203 kms down with one day left to the finish

Today we cheated. Twice.

 

After breakfast and as arranged, Monsieur Le Manoir drove us back to our start point at Estaing. Strike 1

 

And then after a short debate and rain starting to fall, your pelerins opted to walk all day along the road passing through the Gorges Du Lot (17 kms) rather than taking the GR 65 up and down through the hills and then cross country to our off track destination of Entraygues-sur-Truyere (27 kms). Strike 2.

 

 

We did pass an interesting little chapel on the way that an English artist on hearing the story of the landed father who hundreds of years ago stopped the love affair between his daughter and a young servant to keep a promise to wed her to another landed gent. The young man made arrangments to rescue his beloved but this was foiled by hired ruffians and the young man drowned in the Lot. Shortly after this trauma, the young lady also died and her father had a chapel contructed by the Lot River where his body was found. According to local fishermen, the young lady can sometimes be seen floating over the water. Aaaaah! What romance!

The artist has restored the chapel and the surroundings with mural paintings on the inside.

Entraygues-sur-Truyere is a medieval town on the confluence Lot and Truyere rivers. Our B&B accommodation in the heart of the old town here was built somewhere around the 15^th century. Quite a contrast to the night before, but still comfortable and that is what makes this travel exciting, you never know what will be around the next corner. The town is very old and has many very very small narrow lanes winding everywhere.

 

We must be moving into English countryside as our hostess tonight is English and her partner is South African. On the square there is an enterprising young English couple with a Salon de Tea, although one of us thinks that they could do better on the cakes and scones side. Still it is a pleasant atmosphere. This couple have some other small enterprises going. So it is good that some do try.

And that brings us to that inevitable question of chosen lifestyle. Here in country France, time has stood still and most of those few living in these parts are carefully guarding the old ways. Is this good or bad? Sometimes it is hard to judge, particulary for those of us from a differenct culture.

The menus for the last 150 kms are almost the same and apart from the odd pizza place with a couple of local louts, it is various forms of steak, trout or salmon, confit de canard, tripe, jambon and nearly all these accompanied inevitably with aligot-a very rich and often poorly done mixture of mashed potato and cheese. Cafes, bars, brasseries and restaurants run much the same as they ever did with restricted hours of operation and the services provided are often inflexible. The boulangeries and charcuteries are still the same as ever. No one appears to be out to make money or get better. Is this the real France or just those left over in these backwaters?

Just one day to go. Yvonne is really looking forward to the finish now as we have passed the 200 kms point and are headed for the Conques finish line tomorrrow.