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

   

Day 10: Aubrac (124 km) to Saint-Côme-d'Olt (149 km)

Aubrac (1307 m) to Saint-Côme-d'Olt (385 m)

May 21

Annie:  Very odd breakfast situation.  Dave and I were the first in the large “salle à manger.”  Bad sign.  Nothing on the tables, no coffee.  When I looked closer, though, I could see a little tray with our room number on it, some bread wrapped up, little jam packets, and a note that milk and butter were in the fridge.  Dave found coffee, and made some in the incredibly slow coffee maker.  Michel and Micheline joined us.  I noticed Michel spoke of the “Royal” Aubrac with heavy irony.

Dave: We left early at 8:30am, just as the fog cleared, and walked through the town. The wind seemed even stronger than yesterday. As we walked on the short stretch of D road heading out of town, I was nearly blown off of my feet by a strong gust – I held onto tight to a road sign.  Then we turned left onto a track, passing a cairn (which appear sporadically on the trail), and began what was mainly a descent through a series of gorges. 

Annie: There were many descents down rocky paths today, and the knees really felt it.  A beautiful countryside, but very fierce.  Nasty wind blowing throughout.

Dave: We walked into a beautiful gorge, around a dramatic volcanic, passing a group of friendly retiree on a day hike. We walked through a cattle farm and had to stop while the farmers rounded up their vaches and moved them down the trail to another field. 

We reached Saint-Chély-d'Aubrac late in the morning, stopped and had a cup of espresso at the Bar Tabac. Annie ordered a jambon-buerre and we were off again. 

The climb out of town was very steep, with beautiful trailside flowers. 

We had lovely views of the town behind us. 

Soon we were on a shady path that wound through a deciduous forest, and then through fine rolling fields. 

We stopped for lunch on a narrow walled lane, sitting on the trail, just outside the little hamlet of Combrassats.

lunch on the trail!

Then we continued on across undulating hills, first on another blacktopped road, and then on wide gravel farm path.  The wind never really died down, though it grew sunny and almost hot for a while.

Annie: A few times I almost lost heart.  The first time, happily, we came across a “pop-up buvette” set up in an old communal oven:  coffee, 1 euro. 

Our two pelerins friends, and the tree en route

Then, down more rocky paths, with a gusty wind, downed branches, and even a few fallen trees.  We came across 2 women hikers who needed help figuring out where the “balises” were.  It’s amazing how cheered you get sharing even a bit of the path with fellow pèlerins!

Dave: We decided to take the shortcut recommended by Alison Raju. It saved us about 5 km or so, shortening the walk to 24 or 25 km. The downside of this route is that it was on the hard blacktop of D 557road. Tough on the ole dogs.

Annie: The final 3K to the Couvent du Malet were tough.  How wonderful it was to see the twisted spire of the church of St Côm d’Olt!  We had a warm welcome at the Couvent, and we have a beautiful room – very spacious.  Dave’s blisters really took a beating today, and we both hobbled down 4 flights of stairs to dinner.  

When we lined up for dinner (cafeteria style), who was there but Jazzman, our friend we had met at Saugues!  And the “trois femmes” we had met at Le Villeret, and the “amis d’Angers” we had met at Monistrol!!  It was like something out of a Hollywood movie, a mini-reunion with some of the people we had liked best from the various gîtes we had stayed at.  

The Ursaline convent at Couvent Malet

Couvent Malet

    

Day 9: Gentiane (105 km) to Aubrac (123 km)

May 20  Gentiane (1192 m) to Aubrac (1307 m)

Annie:  Last night Dave was in a lot of pain with his blisters, so we weren’t sure we would be able to continue.  But in the morning he was ready to go!  Another cool morning, windy and foggy, so on with the rain gear.  The French couple next to us at dinner last night (Michel et Micheline) are also going to Aubrac, which made me feel better, since our Dutch friends had judged the distance “too far.”

Dave: Today we walked to Aubrac through what we later learned was a wind storm, which had started the day before.   It was initially cold and cloudy as we walked through the little town of Fineyrols (where we saw a sign requesting that pilgrims raise their walking sticks – I guess the click clack click drives the Fineyrolians crazy!). There were several visible clumps of pilgrims, ahead and behind us, as we turned off the D road onto a winding path similar to the ones we took yesterday, through grazing fields where we saw some spectacular rock formations. 

 Soon it cleared. We crossed the “pilgrim bridge” and then made our way toward Nasbinals.

Annie:  Walking to Nasbinals, we had plenty of views of the vache d’Aubrac.  In one small town, we saw a man driving – literally, he was in a car – his herd to another field; the cows with their calves broke into a dignified trot in front as the car pursued them. 

Outside the eglise in Nasbinals

Inside the eglise in Nasbinals --St James

Dave: We decided to eat our main meal in Nasbinals, since the gite in Aubrac has no meal. Waiting for a restaurant to open at 12pm, we had coffee in a little Bar Tabac next to the beautiful eglise. Annie said that the song the friendly owner/bar maid was singing along to (Florent Pagny, "Chatelet Les Halles") was a big hit a few years back. Dinner was tasty – salade nicoise for me (yummy!), an omelet for Annie. Then we were off again.

We followed the D road for a bit and then veered off on a broad gravel tree-lined road. We took another D road and then made an abrupt right onto a narrow rutted path that cut through rolling grazing land. This path curved around, taking us higher and higher through a series of huge, desolate grazing fields, stretching as far as the eye could see.

A group of school kids

At one point we passed a group of disabled kids guided by three or four adults, on some kind of field trip. 

We pushed into the strong wind, which continued to howl away. Feeling, by turns, exhilarated and fatigued as the afternoon wore on. We walked through a series of cattle stiles again, struggling to open and close them. 

The sky began to clear.  I saw four tiny figures at the crest of a hill, well over a km ahead, silhouetted against the sky. That’s where we were heading! Surely Aubrac would be over that hill!   I secretly feared that the walk would continue evermore. At last we reached the crest and cheered as we saw the sign for “Aubrac,” which appeared in the distance, with its medieval church tower, looking like some enchanted town out of Lord of the Rings. As we approached, around 4:00pm, we looked for our gite. 

Annie: The “Royal Aubrac” is an odd-looking place – a sort of motor inn in back of a building that looks like a run-down loony bin.  No luxury accommodations, but a nice hot shower.  We then went into the town, which was a bit disappointing – not very lively, more like a museum town.  And no bakery!  We were lucky to find a bottle of wine and almond cookies at the touristy Maison d’Aubrac, and feasted on the sausage and cheese we bought in Nasbinals, along with the rest of our nuts and an apple.  A very early night for two tired pèlerins!