Day 24: Lascabanes to Montcuq (final day)

~7 miles, rolling hills, sunflowers, final day of walking!

Today was truly a magical last day of walking! It was cloudy and cool with a lovely light breeze; we could not have asked for nicer weather or more beautiful landscapes. We left mid morning, as we only had 7 miles to walk, so there was no rush to get out the door. The two donkeys, who lived on the property where we were staying, tried to follow us down the trail and while it would have been a dream come true to have two donkey friends, I clearly am not in a position to care for adorable wayward donkeys.

The highlight of the day was definitely the sunflowers! I felt like I was walking through a picture; immersed in bright yellows and delicate buzzing bees, silhouetted by dark grey clouds creating a perfect contrast of colors. For me, there couldn’t have been a more perfect end to a beautiful journey.

The town of Montcuq was a nice place to end and I think provided our most harrowing walking experience yet: the Montcuq tower! The spiral staircase up to the top of the tower was the steepest, narrowest, most sketchy staircase I have ever walked (and I have walked up many Cathedral towers across Europe). The only way to manage the steps was by grasping the handrail and kind if pulling your body upwards while making sure you didn’t take one wrong step sideways. Walking down was even worse. It almost felt like rock climbing and I wouldn’t have complained if I had been attached to a rope and belay. But the views from the top were beautiful and it felt like a nice “end” to this amazing journey we have been on these last three weeks.

We stayed the night at Maison Saint-Privat. It was very nice, with possibly the kindest most lovely host we have met yet (but really they have all been so wonderful!). We had lunch at a nearby restaurant and celebrated our accomplishment!

So here we are on our last day. We walked just over 200 miles, making it to nearly the halfway point on the path to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port and about a quarter of the way to Santiago. It’s weird to say that it’s over. These past 24 days have been simply incredible. The food, the people, the landscapes have all been more wonderful than I could have imagined when I planned this trip. And it went by in the blink of an eye. I feel changed, although not quite sure how yet. I imagine I will be processing this experience for some time and only making sense of it as I re-enter my regular life back home. I don’t think I’m ready for this to end, although I’m also missing my other life and some of the benign comforts of daily existence. Coming here has been a dream for the past 11 years and it still feels like a dream being here. I’m not sure what’s next in my walking adventures, but I do know that this is a very special place and I am so grateful we spent this time being immersed in its beauty. Southern France, and the Via Podiensis will always be a part of who we are now; we will carry these memories, feelings, and embodied knowings with us for the rest of our lives, forever changed by the encounter.

I will write a final post in a few days with some more concrete thoughts and feelings about the Via Podiensis and providing some tips and tricks that worked well for us on this journey. Please reach out if you have any questions for me or want to share your own stories. I love connecting with people about their adventures near and far. Thank you for going on this journey with me and I hope I will have more to share in the days, weeks, months, and years to come!

Buen Camino!