Varaire to Moissac

April 17 - This is the point where I have to accept that we are not going to complete this trip as planned. I'm hugely disappointed. Because of the fact that we are only allowed to be in the European Union for 90 days (Schengen Agreement) and only have about 82 days to actually spend walking we have to decide where to take buses or trains to catch up on our lost time.

We decided to take a baggage transport truck to Cahors where we walked through town to look for the train station.

We finally found the train station and took the next train to Moissac, a city with a population of almost 13,000. We stayed at Gite d'etape Ultreia because it was close to the train station, they have wifi and as a bonus they speak English (being Irish). Rom and Aideen Bates still think of themselves as pélerins and do a beautiful job of making everyone feel welcome and at home! We knew we would not arrive in time for dinner with them but they drove us to a restaurant they thought we would like (we did) and showed us the main sights. We decided  to stay an extra day because it was such a comfortable place to be and our bodies really wanted a rest. Almost everything is closed on Sundays and Mondays in France (although sometimes Tuesdays or Thursday depending on local custom) so either of those are good days not to walk if you're at a place where there's food.

Moissac is a lovely little city with a beautiful church and town square. We went to hear the nuns sing in the early evening. We were tempted to stay for the open market the next day but our mission here is to get across the country so we pressed on the next day. But just saying that the Gite d'étape Ultréia is a great place to stay. We had dinner with them the second night and it was delicious - chicken and potatoes and carrots and green beans, salad and an amazing dessert with a warm chocolate cupcake, pear and a chocolate sauce- most delicious! Rom and Aideen do everything they can think of to make sure people get what they need and want.

One thing that has been interesting for me is the different terrain that people like to walk on. I'm happiest when we are on the dirt, even if it's muddy and where the ground is a bit uneven. I prefer to be walking either uphill or downhill a bit rather than on the flat ground and I hate walking on pavement although I'm getting used to it. Others are happier on flat ground, even pavement. Do you think it's the story about the country mouse and the city mouse and how we grew up? I grew up in the country and my playground was fields and dirt and trees. But most people grow up in the city. Some are perfectly comfortable with cars zooming past us, although we're usually on smaller roads and there's not much zooming. I look at a car coming toward me (either from the front or from behind) and think 'holy crap - here comes 50,000 pounds (or so) of metal hurtling towards me and the chances are perfectly likely that it's being controlled by a complete maniac'.

Mas de Jontille to Varaire

April 17 - This was one of those days when we had no idea where we were going for much of the day. Our guidebook seems to have the little communities mixed up a bit and the GR65 markings are rare in this particular area as they are from time to time along the way.

For anyone who is thinking of walking this way, most of the locals and many others here use a small guidebook by Michelin. It has a rough idea of the variations in elevation and also has an actual map of how and where the GR65 intersects with other roads so it is very helpful in spots where you come to a crossroads and there is no indication of which direction to go. This happens all too frequently! We jokingly say that it must be either the uphill way or the muddy way and although that's usually true, it isn't always. I'm not sure where the Michelin guides are available outside of France but they are in most small libraries (bookstores in case you haven't been studying French) from Le Puy on. And by the way, if you are planning on walking it really is in your best interest to study some French. Most people do not or will not speak English and unless there's someone around to translate for you it can be difficult. We have found the people very patient with our stumbling attempts to communicate in French. They do seem to appreciate our attempts even though they are sometimes at a loss to figure out what we are saying. It's always a little disconcerting when I start speaking in what I think of as reasonable French and I see that funny scrunch-up of the face and tilt of the head of the person who is trying his or her best to understand me.

Today was one of those days that had little elevation difference in theory, but in fact we were going up and down all day long. We passed through a variety of small communities with names like Mas de Pech, Mas Dalat, Mas Palat and of course Mas de Jontille where we started. It's very much farming country through this area and the neatly groomed fields are a sight as they roll off in various directions. The animals, the smells and the huge barns and farms all remind us what a big business this is.

We had planned to go to Vaylats today but neither our guidebook, the road signs or the GR65 signs were very clear about where it was. By the time we reached a community named Varaire and saw a lovely little cafe/gîte serving cold drinks we had already walked about 21.5 kilometres and we almost ran up the stairs to sign in and put our packs down. The woman at this gîte/hotel was very understanding and got us cold drinks by the time we were sitting down. This is the Gîte Hotel Café Les Marrioners which offered space in a dormitory which looked very nice or space in an older house with only two to a room. We took the latter even though the bathroom was down the hall. The room came with demi-pension (which means dinner and breakfast were included). We had a nice communal dinner and all of the French people tried really hard to include us in the conversation. A very accommodating hostess who took the time after dinner to explain to everyone that there were two two options  for the following day, where each one started and went and made sure everyone had everything they needed. A very pleasant experience, all for about 35 € if I recall correctly.

Gréalou to Mas de Jontille

We arrived at Gréalou without a reservation in the hope that there would be a place for us. Luckily there was although there isn't really a need for reservations quite yet. We were greeted by the friendly smile of José (pronounced Shosé) who invited us in and showed us around. Our gîte was L'Atelier des Volets Bleus and was advertised as the house of an artist which it truly was. Some people we already knew were there, including our American friend Linda, an Australian couple, a French woman Jacqueline and a bit later a Brazilian couple so we could actually have some real conversations with people.

The owner of the house, Ester, a Swiss woman soon arrived and began to entertain us while José, who was serving a stint as a hospitalero cooked dinner. Ester speaks English in an adorable broken way and is very charming as she well knows. She flitted around like a bird entertaining us all with stories and making sure that everyone was included. In awhile she played her diatonic accordian for us while we munched on olives and sausage and drank the various beverages of our choices. We sat out in the sun until dinner at 7:30 while she entertained us.

Esther's artwork around the house is very reflective of her personality. Her paintings are bold and colourful and look to be done quickly. Her lines are simple and sparse but do capture the essence of various personalities. Her walls are decorated with little leaves and flowers in the corners and the various spaces are divided by long airy curtains. Even in the sleeping quarters which were in reality just one big room, the airy curtains divided the room into sections which gave an illusion of privacy and coziness.

The meal was not great but it was warm and  generous. We were all charmed and Ester made a point of saying how grateful she was that we and other passing walkers stayed, and made it possible for her to stay in her little house. Not surprisingly, since she had an opinion about everything, Ester had opinions about where we should be staying depending upon how far we wanted to walk. In our case she thought we should stay at Mas de Jontille and reservations were made for us with the help of Jacqueline the French woman.

Our walking day seemed to be all ups and downs as usual - up a 100 metres, down a hundred, up and down another hundred, and finally down about 150 as we dropped down into Cajarc for lunch after about 10.5 kilometres. But as it turned out we were too early for lunch and so decided to get a sandwich at the patisserie and have a coffee. Since we were still there, after chatting with a couple of British ex-pats, our Brazilian acquaintances, our American friend and a Columbian woman, we early regretted our choice as we saw the delicious looking omelettes and salads arrive at the tables of others. Lesson soon to be learned but as it happened we did exactly the same thing the next day.

Somewhere along here we were very impressed with the plaid skies (see pictures below). It was about another 250 metres up and a bit down along another 8 or 10 kilometres before we were to find our gîte. But as we came up to it we found our names on a blackboard at the gate which was really a very nice welcome. The gîte was clean and the owners were friendly and once again we were not allowed to take our sleeping bags, boots or backpacks upstairs. It seems that sheets, pillowcases and blankets are consistently provided in France and some people do not even bring a sleeping bag.
We were  given an appertif by the owners - a rosé wine mixed with a grapefruit juice syrup - very tasty. And we got to use a washing machine for the first time and to hang our clothes on a clothesline so that was a treat. Our dinner was cooked by a 71 year old French gentleman from Versailles who said he loved to cook.

Note the solar panel at the gîte in Mas de Jontille in the bottom picture. These is becoming more and more common in gîtes and albergues across France and Spain as alternate sources of heat and hot water.