Category: nature
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Happy New Year!
New year, new name, new adventures! I began this blog in the spring of 2011 when I was living alone in the woods and looking for ways to share my writing and photography with others. At the time, I called myself The Perpetual Vagabond, as I was in constant motion — rarely living in any…
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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…
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Day 23: Cahors to Lascabanes
~15 miles, a few hills, lots of sun and very hot The last two days were long days, and today was long and very hot and probably one of the more challenging days we have had yet. Despite the high temperatures (into the 90s), we decided we would walk and do our best to stay…
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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 