They still had two hours to go, something my brain could not even comprehend after a long wonderful picnic in town. We picnicked until our wonderful gite opened. “The Cute Couple”, Flo and Oliver joined us. They really are a cute couple, but they earned their name yesterday when in the pastures of Aubrac I turned around to see him cradling her face in a pasture with such sweetness and affection. I took a picture with the hopes that I might meet this couple to share the image, and for no other reason really… I just thought they would want it! Super happy we got the chance to meet them, picnic with them, and have a few nights together.  

It was hard saying buy to our new Camino family mom and the boys… they would stop two hours from us, they would then be about three to four hours past us tomorrow night. We had put ourselves in a situation where we would have a long hike the day of arrival in Conques, a night typically you would not want to be exhausted because of all the festivities a monastery would provide in the evening for the pilgrims. This would weigh heavy on our minds, the walk of 35 kilometers to Conques, we’ve done this and then some but the night of festivities wasn’t an ideal situation. I did have a “ golden ticket” a night in Estaing. One of the most picturesque places in France. There was no bed to be had was the rumor we were hearing. Dinner tonight at Gite Roumiou was splendid, festive, full of laughs, and many conversations we didn’t understand due to the language barrier. Sylvain was quick to translate and offered us “ the best view in the house”, upstairs overlooking the bells of the cathedral. A delightful night!!!!

Stage Ten: Conques to Eglise La Roch

Did I mention the hour-long climb out of Conques? Of course, I did!!!! 

I wore my baseball hat today, the first time on a hike, but my face is pretty red, and thought I needed it. I think it made my incline easier as I could really only see down and not ahead if I positioned my head a certain way. Thus going up looked like fragments of needed leg movement vs the full picture. Lots of road walking today, but a great day. We’re both really sad to see our French family “ Mom power”, Laurence, Paul, and Maxance leave us. It’s hard for me to watch Bronwyn sad with this as well… we hate to see our children sad. 

They joked they’d send us pictures of themselves rested and clean and I said I’d send them pictures of cow, horse, donkey poop in our paths.  Most of the crew we know is stopping tonight in Decazeville, we would walk on three kilometers to a small gite across from the Saint Roch church. Five years ago a sweet lady would beckon us to stop here, I’m not certain if she was offering a bed, dinner, camping in her yard,  or wanted to chat with this mom and young children doing this trip. It was late that evening and we were exhausted so kept going… I would always regret it. So I knew this time I would stop, reached out and there is a new owner. We arrived at 6pm, we didn’t leave Conques until 11 and we took a really long lunch at the same spot as five years ago. 

We ate well!!!! We were greeted by Caroline, a pleasant gal, and her boyfriend and another pilgrim were playing the piano beautifully as we arrived exhausted!!!! ( don’t we always?). An AMAZING dinner, and a sweet gite, just four of us!!!! A room to ourselves and the best night's sleep yet!!!!!!

Over lunch a heavy set white lab greeted us, I went through my pictures to find we had a picture of this exact dog five years ago, but substantially thinner. There was another dog picture taken on this day and we both said it looked older and we doubted we would see it… well… an hour later a dog comes out of the driveway barking at us and it was it!!!! Even the owner confirmed when I shared the image. 

I forgot to mention about an hour from Conques I remembered a donkey VERY well from five years ago with pictures of Aynsleigh toddling with her backpack towards it, I kept looking for the donkey this trip and there he was!!! I screeched with enthusiasm and he brayed at me, and a pack of crackers later our true love had been rekindled!!!! It’s neat being greeted by some of the same animals as years past. The same happened to me on my Norte route of 2014 and 2016, the same sassy dogs captured over the years.