Walk Day 10 - Cahors river loop

Sunday, May 31, 2009
Got the walking bug now so, on my last day I decided to explore the GR36 which runs along the Lot River out of Cahors. Left at 8am and walked to Laroque des Arcs and back -- a nice little 9klm round trip and back by 10:15.


As on the GR65, there's the familiar red and white marker on the lamp post on the right.

A garden alotment.

Scullers and fishermen.

Laroque des Arcs -- half these buildings are built right into the rock.

Walk Day 9 - Day of rest in Cahors

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Caught the bus to Cahors at the bottom of the Labouysse's lane (an on-demand service ordered for me last night by the missus at Labouysse merci bien) at 8:20 this morning. It took less than hour to get to town although it took me two days via the GR65 but then that's not the point, is it?

Explored Cahors, visiting the Pont Valentré again, wandering through the Saturday market, stopping for Kir Royales and rosé's as I went along.






Flavoured with violet...




Cahors has a great self-guided tour of "secret gardens" like this one behind the cathedral.

Walk Day 8 - Lhospitalet to near Montcuq

Friday, May 29, 2009

Decided to use the baggage service again today so walked lightly! Was dropped in Lhospitalet by my hosts at "Les Tuileries" at 8:30am and arrived at my B&B "Labouysse" about four klms before Montcuq at 2pm -- just over 17klms. Sunny all day and the hottest one so far -- 27 or 28C -- and perhaps the least shady. The landscape has changed and is more open, less hilly, with more grain fields and the earth is grey/white as opposed to the distinctive red earth before Cahors. Far fewer other walkers on the trail today and yesterday, not sure why.

Too bad this has to be my last day on the trail because I'm feeling so much stronger and my hips and legs are no longer screaming at me. The lack of Sunday and holiday bus service in the area mean I'll have to return to Cahors tomorrow morning, Saturday, if I'm to catch my train on Monday and make the flight on Tuesday morning in Paris.





A little field airport.


Only the second day I was seeing the yellow gorse bushes.


Morning rest stop -- a surprise little park before Lascabanes.








Entering Lascabanes. You'd think there'd be a store or café but no.


Leaving Lascabanes -- a nice looking B&B and restaurant but resto only open in evenings.

St. Jean de Froid -- gorgeous little chapel

These are little sunflower plants -- imagine the field in two months...

The whiteness of the trail at midday made it feel hotter than it was but the breezes were still cool, feeling as if they were blowing down out of the mountains behind me.

The cutoff to my B&B, "Labouysse" about 4 klms before Montcuq.

M. and Mme Couture, who've farmed this land for 32 years, and also served a brilliant farm-fresh meal including a wonderful spinach dish.


"Labouysse's" main tower dates from the 1600s.

The view from my bedroom down into the valley.

My bedroom.

Walk Day 7 - Cahors to Lhospitalet

Thursday, May 28, 2009
There was no clothes line at the hotel last night so since I was in a fair size town decided to find a laundromat to dry everything off and promptly melted a pair of polyester undies! This meant I started late this morning, leaving the Pont Valentré at the edge of Cahors at 10:30am -- took wrong turn-offs twice today (daydreaming!) -- and arrived in Lhospitalet at 4:30pm about 13 klms later.

It was a clear hot day with a fair amount of ups and downs so I was grateful for the cool spring breezes. Stopped every 90 minutes or so for a rest and, in the heat of the midday, actually stopped for an hour and read my book in the shade. Feeling stronger and no longer need to use ice packs at night.

The Pont Valentré built in the early 1300s. A German man I walked with told me that the yore of the bridge is that its builder did a deal with the devil in which the devil would get the bridge when it was finished -- so the builder never put the final stone in.

A couple of days later someone told me about this little devil at the top of the west tower so I went back to photograph it.

View leaving Cahors. The hill on the far right is the one I descended yesterday on the way in to town.

Just outside Cahors, one of the rare places the trail was near a highway.

Next to the gite at Les Mathieux.

Church at Labastide-Marnhac.

Labastide-Marnhac -- roses. As usual, all windows are shuttered against the heat from about 11am to 4pm.

Coming in to Lhospitalet. The woman from my B&B came and picked me up at the church tower ahead. Most of the B&B's more than 500 metres off the trail offer the same service -- but you need a mobile phone to take advantage of it.

Church in Lhospitalet -- and that's Joan of Arc on the right.

My bedroom at Les Tuileries. Another wonderful homemade meal tonight: salad composé with duck paté and radishes followed by duck legs on a bed of beans flavoured with tarragon followed by a plate of local Rocamadour cheese and homemade tiramassou. And bought a sandwhich for the road the next morning before being driven to the church in Lhospitalet.

Walk Day 6 - ...into Cahors

Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Another perfect day for walking -- sunny but cool, I needed the sweater to start the day. For the first time I order baggage service and for 8 Euros (left in the top pocket of my backpack at the front door of the Le Gascou farmhouse) it will be delivered to my hotel in Cahors. Yahoo.

Left at 8:45am and arrived at Cahors, some 16klms later, at 12:45pm. Cahors' in the River Lot valley so had another mean descent into town. Except for that, it felt like I was dancing along the trail without the pack on my back today.


Somebody's sculpture -- stones hanging in the trees.

From the gite it's about 800 metres to rejoin the GR65 again, but the signage is good, as seen here.

Carved stone bricks -- this is the first area I've noticed these.

A glorious hedgerow...

Only twice did the trail run near or by a highway. Note white and red trail marker on the signpole marking trail which went under the highway.

Poppies and daiseys...

Might this have been the base of a windmill? There were a few other old "moulins" in the area.

Newly laid stones on the road -- hell on the feet.

These guys usually fluttered in pairs and were all along the trail.

If you know what this Martian-looking flower is please let me know. (Much later: I discovered this is a Tassle Hyacinth -- who knew hyacinth's could look like this!)

Descending into Cahors. Mid-photo you can barely see the three towers of the medievel bridge, Pont Valentre. The next day's trail started from there and went back up those hills.

The cathedral in Cahors -- the oldest part built between 1108 and 1153 (or something). This walled garden added in the 1800s.

When I entered the main church (this is a side chapel) there were two cyclists wandering about and the woman stopped at the front and started singing. She had a big beautiful voice and the church's acoustics were fantastic. Another magic moment.

My bedroom at the top of La Paix, a very decent little two-star hotel in the old part of the city right across from the daily market -- very handy for fresh bread, yogurt, fruit, etc.