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) you cannot take photos in the caves, so I only have a few from above ground and in the museum. The guided tour was fascinating and when the group came to the final painting, the “Spotted Horses,” people audibly gasped in wonder. To be witness to the timescale of humanity and the connection to our past selves through art is humbling. Pech Merle is place that needs to be seen to understand and even then leaves you with so many questions and wonderings about human existence.

After leaving the museum we walked a challenging 7 more miles to Saint-Cirq-Lapopie, including climbing up and crossing an abandoned railroad bridge and walking the Chemin de Halage, a towpath that was carved into the limestone cliffs and then transformed into a canvass of stone art. The final climb to Saint-Cirq-Lapopie was 300 feet straight up the hillside, where we arrived dripping in sweat and out of breath to our incredible Chambre d’Hôte for the next two days. Saint-Cirq-Lapopie was voted Frances most beautiful village (of all the most beautiful villages) and was truly gorgeous. My favorite part is that cars are not allowed into the village, as the streets are too narrow, which always make a place more peaceful and welcoming. The village was filled with art and artists, which I will talk about more in tomorrow’s “rest day” post.

A few days before our arrival the owner of the Chambre d’Hôte said they wanted to “upgrade” us at no additional charge. I of course said yes, although didn’t know what they meant. The upgrade ended up being a full two-story cottage, with a kitchen and private terrace overlooking the village all to ourselves! We quickly decided that we never wanted to leave.

Dinner was at a fairly hip restaurant, Le Cantou, where we were put in a dark corner on the back terrace, with cheeky sparrows trying to steel our food, but still had an incredible meal.

More in the next post, as we spent two full days in Saint-Cirq-Lapopie!