Caminar ala medieval

yes, it's Los Arcos again. and yes, it's fiesta with bull running again. but not the same albergue, thankfully, as the one I stayed in the first time was a bit weird. more of a short notice today, there are many who wish to use the computer. and no pics because I have a hard time finding a computer with an USB hole.

Sos del Rey Catolico - Sanguesa

I took GR 1 for the start and deviated from it later, and I passed by a fine romanesque church on the way, into which I could peek inside for a minute as the charming key-keepers were leaving for Pamplona. I got two bonbons. :-) I was the first in albergue in Sanguesa and could choose the best bed. the portal of santa Maria church is beautiful and there are many stonemasons' marks which will make Gorazd happy, I hope. I had the luck to see a small exhibition on medieval life in Sanguesa.

Sanguesa - Izco

I really wanted to see Foz de Lumbier gorges. they are magnificant, starting very suddenly with a narrow passage with the ruins of a 16C bridge and ending as suddenly with another narrow passage. both are crossed via two former railway tunnels, but none as long as the one before Aniane. vultures were perched on the tops of the crags. quite a lot of them when I started to zoom in with my camera. and then suddenly they all took to the air and the sky was filled with huge black birds! there must have been at least 30 of them! incredible! absolutely worth seeing.

the rest was national highway.

Izco - Tiebas

this day was on a beautiful narrow path running up and down along the slopes, quite shadowed and with air filled with fragrance of lavander and my favourite tea flower (wild thyme?). albergue in Izco was in a former school, had no hospitalero and was donativo. but totally acceptable. I met the Uruguay couple there, he had a big bump on his forehead cause he fell on the route.

Tiebas - Obanos

this was going to be my very last day of solitude and total freedom before the expected crowds on Camino Frances. I was planning to sleep in refugio at Eunate chapel. but the plans don't always go as we wish them and the refugio was closed (apparently the sign 'hoy cerrado' has been on the door for some time, some Spanish ladies told me). for a magical place Eunate is so praised, it gets lots of tourists, and, honestly, didn't feel very magical. anyway, I had to go on, and opted for the first alberuge on the route, and luckily, not veery big one. it was not too bad.

Obanos - Estella

since there are many things to see in Estella I decided to walk there that day. I did take time in Puente la Reina to admire the 11C bridge from many angles and got photographed with it, too. the Mudejar portal in Ciraqui is really beautiful, it was really a pity that I didn't take time to visit it when I was here the first time. in Estella I opted for the municipal albergue, the big one, and was surprides it didn't botheer me mush to be with so many people at one. I met two young Izraelis who were cutting the route the next day, and a Swiss couple who started from their home.

the main sight in Estella, san Pedro de la Rua church, was of course under restoration for the upcoming año jacobeo next year. but the town made it up top me and I met a famous local artist and craftsman Carmelo who makes reproductions of historical and folklorical objects. he was delighted with my idea of medieval walking and I got a present - a 'credencial' that they used before the modern paper thing became a norm. it is a wooden pendant of particular shape, normally worn on a hat. my hangs from my belt.

Estella - Los Arcos

somehow, I ended in Los Arcos, which was not on my plan, but I met a Slovenian pilgrim here and two nice French pilgrims, we already had lunch togehter. I walked a bit too fast today, I feel it a bit in my muscles. the route was through the beautiful Navarra countryside with pale yellow cereal fields and light brown bushland and green pines on tops of the hills. stretching for ever. I found the tree Roman and Lea photographed foru years ago.

take care!

un pequeño desvio para visitar un muy bonito pueblo medieval, pero primero la description des dias antes. although I mostly speak english with other pilgrims, my spanish is slowly getting into shape. :-)

Santa Cilia de Jaca - Artieda

this was the first day of typical Spanish countryside with pale yellow fields on rolling hills, separated by steep valleys and little gorges. the only difference between this and Navarrese counrty was that here, in Aragon, the horizon is defined by the Pyrenees mountain range - when they care to show themselves, of course. that day they were hidding behind clouds. but that was ok because we had clouds, too, and the sun didn't really burn us until the afternoon.

the route was long, almost 30km, with almost no villages and no fountains (only one, towards the end). I walked the last part of the route with Annette from Germany. although we arrived in Artieda around 15h the albergue was already full. ouch. as we were pretty tired I proposed a good lunch (I saw a fine plate of vegetables some pilgrims were having for lunch that cought my attention) then a 2h rest and maybe we can reach the next village 11km away. if not, we'll sleep outside. I asked hospitalera if she can ring them and ask if they have any free beds for that night. she rang but they didn't want to tell her if there are free beds left or not. then she spoke to the village mair and he said that they will accommodate us in the small sports hall with a toilet. that was really nice! there were even matresses. in the end, there were 12 pilgrims sleeping in that sports room!

a storm was cooking and the village fiesta that took place that evening and night moved to the big sports hall next to our little sleeping chambre about 2h in the morning. with everything, loud music, disco lights, people talking and singing, and men banging on our door, screaming '¡abre, somos guardia civil!, ¡abre, somos gentes sexuales!'. two of them went to the toilet, and Susan, who slept in the entry hall, said they were there for an hour. when I wanted to go there in the morning she warned me that I probably don't want to go to that toilet. I went to albergue instead.

Artieda - Undues de Lerda

the storm cleared up the sky and in the morning a beautiful silhuette of Pyrenees could be seen on the horizon. the first part of the route lead through weird moon-like shaped country with lots of mosquitos, then through a dense forest (a rarity on Camino) with more mosquitos, and emerged on the open at the abandoned and ruined village of Ruesta where only an albergue brings some life to it. it was a lovely contrast of red houses and green pines that surrounded it.

the climb to Sierra de la Peña Musera was long but with some fine views of Yesa lake. although the route was leading through the forest all the time it would be very very hot if the weather wouldn't have been very kind and brought heavy gray clouds that very effectively obscured the sun. I was infinitely grateful because I was a bit short on water and I don't know how would I make if  the sun would be shining.

the descend, however, was amazing. there were stupendous views to the west all the way, and the last part to the pretty Undues de Lerda was on a remarkably preserved roman road (with possibly an original ford - I will have to compare it with the one on Via Domitia). albergue there was in the attic of a 16C Casa Señorial and had a beautiful beamed roof.

Undues de Lerda - Sos del Rey Catolico

I read somewhere that this fine little medieval town with twisting lanes and stony houses with blasoned portals is one of the cutest in Spain. and since it is not that far from Camino I decided to visit it. I descended past the salt-pans of Undues de Lerda (not kidding, they are really salt-pans, I tasted the white stuff) and found an old GR waymarked path in the direction I was taking. I lost it afterwards and made a meandering weist-high wet meadow trail until I came to the road to find the waymarks again. then I mostly followed it across the hilly valley, taking my shortcuts across fields if I felt the road was making a too long bend.

I have to admit that it was most gratifying walking alone again. not that I have anything against other pilgrims but, being on my own so long, I somehow got used to having the whole country to myself, and loved it, too. :-)

Sos didn't dissapoint me. even the albergue is in the restored medieval tower. the streets are really narrow and winding and steep, the coats-of-arms on the portals of all possible kinds, the church has beautifully preserved 14C frescoes in the crypt, and in the interpretation centre in the house where el rey Ferdinando II de Aragon (the one of el Catolico fame, who married Isabella de Castilla) was born, I could see the actual room of his birth, although much altered for the purpose of the tourists. there is even free internet in the library.

tommorrow I have another day of walking in the solitude and I am going to enjoy it. :-)

take care!

it's Anne's last day today, tomorow she takes a bus to Pamplona to leave for France and home. yeah. not everyone can afford a looong holiday as someone can. :-D. it is a bit odd that on my first Camino I walked with Anne from Grande Bretagne for a few days and on this one I walked with Anne from Bretagne for a few days. don't you think?

Jaca - Santa Cilia de Jaca

it was a long day, we reached Santa Cilia only one hour ago. luckily it was pretty cloudy. we didn't do an extremely maratonic route as the Polish pilgrims who we met in Santa Cruz and who walked the hard and poorly marked variant from Jaca to Santa Cruz (including getting lost a couple of times), we just visited one of the most important monasteries in Spain and then took a beautiful path across the mountaneous hills to Santa Cilia. a walk out of Jaca and more or less along the national road was nothing really special. when the road for Santa Cilia branched off we positioned ourselves for a hitchhike (or we could walk a really long day which we didn't want) and as I directed my positive thoughts to a good hike the third car that passed us was the right one. a Spanish and a Bulgarian guy didn't plan to drive all the way to the monastery but ended up doing so. and we were talled a bit of a history on the way, how the monastery of San Juan de la Peña was the central place of the resistance against the Moorish Spain and how from there the recatolisation of Spain began. on the way we had an amazing morning view of the Pyrenees.

as pilgrims we paid only the children's price, so we opted for an exhibition on the history of the place and the excavations of the of the new monastery (17C) as well. it was okay, I only missed more original objects on the site. then we walked to two viewing spots to admire the Pyrenees and the plains but the mountains covered themselves in clouds and mists. we descended to the old monastery, tucked under a rocky shelter and practically hidden from view. it was briemming with tourists which did not diminish its artistic value. the capitals are really special and there are many small details that need to be seen. without so many people the site must be magical.

we descended to Santa Cruz on a steep old path (400m of altitude) which preserved its paving at some places and offered more then one panoramic view. two romanesque churches in Santa Cruz de los Seros competed for our attention, we gave them both a share. Anne wasn't completely sure if she wanted to do the path to Santa Cilia as that meant another climb over another mountain pass but then she said that it is her last day and that could be a fine ending to an amazing holiday. we weren't dissapointed. the small path over the bushy landscape with red dirt and strange natural wall formations was such a change from wide stony tracks of the main pilgrim route. I enjoyed every step of it.

oh, no! there is the owful snorer from yesterday in our room! I barely slept yesterday, I need some sleep!

a bit longer post today :-). but no pics as I can't log to my photobucket account. :-(

take care!

all of a sudden I am in Spain! now that the crossing is behind me it seems too fast. just three days to the top and two days to descend, and that's it! it was much more forested than I expected and not really much mountain walking, but we did get to see many high peaks, when the weather decided to brighten up.

Laccomande - Oloron-sainte-Marie

a day that started with misty fogs over the fields and in the glends and ended in the heavy storm was nevertheless beautiful. there is probably one of the very few churches in existance, this one in Oloron, that has everyday tasks represented in the portal. there are different stages of cheese production, salmon fishing, goose plucking, grape picking, boar hunting, pig slaughtering, cutting the bacon. they all have extremely vivid eyes. when I was enjoying a far reaching view from the fortified tower, I saw a wall of rain in the east. it seemed to move really fast and I decided it would be best to run for the gite and take make hopefully dry clothes inside before the rain comes. I was lucky for about 15min. but Jose and Anne weren't so lucky. they had a long day, walking from Lescar. Anne started there but Jose has 'followed' me all the way from Arles. he said that he is very pleased to meet me at last as he now knows almost everything about me but my face. I must have made quite an impression on the people I met. :-)

Oloron-sainte-Marie - Sarrance

clouds were everywhere in the morning and not much of the views were to be expected. the route started on tarmac and when I was having a rest in Lurbe-saint-Cristau, Jose and Anne caught up with me and we continued together. we stopped in Fontaines de Escot and the Italian guy there showed us the 16C royal document that recognised the thermal water there as the real and approved one. the sorry remains that still stand today and the small pipe with slightly cool water didn't have any air of the former grandour. when we comfortably accommodated ourselves in Sarrance monastert, two Austrians joined us and the guy snored all night long.

Sarrance - Borce

the lovely paths from yesterday continued today as well (I think they were the old routes connecting the farms and mills and leading to the mountain pass), at least in the morning. in Bedous we visited the tourist office and got informed that the best way to reach Borce is via a four-wheel transportm as the route follows the busy national road much used by trucks. Jose opted for the bus all the way to Somport pass, but me Anne and me decided that it would be sorry to skip so much of the valley and opted for hitchhiking these 8km of national road. we got lucky and got a ride that left us in front of the tiny gite in Borce. since we had so much time we made a 8km detour and visited 19C Chemin de la Mature, a path cut practically through the 250m high cliff in order to reach the highest trees that were used for ship masts.

Borce - Somport

there was no other option but following the national road for the first 2,5km. there were some trucks but thankfully it was early morning and Anne and I - we were now walking together - avoided most of the traffic. from Urdos, though, a new route has been waymarked that avoided the bext 4km of road - of course we had to try it. it needs a little more work in the way of waymarking and managing, but it was much more beautiful, still mainly on that old routes that we were meeting the last two days. the views in the uppermost part of the valley were magnificant, each one a little higher and offering more peaks to admire. the evening view from the French gite offered us a silhuette of 2000+m high peaks. a little researching around the gite produced a very delicius desert of strawberries and blueberries.

Somport - Villanua

we decided to cut the long day from Somport to Jaca into two stages and sleep in Villanua. this allowed us to adapt to the heat in Spain - the difference in temperature is amazing, in Spain the air heats up already in the morning (9h to 10h), while in France it can stay cool untill 12h; my body remembered what to expect and I didn't have that much problems, but Anne felt it pretty hard - and to take more time visiting different interesting points along the way. so we took photo opportunities at the Ip waterfall and on the 16C bridge in Canfranc, among others. in the albergue in Villanua we met four Polish pilgrims who spent the whole afternoon looking for another albergue which doesn't exist anymore.

Villanua - Jaca

since Villanua offered us a choice of routes we decided to try the much less travelled alterative on the left side of rio Aragon. it was indeed much quieter, being far from the main road, and in the shadow of the hills. it was surveyed by the national police, however. in Castiello de Jaca we joined the main route and that one is indeed heavily used. we met numerous local people taking a stroll, mountain bikers, and some 100 pilgrims that were walking in the opposite direction. the museum in Jaca that I was waiting to see was of course under restoration (the holy year of Santiago in coming up next year), so we wandered the streets and watched the poeple pass by. today we sleep next to another snorer. sigh.

now I have to let other pilgrims get their share of the internet. :-)

take care!

ah, the beautiful sunny days! yesterday when I arrived in Lescar and saw the grayish clouds in all the shades of gray instead of the famous panorama of the Pyrenees, I was a bit disappointed. I fervently hoped for a change during the night. my wish was granted and in the morning, sprayed with the furst rays of the sun... aaah!

Maubourget - Momy

my beautiful plans for the hilly route (GR 101 in fact that goes to Lourdes) went with the January storm and with the fallen trees that have not yet been cleaned away and with the grass and bushes that have overgrown it. but a constructing of the new bypass didn't stop me and I might have been the first pilgrim to tackle the new underpass with two big scallop shells. later, on the grassy ascent after Ariagosse, there was a self-service 'restau' of blackberries. so conveniently placed it was that you just had to stretch a hand according to the service (left or right) and pick the biggest and juiciest and sweetest blackberry on the plate. :-)

a new underpass on GR 653 after Maubourget

in France, too, the old farms lack the inhabitants (Arriagosse)

self-service restau of blackberries

Momy - Morlaas

the morning fog predicted a cloudy day and so it was. ste Foy church in Morlaas had a fine sculpted portal (that was, unfortunately, much restored by Violet le Duc). in the refuge in the municipal camping grounds I met a Czech couple with Malinka, their lively dog. they were about to leave for the next stage. I'll repeat that: they just started the walk for that day. amazing. their explanation was that they have trouble getting up early in the morning (they had a tent and could sleep where they choose). lo. they played a game of chess before they left - a chess they made themselves on a piece of paper. they also introduced me to natural mint-water (a whole mint plant from the route stuffed in the bottle of water).

the portal of ste Foy in Morlaas; one of the atlants; the interior

the chess

Morlaas - Lescar

that was a long day of mainly flat tarmac walking through different agglomerations of Pau and through its not very big green lungs of foret de Bastard. a very populated forest, I might add, with joggers, cyclists, and walkers everywhere, and even with an odd man with a sickle.

Lescar, on the other hand, is tiny but lovely ancient town perched on a hill above the plains. its cathedral has beautiful corbels and the amazing 12C mosaic with a hunter with an artificial leg. the gite is also almost all-inclusive, with (free!) washing & drying machine, fully-equipped kitchen, and a visit from a member of the local Camino organisation in the evening.

a nice welcome in Lescar gite

Lescar: the famous archerm apsida with the corbels and two of the carved corbels

Lescar - Lacommande

I decided for this very short stage so that tommorrow I will have plenty of time to visit Oloron and all its monuments. I am not at all dissapointed. the place is absolutely beautiful, calm, quiet, sunny, historic, warm... its tiny gite is in one of the buildings of the former commanderie (hence Lacommende) with the view of the church through the gates. the capitals there are very well preserved. one of them represents a quarrel among a couple who then reconcile and a man offers his woman a buquet of flowers. and there are 'stealae discoidales' in the courtyard which are the remains of the medieval and baroque cemetery, where sole pilgrils are also buried.

view of the Pyrennes in the morning 

Laccomande: courtyard with cemetery, the church and me, two of the capitals in the church representing a quarrel between a couple and an acrobate

take care! 

there is free internet here in the camping of Maubourget and I (ab)used  the opportunity to get some pics up, for previous posts as well. enjoy!

Marciac - Maubourget

about three quarters of an hour on the route I suddenly remembered that my useful dry shampoo is still drying in the shower cabin. oh! I briefly considered going back but then decided not to, there surely is another dry shampoo to buy somewhere ahead.

in Auriebat there is a superb gothic gate with a ruined antechamber, still standing next to the church. from there till Maubourget the clouds accummulated and darkened and sure enough some soft rain fell down with the wind. it was not too wexing. the church in Maubourget has very unique stone details on the facade and the camping here, where I am staying in the chalet for pilgrims, has very friendly personnel who explained everything about tomorrow (the route is diverged due to the construction of a new bypassing road).

the gothic gate in Auriebat, through which you can see the crossing where the route comes from the valley (the right one and goes right)

decorqted window of the church in Maubourget

pilgrim chalet in Maubourget's camping

take care!

so, three days of resting were just enough to make one long day of 32kms. and then my left shin decided it's her turn to get tendernitis. yeah. so I rearanged my plans (again). and rearanged them again when I found out that a refuge I was planning to sleep in is in restoration for the whole season. yeah.

gite le Grangé - gite Lamothe

the route today was still very pretty, with lots of hedge and forest walking. in fact, when my guide said 'a dirt track' or 'a grassy track', those often had their own tunnels of vegetation which sheltered me from the sun (and the wind, but I am not picky). having a lunch by a lake in Gimont, a mother and her small daughter were feading the ducks in the lake. two geese were also there, and apparently not happy with the situation because they attacked the little girl! they tried their fortune on me, too, but I only had to show them my trusting companion (the walking stick) and they understoond the point.

the gite today was again very charming, rebuilt from ruins with local materials and painted in local colours (the owner is one of the few artisans that still builds with bricks from local dirt, and people from all over the region come to consult him).

the 14C market hall in Gimont now has a main town's street running under it

the very comfy lounge in gite Lamothe

gite Lamothe - Auch

in Lussan two big black doberman-like dogs were patrolling the road. a male and a female. they came to me, not in a friendly manner, female from behind and male in front, apparently trying to finish me off. female barked at me a couple of times, but when I didn't react, they went on. and I walked on, too. then a few hundred meters later, just when I thought I heard something, a malicious bark came directly from behind me! I suddenly understood what means to be gripped - almost paralysed - by sudden fear. it spread through my body from head to toes, pushing me down, making my knees soft. squeak! but I didn't give in and forced my knees to walk on. my self-defence also kicked in and I turned, determindedly said a firm 'Adios!', and raised my staff a little. they didn't have a choice, they turned away and went off. they didn't come back. and then another reaction befriended me - suddenly I had to go pee! o, bugger! I didn't want to do that anywhere near what they considered their territory. I managed to hold for a good 15mins.

as a compensation, the big oak choir in Auch cathedral (from 16C) is a real masterpiece of art, with more then 1500 small figurines. my favourites were two monks (or perhaps a monk and a hermit) fervently discussing a topic from their books. and then there were the stairs. ooh! the stairs in the 16C house where future king Henri IV stayed with his future wife Marguerite de Valois (la reine Margot) and Catherine de Medici. they are absolutely fantastic. made half of stone and half of wood, three storeys high, and you can climb them (at least I did)!

the discussion

the stairs in 'maison Henri IV'

Auch cathedral illuminated at night (no, I didn't stay up that late, I took the photo when I went to the toilet during the night)

Auch - Montesquieu

tireing first 17kms, almost completely tarmac, were the cause for the problems in my left leg. I took a long rest in Barran with the famous spiral roof on the church tower (they say a joyful roof-coverer in love was the reason for it) then another rest in l'Isle-de-Noe, sandwiched between two rivers. Montesquieu I reached pretty tired, but not tired enough not to visit the fortified medieval gate and the church where a mademoiselle was rehearsing for a singing performance.

a really big insect or a small colibri in Barran (Olivier argued for an insect), with a tiny tube for picking honey from the flowers

spiralling roof of the church tower in Barran

Montesquieu - Marciac

a really annoying thing happened today amidst the rolling hills, green hedges, grassy paths, and tiny fortified hill-top villages. and views of the Pyrenees! my camera started to strike! the lenses (or whatever other thing does that) didn't want to recognize the light anymore. nooo! it can't give up on me now! I budged it a few times, not very gently, and for the time being it works again. but I fear it won't last long. so, the present quest: buy a new camera as soon as possible. in the  tourist office of Marciac I run to Olivier (from Tours, who I met in Auch and who is going to Lourdes) and he invited me for dinner. merci, Olivier! :-)

after the pizza in Marciac (creperie was closed)

take care, everyone!

I made another cheat and took the train to get out of Toulouse and therefore avoid another day of pure tarmac. because, frankly, there is not much rest for the legs if they have to run around a large city and transport me to all the sites I want to see. also, I changed my plans a little bit and decided to walk shorter stages for a while.

réfuge Viola 2000 near Renneville - Toulouse

the manager of the refuge drove me to the train station in the morning and in 30min I was in the centre of Toulouse, visiting basilique st Sernin on my way to Petit Auberge de Compstelle. the portal of basilique , which is more important for pilgrims than Toulouse's cathedal, is in very good condition. in Petit Auberge I left my bacback and with my medieva outfit so impressed its manager that he invited me to dinner that evening. :-) certainly didn't expect that to happen.

then I headed to other places I wanted to see: Musée des Augustines with its superb colection of romanesque capitals and gargoyles, cathedral st Etienne, Hotel Dieu - former hospice of st James (also for pilgrims) on the other side of river Garonne, place la Capitole, ND de Daurade (from which the romanesque capitals are but which is now totally not romanesque), Pont Neuf, and again basilique st Sernin where from 15.30 to 18 members of regional st James organisation stamp the credencials and give advice to pilgrims. here I also visited the upper galleries of the basilique (with more romanesque sculpted capitals) and had an individual tour of the church.

then I was transported to dinner and met there two of manager's children (of my age) who waked the route at the ages of 9 and 12! we had very interesting conversation on medieval proverbs, government systems, the route (of course)...

can someone please translate this for me (to English and, preferably, also to Slovenian): Toujours crie la pire roue du char.

Toulouse (Pibrac) - l'Isle Jourdain

it was a good choice, I think, to take the train to Pibrac and start from there. the route is still tarmac at times but it wasn't too bad and my muscles didn't complain too much. the famous foret de Bauconne retained its fame of difficult passage. there was a devastating storm in January this year which left many trees uprouted and bereft of their branches. I would have thought that the path would be cleaned as soon as possible - it was not so. I had to climb over and under and around the trunks and branches and in great numbers, too. fallen trees also ment that some waymarks disappeared, so I walked on my gut feeling again and found some new signposts for an alternative route.

the simple but perfectly ok gite in l'Isle Jourdain is outside the town near the lakes and beside a swiming pool and I had to walk all the way to the other side of the centre to find a shop with food. the water melon I bought and so looked forward to was not ripe yet and I threw it away. smrk.

fallen trees in foret de Bauconne

church tower-cum-donjon in l'Isle Jourdain

l'Isle Jourdain - gite le Grangé

the short but beautifully grassy stage today has replaced the 'rest day' in Toulouse. and I did feel the difference in the weight of my backback because I had the food for three days - all the guides warned about there being no shops between l'Isle Jourdain and Auch. as a matter of fact, there was a shop in the first bigger village I passed. 

gite le Grangé is in a beautiful old house with really old beams for the ceilings, stone floors, a fireplace, and a piano! the acceuil is also very warm. I am completely devoted to resting this day and already slept away part of the afternon in a sailors' net in the garden. :-)

sunflower fields before gite le Grangé

beautiful wooden stable in gite le Grangé where there are now kitchen, dining room and common room with the piano

take care!

they are really killing my legs. I got tendernitis yesteray and today it didn't get any better. so I decided that a rest day is in order and tommorrow I am aking a train to Toulouse. it seems that I am not destined to walk through big cities on this journey. well, I can live with that. :-)

Castres - abbaye sainte Scholastiqe near Dourgne

it was strange to start the day knowing that there will be no Aline, no Karin, no Mélanie, no Maylis, no Rebecca, and no Aude in the evening to share the events of the day, to chat, to eat dinner with and to play cards together. it took me longer than usual to get out of hotel and on the route. ah, the route. can you believe that of 20 something kilometres that I walked that day about 18 were tarmac! my legs certainly felt that and when I almost crawled to the monastery I was very happy I didn't reserve a bed in Revel. the weather was perfect for walking until about 15min after I reached the abbey, it was cloudy and windy, and not hot at all. then, it started to rain and rained costantly all afernoon and evening. I felt sorr for all pilgrims and other hikers that got dumped under.

abbaye sainte Scholastique - les Cassés

the morning amidst rolling countryside, albeit many on tarmac, passed quickly enough, and in Revel I stumbled on the market day. all of the central square was covered in stalls selling everything you can think of, from usual foods to clothes and sweets, to more unusual live hens and chickens, and even two black and white kittens. the crowds were such that I could only barely admire the medieval market hall in the centre of the square.

I thought that the walk along the Rigole de Riquet river will be a pleasant change from the tarmac I had to brave in the last two days. how wrong I was! it was pretty, certainly, the winding river with banks shaded by different species of trees, and favorite of many dragonflies - this time some with metal blue bodies and half transparent and half velvet black wings, some almost completely transparent with a shade of green or gold or blue or red on the bodies or wings. the route was orange dirt and very hard because it was a busy cyclepath. and level. not totally completely level, but level none the less. my legs felt it very very much.

the acceuil at gite in Les Cassés was very warm and welcome, from the landlady as well as from her little black playful dog who gave me full welcome with jumping, playing and washing my face. the landlady explained all the details for the next days to Toulouse and called for a bed for the next stay and showed me a shorter route for the next day.

les Cassés - réfuge Viola 2000 near Renneville

after the landlady and the doggy accompanied me to the start of the route and wished me a pleasant journey I lounged between the fields on a grassy track to the south. I had the Pyrenees in view. the Pyrenees! all high on the horizon, with snow still gistening in the sun. oh. I visited Montferrand with its phare aéronautique which guided currier planes from Paris to Africa and very fine views towards the Pyrenees (and other places), and Avignonget Lauragais with a curious round tower which served as a defense tower, a fountain, and a prison.

after that I descended to Canal du Midi and was bitterly dissapointed to dicover that the cycle path along it is no other that tarmac! I saw it coming, the tendernitis. Canal du Midi was described to me as a romantic place for evening walks, with barges slowly prowling its wates. hm. I mus have stumbled upon its most unromantic part then, running sideways with the motorway and filled with its noise. it also wasn't so pretty as the Rigole river.

take care, folks! 

here again! it took me a little longer because in those mountains pubilc internet is very rare or it comes at a price of ?5 for 5 minutes and I am no fool to pay that.

Montpellier - Montarnaud

I cheated a little bit again in the morning, taking the tram to avoid the tarmac, but after that the valley of the Mosson river was beautiful and shady. the open plateau was without shade, however, and the route almost barred by an expanding stone quarry. I greeted many foals and horses passing by a huge breeding complex where one of the caretakers nicely asked me if I know where to stay in Montarnaud cause there is a new gite there. it was very nice gite with very helpful manager and an older pilgrim who was taking a few daws off there. I persuaded him to give me some reccomendations for the coming route and accommodation. he did. while I was having a break in Montarnaud village, near the romanesque chapelle (locked, of course), a lady came by with a big key in her hand. it was the key for chapelle, so I did get in. but it was in not very good condition, with green moss on the walls.

Montarnaud - St Guilhem le Désert

the big challenge that day was a 350m long tunnel without any lightining - it did shorten the route by 2km and that was one of the reasons I took it. the other was to see if I will chicken out and use my portable to lighten my way. I didn't chicken out! :-) but I did use a trick. the tunnel was in a curve and completely dark in the middle and I really didn't want to run headlong into the wall - spider webs were everywhere. so I put one end of my stick to the wall and kept it there to guide me at an even distance through the dark. it worked very well, also counting those few sideholes in the wall. I got a little bit of bumps in the total dark (total darkness lasted for about 5min which seemed much longer when they were in the passing) but the most frightening thing was that I did't know what was I walking on. didn't stumble upon anything unusual, though.

the beautiful nature that day was the Hérault gorge. awesome. narrow in the beginning, though not very high, and full of potholes and couldrons, with ruins of ancient wheat and oil mills in the middle and a magical spot so many miss, passing it in the car or on the bike (or even walking with the head on the road). the river gorged out a little balcony along the way and when a smaller brook joined it from the other side, it formed a few small pond on the balcony which were overgrown with green moss and grass and with brown reeds. the water then showered to the river over the edge of the balcony in a thin veil of dribs.

the tunnel

the beautiful brook in Hérault gorge

St Guilhem le Désert - St Jean de la Blaquiere

oh! the climb out of the village on the side of cirque de l'Infernet or du bout du Monde in the morning was absolutely stunning! the first sunrays over the tops of the ridges, the silhuette of a ruined castle on the crags high above the village, the smell of pines and the silence. the silence. you have no idea how grateful my ears were for the silence. for the Provence is full of 'cigales' (cicadas) on every possible tree, in the cities too, and the noise. it can be unnerving, really. and sometimes they don't even have the grace to shut up when you pass by.

I met a French seminarist that day, Alexandre, and we walked together for a while. but he had much longer stages in his plan and speeded up all the way to Lodève. in the gite I met 'les 5 filles', the profs on a lycee in Paris that were walking from St Guilhem to Castres.

cirqua de l'Infernet in the afternoon and in the morning

St Jean de la Blaquiere - Domaine de Belbezet

on the way to abbaye de Gradmont i visited a small dolmen a little off the route which had a later grave to one side. then I had to wait for an hour and a half for the abbey to open. but it was worth it because the arcaded courtyard is one of the most beautiful I have ever seen. I have my picture from here, too. :-)

the foothpath from the abbey to Saumont village is also very very beautiful, for a time running above the edge of small cliffs, then through tungled forest and over stony brooks.

Lodeve was nothing special and since the gite here is always full I made it 2km further to Belbezet where I had the gite all to myself. it is very pretty, a converted goats' shed, with wooden beams and very positive atmosphere.

abbaye de Grandmont

wc sec in gite in Belbezet

Domaine de Belbezet - Lunas

the remains of the cloister in Joncels were something specials bacause today they form one side of a public square. Lunas, where I stayed, is an extremely pretty and charming medieval town full of water (it sits on the confluence of three watercourses), with a 5-6C chapelle with a Visigothic arch, a ruined castle (which I didn't visit because it was up on the hill), a still standing castle (which I didn' visit cause it is a not so cheap restaurant), and an extremely kind and helpful madame at the tourist office who telephoned several people to find me a bed. Juliette, with whom I stayed, described me the next day's route in detail and offered me a ride in the morning to avoid some tarmac.

Lunas

Lunas - St Gervais sur Mare

now, my guide claimed this to be one of the most beautiful days on Via Tolosana. well. the climb in the morning was nice, ok, and we did cross many mountain passes, true, but at least I didn't find anything beautiful about trogging along a gravel road with its support wall on one side and the forest on the other. only after Col du Liourel it started to get really beautiful. first was the steep bitch forest with a green carpet underneath, then a grassy Col de Serviez which reminded me of the Pyrenees on Camino Frances route, then a ridge walk with some very fine views (and ticks), and the last part from Mécles where I made a little detour to the 12C Clocher de Neyran and the extensive ruins of the old village of St Gervais. two local mesdames I met there showed me around and filled me with details of the ruins.

again I met les 5 filles, we stayed in the same gite but in different rooms. I almost ended in the same room because we had a little misunderstanding about the reservations - Aline understood that I had no reservation and offered me a place in their room where there were 6 beds.

Clocher de Neyran with the ruins

St Gervais sur Mare - Murat sur Vebre

yesterday left me with some tendernitis-oriented tensions in my right shin and I decided, since les 5 filles were taking a taxi to Murat - they were very exhausted after the previous day - and I decided - since such a oportunity presented itself - to leave some stuff with les 5 filles to collect it in the gite in Murat. it was amazing how much the loss of weight changed the feeling on my back. it was almost as if I didn't carry anything! I picked a few blueberries today, and lots of strawberries, too.

the gite in Murat was small and a little on the humide side, but the caretaker very nice. les 5 filles and I went along very well, made a dinner together and played cards together. :-) they are super sympa, les 5 filles!

Murat sur Vebre - Le Salvetat sur Agout

the day started with low clouds from whose a little dribble was falling but it didn't turn to anything more substantial and the walk was really bucolic today, leading through the farming and pasturing countryside. I made a side climb to visit a dolmen in a mysthical forest full of fog and moss and encountered a flock of sheep with two bergers on the route.

the gite in the pretty town of Salvetat had only 6 beds and 'les 5 filles devenues 6' now had reserved all the beds (the day before a 6th fille joined them) but they didn't let me to search for another accommodation and we put two matresses together and the three of them slept on the matresses - I got a bed. the gite is in the old presbitery which I think is in fact an ancien donjon in the middle of the village, with very fine stone details. there is a pretty small square in front with a fountain, where in the evening an aperitif was offered by the local community - it was the eve of July 14, French national holiday.

flock of sheep

gite in Salvetat

Le Salvetat sur Agout - Angles

that day was very similar to the previous one, only there was more tarmac to walk on and less pastures. the acceuil in a bar in Angles was the worst I had on the route, they left me waiting and when they learned I was the 7th, I almost got a kick - I can sleep outdoors for all they care. the gite was also very dissapointing and the worst so far, tiny little thing with quite dirty floor and beds and not enough dishes and cutlery for 6 people. but again we arranged so that three filles slept on two matresses - and again I wasn't allowed to be one of them, only in the kitchen this time as in the sleeping room there was not enough space and the floor a bit too dirty.

but the lady of épicerie on the bottom of the square was very nice and chatty and we had the bonus of a bric-a-brac market for the national holiday.

Angles - Boissezon

it started with an hour of rain and the consequances for my dresses were almost devastating. I ended up in Angles covered in dirt up to my knees, the dress, the smock, and my legs. and I scared the wind out of the caretaket of the gite here - for a moment she actually did think she saw an apparition of some kind! :-) but she was unbelievably charming, arranging for another matress (there were again only 6 beds in a very fine gite, however) and full bed coverings, and giving a ride to the épicerie in the nearest village when the one in Boissezon didn't open for that half hour in the afternoon, and offering us an aperitif of drinks and melons and jambon and champignons, and a very animated conversation, too. all in all, the best acceuil on Via Tolosana.

Boissezon - Castres

today I decided to walk with 'les 5 filles devenues 6' because this is their last day of walking. the walk itself wasn't anything special, half of it on tarmac. in Castres we all reside in a nice riverside hotel. we had a very good lunch in a riverside restaurant with a kind owner who took one of les filles to a doctor as her bite took on an alarming size. Aline took care of me today, accompanyin me to a public laundry and explaining the process there, then to the tourist office to get my new credencial (the first one is full already!), and when I departd in e search of a cyber café she went ack to the laundry to take my clothes to a drying machine and bring them bac to the hotel.

in the evening, 'les 5 filles' (Aude has already left for her hometown) invited me to a dinner to another riverside restaurant, and the choices were really gourmand.

and this will be all as my two hours here are ending. not all the pics made but at least there are some!

take care!