Month: July 2023
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Day 22: Saint-Géry to Cahors
~15 miles, relatively flat and no services Today was a big day of walking! Even after 3 weeks, 15 miles is hard. We made our way through relatively flat terrain, mostly following the Lot River. Our day ended in Cahors, the largest town we had been in since Figeac. It’s always a little strange walking…
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Day 21: Saint-Cirq-Lapopie to Saint-Géry
~8 miles, relatively flat and scenic (although one regrettable shortcut) Today’s walk was fairly short and easy, except for an unfortunate shortcut we decided to take near the end of the day. We read that it would take off a few miles and a whole lot of elevation gain and loss, but was for the…
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Day 20: Rest Day in Saint-Cirq-Lapopie
~Rest day (but still walked around navigating the very steep cobblestone streets around the village!) Before we set out on this trip, I planned a rest day in Saint-Cirq-Lapopie. It seemed like such a beautiful place that I wanted an extra day to explore and I’m so glad I did! our extra day was filled…
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Day 19: Cabrerets to Saint-Cirq-Lapopie (& Pech Merle)
~8 Miles, hilly and beautiful Our last day in the Célé Valley and one to always remember. The highlight of the day (and maybe the trip) was a visit to Pech Merle. The caves were a labyrinth of stalactites and stalagmites, interspersed with ancient paintings and drawings, some dating back 35,000 years. Unfortunately (although understandably)…
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Day 18: Marchilhac-sur-Célé to Cabrerets
~13 miles via kayak (amazing!) It was forecast to be 100 degrees, so we decided to kayak instead of walk today! And what a great choice it was. The river was calm and easy to navigate with lots of wildlife (herons, fish, butterflies, baby ducks, raptors, cows, so many cicadas, and more!). I had been…
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Day 17: Espagnac-Saint-Eulalie to Marchilhac-sur-Célé
~11 miles, steep hills, lots of sun, beautiful scenery Wow! The Célé Valley is spectacular! Steep limestone cliffs covered in oak groves and wildflowers. The walk was again very challenging and VERY hot, with little shade throughout the day. I used my umbrella for shade and was so grateful to have it as I walked…
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Day 16: Figeac to Espagnac-Saint-Eulalie
~16 miles, rolling hills, beginning of the Célé Valley Today we got back to walking and did one of our longest days yet! I felt much stronger than I had before the break, so I’m glad I listened to my body and let it rest and recuperate. The hike out of Figeac was tough (uphill),…
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Day 14 & 15: Livinhac-le-Haut to Figeac & Rest Day in Figeac
~15 miles (11 by car, 4 walking) Another short day of walking. Our gracious host was heading our direction and offered to drive us. We still wanted to walk some so asked to be dropped off along the way. One rest day has turned into many, but we start walking again tomorrow, so hopefully we…
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Day 13: Conques to Livinhac-le-Haut
~15 miles (bus from Conques to Decazeville and then we walked ~4 miles from Decazeville to Livinhac-le-Haut) Today was a simple day and mostly a rest day. We spent the morning in Conques and then took the Malle Postal bus to Decazville, where we walked about 4 miles to Livinhac-le-Haut. We thought a short day…
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Day 10, 11, & 12: Permission to Rest
~33 miles (by bus), from Saint-Côme d’Olt to Estaing to Conques On the Camino, people always say, “listen to your body,” and while some people take that advice, we have met many who keep walking despite clear messages from their body to take a break. For us, we always said we would take each day…
It Could Be Sunshine 