Your pelerins are now in Conques and the trek is over

 

We have achieved our goal. . I am writing this in our B&B perched on the edge of Conques. This B&B looks out over a picturesque camping ground below and the small river here. Yvonne is very glad to have reached Conques but was sorely tempted to dial the telephone yesterday and call on our new hosts to come and get her - as they had offered to do if required. With her trip counter being regularly checked against Randall's trip estimate she was almost ready to call it a day. But then we reached the point where the track begins a sharp descent into this medieval treasure and she had passed the point of no return.

As you know, Entraygues-sur-Truyere is a little off the GR 65 walking track and so we had to play it a bit by ear and eye to get back into the walking system yesterday. We decided to stay on the known roads for almost 13 kms until we reached Espeyrac which is where we were able to pick up the red and white track symbols again. We did miss the pleasure of off road walking and it really gives you a totally different, and much better, experience.

 

But knowing that his was the last walking day and that there was an escape clause to call up a lift kept things going and we were finally into Conques about 5 pm. We had a couple of celebratory drinks for our 230 kms completed.

The weather was and is still a bit indifferent, especially for this time of year. In reality it is ideal for walking but sometimes we were quite hot and at other times cool so we were changing jackets etc from time to time as we went.

Conques is an amazing medieval village almost stuck in time. The whole place is much the same as it ever was and we have spent quite a few hours today just taking in the ambiance and enjoying our recovery day.

So now the fat lady is singing and this is the end of what has been a great experience. Yvonne is yet to believe that you really do discover who you are on these trips but she goes along for the pleasure of it in any case. From time to time she says she is only doing it for her hubby but those of us who know her think otherwise.

 

Rural France is an amazing, perplexing and sometimes frustrating place and we incessantly talk about the value systems we discover. In many ways it appears to be so old fashioned, stuck in its rigid ways and uncompromising to foreigners. In other ways the lifestyle is very attractive and seductive, just begging one to throw in the towel, sell up and sign up for a better life. And that is why we continue to come back to France in various ways from time to time.

No doubt I will return to discuss these lifestyle points again from time to time again in our other blog www.movingintothirdgear.blogspot.com where you can pick up from now on.

Will we complete another walk such as this again? Too early to decide.