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'.