Ètape 7: Noialhat - Castres: 15 kms, sunny and softly warm, 24

Le Trois Pelerins! 

And then there were three

To share the Chemin journey

Pelerins of course!

After a shaky start with the gps we finally found ourselves where we’d left off the previous day. We pulled over and said goodbye to Bob and headed off down the road in search of the Chemin. Of course the day started as almost every day seems to with an uphill climb! Doesn’t it always? 

We made pretty good time and as we walked we explained the method to the madness for Kathy so that she would have some idea of when to go straight ahead or turn. We seemed to pick up the rhythm that we’d developed together while walking in the Greek Islands last September. Of course there were new discoveries in another country, and that was half the fun. Old farm houses with chickens running on the road, and lots of dogs today.

We really did have a grand time laughing and reminiscing about walking on Crete. Must have been a sign??

At some point we came across a lovely country church with loads of history right back until the 12th C. A peak inside was a nice surprise.

Just down the road was a very old building and a great place for a sister, brother photo:)

Arriving in Castres we found this fellow pelerin who looked like we did yesterday...a bit wind swept! My amigo Ken said it all in an email, and I hope it’s ok to share.  “My Cree teacher says that you only need to know one expression for the weather in Saskatchewan: yôtin (it is windy). Or even misi-yôtin (it is very windy). But never mîsî-yôtin (it is shit windy)”.  It seemed appropriate to repeat this and I’m really impressed to know someone bright enough to learn this difficult language! 

A very old long standing pelerin centric church on the way in.

After reconnecting with Bob and having a nice baguette lunch we headed off to find me some new boots. Long story short, the boots I used in Sicily this past spring and had planned to use for this crossing were defective. While at least the left boot was, resulting in some very sore toes. So we drove around to the sports stores and I found another, lighter pair of Salomons. I sprayed them with water proofing stuff and now my hands are waterproof too!

We then drove north to Albi which our friend Dominic had told us was a really special medieval town. He was right. A few photos before it gets too late here. We have a longer stage tomorrow and there are things to be done. This is the largest brick cathedral in the world and was constructed from about 1400 to 1530. Impressive.

Inside was really quite good, and I’ve seen more than a few European churches. 

Then we wandered the old town.

Annemarie’s Alzheimer thoughts...

Conversations with Kathy

Before we left, on our training walk around Burnaby Lake, I asked Kathy if she would mind if I asked her a series of questions while on our Chemin, and I would then post this on our blog as our Alzheimer’s segment for the days she is walking with us. She agreed, and this is the first of those conversations. I asked Kathy what she would like people to know about Alzheimer’s from the perspective of someone who has the disease. She took some time to ponder the question as we walked. We talked about earlier conversations, once when she said she’d like to be treated how she is now, not how she will be in the future, and another time when she said she wanted to attend a family event to show people she’s “still here”. Today’s wisdom from Kathy...”get up, get out, and just do it”. I have many interpretations of what she meant, but I think I’ll let her words stand on their own. I may ask her more about it tomorrow, we’ll see what the walk brings.

Ètape 6: Anglés - Noailhac, 24 kms sunny, very windy, 21

Blown Away!

When we went to bed last night after a very nice communal cook-up and wine, the air had quieted and there was a very pleasant sunset from our gîte window that indicated today would be very nice. 

I  checked the weather forecaste and a high wind warning was posted, but this is quite usual for the area, so of no real concern. We surfaced from our small room and after breakfast and farewells we hit the road. We were sorry to say goodbye to Jean Phillip, but exchanged contact information hoping to reconnect after Toulouse. One last look back at Anglés and we were off.

And going in the right direction too!

The wind was coming up strongly from behind us and the clouds were just flying past. We headed into the shelter of the trees and were spared for a while.

Stopping to make take our jackets off we were treated to the sunrise. Kind of nice through a gap in the forest I thought!

Knowing that we had to make tracks in order to be at the end of our walk in time to meet Kathy and Bob, we set a fairly high tempo today. This was a bit unfortunate as we caught up to a woman from France, said a quick bonjour and then caught up to Dominic who we had really enjoyed meeting and who Annemarie wrote about a couple of days ago. He clearly wanted to walk and talk about his experiences the past two days, but shortly afterwards we had to say our bon chemins and press onwards. All the while the wind velocity increased.

Gee we were glad to not be walking into the wind. Perhaps Paul’s parents in Ireland, Joe and Geraldine, were saying this Irish Blessing for us...May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind be always at your back. May the sun always be warm upon your face... Always one of my favourites and it was in my mind today as we walked.

We had heard that there was a woman from Quebec walking ahead of us and when we caught her there was a nice connection as we walked along together for several kilometres. Eventually we said goodbye and moved onwards. We figure that there are about 7 pelerins on the trail in our area, but after tomorrow there will just be 4 of us including Kathy with several departures scheduled from Castres. 

After several ups and downs, we seemed to crest a ridge and out before us was the ancient lake bed which we will walk across to Toulouse with Kathy. 

We took a while to descend the 550 m (1800’) to the bottom and it was pretty nice to have the freedom of a long downhill after all the climbing this past week. It really hasn’t been that bad, certainly not like the first couple of weeks out of Le Puy or the climbs in Japan, but it was a good test. At the top the wind peaked and we had three hat frisbee moments! Yup, first Annemarie had to scramble and then I did and then I had to again a few minutes later even with the straps of my super dangerous looking, almost Indiana Jones hat pulled fairly tight! I also at lost one of my Aussie feathers that I’d picked up when visiting with Neil and Sarah, but I was able to reclaim it from a bush. All the flowers from my heather sprig were blown off the small branch too! Even the chestnuts and tree branches were falling today. Much nicer chestnut shells than we have at home on the west coast, but a smaller nut inside.

Hey, we even saw a deer today! Ya, I know we have millions of them at home right in our small city, but this is only the second one I’ve seen in Europe on all my walks. We laughed after our initial excitement. It was after all, only a deer. I often see 3 or 4 on our front lawn:)

Some 40 minutes later than we thought we would arrive, we saw the town.

And on the way in a nice welcome.

Then we were in.

Lunch and a drive into Castres where we have rooms and now it must be time for a beer!


A special shout out to our mate Neil who enjoyed his PhD convocation in Canberra! Congrats!! 

Bon Chemin! 

Ètape 5: La-Salvetat - Anglès 21kms, Sunny, 21

Possible Sheep

Last night we were presented with an amazing dinner! It started with a salad centred by a baked cheese thing,

And was followed up by a magnet du canard (duck breast) cooked to order. It was fabulous and no matter how far we walked yesterday there was no way that we earned this!!  But we happily ate it none the less:) 

As we departed this morning into the very crisp morning air (just 3 overnight) with sleeves and light jackets on. I even had my rain gloves on as it was a bit nippy for the first time. Winter is coming. 

We came upon a sheep sign which I thought was unusual as it’s generally cattle warnings on the roads. I snapped a photo to send to Erin (possible cows) and walked on in search of the sunrise. 

 We thought this beauty was shaped by the diverging light rays into the shape of a scallop shell. Suits our needs.

It’s even a bit more memorable with a cow:)

Today was a hilly walk along lovely trails and back country lanes. 

It was a nice place to just let the mind wander where it would. 

We walked through an area of fairly heavy forestry as we’ve been doing the past couple of days, and it sure felt like walking at home. Lots of pine and reforestation, though in very straight lines for harvesting purposes.

At the top of a hill a Jeep pulled out and to our surprise it had followers!

Lots of them!

They’d been trained to follow the Jeep and we knew to stand still on the spot as they have a tendency to follow whatever moves. Several moved in our direction, but eventually they all played follow the leader! 

On we went...

Water pump, quite common around here, but this one was out of order. 

And then we were Anglès. Getting food here can be a problem, and with that in mind, our host this morning kindly allowed us to use the ham and bread from breakfast to make some simple sandwiches. We carried away a yogurt each, so we were well equipped. Arriving in town, we found the small grocery about to close, but we were able to gather some beautiful cheese and a drink to add to our lunch. As both restaurants in town were closed on Tuesday, we helped ourselves to the patio furniture and had a nice lunch. 

It’s a pretty France village with the usual items, a 14thC church, bar, gîte and speciality food stores. 

Annemarie explained to our host last night that we had no place to eat, and he calmly offered his wife’s kitchen to us. Brave we thought.

We will go back out shortly to get groceries and we will then call Kathy and Bob who arrived in Toulouse last night. They’ve had the day to recover and will meet us tomorrow at noon for lunch...we hope! 

Our digs tonight. Simple with a great shower, good view, so no complaints. 

We are looking forward to connecting with the weary travellers, so we’d best get on with that now. A nice poem from Annemarie today.

Ever Changing Terrain

We begin each day of this journey in anticipation 

And I confess, at times we begin with trepidation 

We have looked ahead to gain some idea of what is in store for us

But the actuality will be what it will be, it was ever thus

Most days are filled with climbs and descents

It’s how much is up and how much down that the plan sometimes misrepresents

The rocky path with the barely discernible trail around the next turn

Not anticipated, we were distracted by the beautiful green ferns

The steep climb leading to the next road

For a moment our pace was considerably slowed

The sun shining, creating patterns in the clouds

It is peaceful here, there are no crowds

The road that climbs steadily upward

The cafe at the top is our reward

The villages closed when we arrive

We’ve planned ahead, we will thrive

Little adjustments required along the way

To address whatever we might encounter on any given day

Étape 4: Murat - La-Salverat sur Agout: 25 km, cooler, sun/cloud, wind 15-20

A Fresh Canvas

Last night we enjoyed the company of two other walkers, both who will complete their walk tomorrow. We find ourselves pretty much alone on this route with just Jean-Philip from Belgium somewhere near by. However, our host Jean-Luc hosted us to a beautiful dinner with wine and some lively discussion until we reluctantly headed off to find our beds.

 
This morning we were up and underway in the early morning light and watching for puddles as it had rained heavily in the night for a short time. It was  distinctly cooler and I wished I’d put on my sleeves to keep a bit warmer. Eventually the sun popped up and with it a very slow rise in the temperature began.

Each route we’ve walked has tended to have a distinctive signage or a mtrail indicator, and the Arles is no different. Small metal crosses with a scallop shell in the centre. Quite unique in my experience. 


One of the true pleasures of walking is that one starts each day with a fresh experience lying just ahead, a fresh canvas if you like. For the first time in two days we got back onto the trails and small country lanes that we love and have come to expect in France. As we walked through the forest we both felt the difference and we dawdled along for the first half of the walk.

A fresh green canvas

Moss covered rocks run beside

A small church beckons 

                                         gt 

We hiked through some beautiful country today. Rolling hills on the plateau we climbed to yesterday with small lakes well drawn down by the past 4 months of very hot weather.

We also made new friends along the way who politely held still for portraits on the promise of a hand full of green grass.

But today it was really all about the beautiful trails we wandered along. Some samples...

Fall lurks in the trees

Those who know me understand

It’s the sun I seek

                             gt



As we began the descent into La-Salverat the trees opened up onto some nice pasture land.

And we created a bit of a stir as we walked through a nice heard of cattle! 

And then we were into town, a medieval city with a fortified upper village.

And as no one would provide two tired pelerin with lunch because we arrived at 13:05, we sat on a bench and ate sausage and crackers before continuing on. I wonder if the nice guy who basically told us to get lost knows it was us that cancelled our reservation yesterday? Bet he would have been more friendly if we were staying there tonight. I’d read he has a bad reputation and so I’m pleased that we aren’t there tonight. Instead we walked out of town...

Across the bridge....

and directly to his competitor where, after I had a nice nap, we are sitting here enjoying a very delicious local craft beer writing our blogs and notes. David, this one is for you!

About Alzheimer’s 

Last night we enjoyed an evening conversation with Dominic, during which he expressed a particular empathy for the caregivers of people with Alzheimer’s. We came across him on the trail this morning, and had another lovely conversation (he admired my poles). As we were about to carry on, he said he wanted to share something with us about Alzheimer’s. He told the following story, which he agreed to us sharing on our blog. 

His sister’s spouse died of the disease at age 79, a year and a half ago. For his sister and brother-in-law, what could have been a very difficult and stressful time became a time of beauty and love in their relationship. As an example, his brother-in-law asked to go home, to which his sister replied “you are home”, and he then insisted “no, I want to go home”. She understood what he was asking, and brought him to his childhood home, and he could see that it was no longer the home that he had known. On the drive back to their home, he told his wife he loved her...his way of saying thank you for understanding. Dominic said that his sister’s ability to understand and respond to her husband’s needs reduced his stress, and kept him calm, making their last days together extra special and beautiful for him to see. 

The Alzheimer’s society teaches that it’s not what you say to the person, but how you make them feel that’s important, and Dominic’s  story is a beautiful illustration of this principal.