Day 13: Golinhac (182 km) - Conques (203 km)

Golinhac (650m) - Conques (280m)

May 24

Last stop: Conques

Our last walking day. The rain cleared the air but it was rather chilly starting out and the countryside was obscured by fog and clouds. Then all at once, the fog cleared and it was beautifully sunny as we stopped by a road side cross on the way out of town.

The walk was challenging. Initially, we had a lot of up and down on a D road, with some very steep descents. The path threaded through a lovely countryside of rolling farmland.

A farmer's creative use of tires

The road to Espyrac

Annie:  Today was one of our longest étapes:  22km.  It was Saturday, and it seemed that everyone was walking to Conques.  A lot of pilgrims on the road.  We kept on passing our 4 friends from St-Jean-de-Luz (they were at the Auberge last night).  At one point, we all came across some black bulls in a field, which led to a lively discussion.  The 4some thought the bulls were bison; I said no way; someone then suggested “tauraux d’Espagne”?  I wondered, am I really here in France, on the chemin de St Jacques, arguing about buffaloes? – yes.  Yes, I am.

Dave: We reached Espyrac by about 10:30am. Which seemed mostly asleep.

The doors to the little Romanesque church were open so we stopped by to check it out. Only one little marche was open where Annie purchased a sandwich for lunch. Then we made our way out of town, on a very steep ascent with some lovely views of the town behind us.

We reached Senergues about an hour later. We first saw it way across the valley, a tiny cluster of shapes with a spire sticking up.  We got a bit lost coming into town but then found our way back to the path and made it into the town center, stopping to have a cup of coffee and pastry. Then another steep ascent out of town, and a long slog across a series of paths and D roads. But we had a delightful lunch break at a junction of two paths, on the edge of a lovely field.

We continued to follow the balises, as the path grew somewhat hard to discern.

3 km outside of Conques we passed through the village of Saint Marcel. 

St Foi

A church dedicated to St Roch is right on the road . We admired the beautiful ancient cross from a much older version of the church, and then stepped inside where we saw a statue of St Foi (whose remains are preserved in Conques). On the way out of town we saw a donkey!!

Conques is near!

Annie: The descent into Conques was steep, hard on the knees, and very slippery, and Dave fell!  Fortunately, he was able to catch himself before too much damage was done.  So, we literally limped into Conques.

Dave: The Camino was not finished me with yet. The rain from the night before made the descent on the very steep, rocky path slippery. Doug Lippoldt had loaned me his walking baton and that limited my fall to an embarrassing moment and a bruised side.

But what joy when we saw the sign for Conques!

Annie: After a frustrating stop at the office du tourisme – they are happy to welcome tourists, but reluctant to give information on how to leave – we checked out the hébergement.  Talk about a bustling beehive!  5-7 volunteer hospitaliers are there to direct you:  take off your shoes, hang up your bâton, put your backpack in a plastic bag, to protect against the dread punaise de lit.

Dave: The hebergement has 96 beds, divided up in a number of rooms.  Once situated in our dortoir room of 14 beds (all of which were filled), we made a little tour of the town and then had a delicious cold Leffe in the shadow of the basilica.

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Day 12: Estaing (166 km) to Golinhac (182 km)

May 23

Estaing (320m) to Golinhac (650m)

Annie:  What a night!  We had had such a pleasant evening – before dinner, we had gone out to explore the town and church, and ended up having a drink with our Dutch friends, and running into Jean and the amis d’Angers.  Life seemed good.  But the night’s sleep!  Someone was snoring so loudly that it was very difficult to sleep.  I suggested a grosse ronfleuse, but Dave thought it was a basso profundo of snoring. 

Jars of jam, at Hosp. St Jacques

Still, breakfast was very jolly – good coffee, plenty of good jams with the bread, and everyone was super-nice.  The clothes I had hung out to dry, however, had actually gotten even more wet during the night.  Dave and I had to peg our wet things to our packs, and set off, towel and underclothes flapping in the breeze.

Estaing

Dave: It was bright and sunny as we set out at 8:30am. The air was crisp and clean, after the late afternoon rain. 

Like yesterday, we began by walking across a bridge over the Lot. Then we set off down the D road, following the river. The path was mostly flat, until we reached a 3 way junction, where we branched off left and then began climbing. 

Annie: The morning was spent walking towards a place called Montgut, which I started to destest since we never really seemed to find it. Sad lack of points d'eau and picnic tables in this area. More of a hard luck countryside.  

Dave: We took one steep shortcut which Alison mentioned in the guide, but otherwise spent the rest of the morning climbing ever upwards. After an hour or so, the path, still climbing straightened out and ran along a ridge. We ran into our friend, Jean!

The balises finally directed us off the road and we followed a series of undulating paths through woods and fields. We stopped for lunch on one path. 

Annie: We finally had our picnic lunch, then caught up with Véro and Joss from last night.  It was sad to say goodbye to these fellow pèlerins, as we parted ways, near Golinhac.

A cross, dating from 1544

Dave: It began to cloud over, and the path narrowed into a trough like channel which cut through the fields. Along the way we saw several examples of the distinctive Golinhac roadside crosses, some which dated from the 1500s!

Our Chambre d'Hote in Golinhac

Snow on the Aubrac plateau

Annie: Our room in the Auberge is very nice, big and airy.  After our shower, we planned to visit the small town and church, but ended up taking a very long nap before we headed down to dinner.

Dinner was fabulous, one of the best we’ve had yet:  first soup, then pâté with pickles, then a salad of green beans, followed by roast chicken with mashed potatoes!  And a baked apple for dessert.  But it also felt odd, because we all ate at separate tables.  That felt lonely, after all our jolly communal meals.

Dave: It had rained later in the afternoo; the air cleared, and the temperature dropped significantly. We took another walk after and looked out across the valley to Aubrac plateau. The innkeeper informed us that it had snowed there earlier!  Just three days ago we had been there.

Day 11: Saint-Côme-d'Olt (149 km )to Estaing (166 km)

May 22

Saint-Côme-d'Olt (385 m) to Estaing (320 m)

Chapelle des Penitents

Dave:  Beautiful morning. The winds have finally abated. We enjoyed our petit dejeuner in the Couvent cafeteria and then after I finished my morning bandaging-of-the-foot rituals (all praise to Compeed!), we packed up and left. We walked through the winding streets  of St Côme d’Olt, and checked out the little museum (the Chapelle des Penitents) and the beautiful church with the twisted spire, St Come-et-Saint Damien's Church.  

Morning light, Eglise St Come-et-Saint Damien

We then set out over the bridge, and down the refreshingly flat D road, heading toward Espalion. 

Annie:  Many downed limbs and trees on the path today.  We learned that the gusts of wind yesterday reached 100k/hour!  

Espalion

We inched towards the fabled city, Espalion.  However, it wasn’t as fabulous as I had anticipated.  It has a lovely pilgrim’s bridge – but it is no longer on the chemin, so pilgrims don’t have to walk across it!  We did have a nice coffee in Espalion.  

Dave: After getting our coffee and a sandwich, we headed out of town, walking along the river, then back onto the D road we have traversed in the morning. 

Annie: Following the Lot River, we trooped out of the city, a few km down the road to the church St.-Pierre-de Besséjouals, one of the oldest churches on the chemin.  It really is rather amazing:  very plain on the inside, but then you climb up to a second floor – kind of where the choir loft would be – and there is a “chapelle aérienne,” with beautiful Romanesque columns and capitals, and a very old altar!  

We ate our lunch on a bench facing the church – a beautiful, sunny day.  Then we started up.  Then up some more.  Then up a lot more, one of the worst climbs yet!  

I am very disappointed in Alison, she did not indicate how many meters we would be climbing.  This was not the “easy étape” we had planned on, and Estaing was still far off.

Dave: After 30 minutes the steep path began leveling off, and then we were walking on a track, through a farm field, with fine views all around of the surrounding hills. 

We went up again and past a barn with an interesting rooster finial. A church beckoned in the distance. It was closed, but we were able to fill up our water bottles at the tap.  

Tredou church

We walked on a very long and straight D road. And then the road twisted through a tiny village Verrieres. 

Verrieres

We reached and intersection and saw the sign for "Estaing. 2,5 km"

The entranceway, Hospitalite St Jacques

Annie: The Hospitalité St. Jacques is a unique place.  Showers very primitive, and only one bathroom, which seems a Bad Idea considering that the dortoir sleeps 18.  I washed out some socks and underwear, and ran up to the top of the building, where there was a clothes-horse under a roof (and, bizarrely, next to a chicken coop). 

Estaing

Dave: We stretched our legs before dinner, catching a view of the church and sharing a beer with our Dutch friends, who were also staying in Estaing. 

Annie: Dinner was very jolly and communal.  I was next to the 2 women we had met on the chemin yesterday, the ones who brightened our chemin when we really needed it.  They are Véronique and Josselyne, from Lyon. 

Dinner at Hospitalite St Jacques

Getting ready for bed in a room of 8 is an odd experience.  People had “claimed” various bunks by hanging their stuff on them.  Everyone is polite and discreet, and tried to ignore the fact that their neighbors are changing into pajamas and getting ready for bed.  The room was unexpectedly cold, and I was glad to get into bed – although I ended up being the one who then had to get up out of bed and turn off the light.

The chapel, Hospitalite St Jacques