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.
I saw those stone hut things in Spain too, never did figure out what they were. Similar huts in the Tuscan forest in Italy were Chestnut drying huts which made sense as the forest was mostly chestnut trees.
ReplyDeleteI would like to have seen some of the blooms further down the stem, that were open, on the flower that you wanted identified. It might be one of the wild composite orchid, each blossom on the stem is an orchid. Just a guess
Dale -- thanks for the suggestion, it prompted me to really search on the internet! And finally, mystery solved, it's something much humbler than an orchid, it's a hyacinth for goodness sake: a Tassle Hyacinth (Muscari comosum Family: Liliaceae (Lily)).
ReplyDeleteFrom: http://www.beyond.fr/flora/hyacinthta.html
"A very distinctive plant, with a purple or deep-blue top tassle of infertile flowers with long stalks. The open "tassle" flower-head is often over 20 cm long. the bulbs are sometimes collected and sold in local markets for eating. Often grown in gardens.
Flowers. Mar-May. Size. 15-70 cm (short-tall)
Flower Blossom. 5-10 mm long. The fertile flowers are brown tubes with yellowish teeth or mouth around the opening. The infertile flowers of the tassel top are on upswept stalks."