I left Figeac at 08:00 this morning. Incidentally, the name of the town is pronounced fee-zhack, with the emphasis on the second syllable. But in any case, it was damp at that time. I was uncertain whether to use the raingear, but based on the forecast, I decided against it. He forecast promised better weather to come during the day.
This post was written on May 15th, but only posted on May 17th due to lack of connectivity.
After a short time on flat roads the route ascends, first on roads and then on forest tracks to reach over 300 metres. Then it stays more or less flat on the roads until it comes to the village of Faycelles. This is a neat little village, almost picturesque. I can imagine it with flowers in the window boxes in summer.
More importantly though, Faycelles offers refreshments. And so I stopped there for a little rest and something to top up my glucose levels. Little did I know how important that would be.
From Faycelles, the road progresses another 4km mostly on roads to Mas de la Croix. No refreshments there. Then another 7km on roads and forest trails to Puy-Clavel. No refreshments there either. And another 2km brought me to Grealou, my best hope for something for lunch. But it was not to be. Grealou is a sizeable village, but it has no bar, no restaurant. There is a gite, but they close during the day. Is there no entrepreneurial spirit in the region that would see the walkers as a viable market? It looks like there was a bar-restaurant in Grealou, but it is now closed. And so I went on. I had little hope when I entered Verdier 4km later, and sure enough there was nothing there. So I took the direct route to Cajarc along the G65A variant to get here faster (4.5km instead of 6km). And at last in Cajarc, a real town, it was possible to get something to eat.
But now to talk about things along the way.
The route spends a lot of time in woodland, mostly oak. But on the forest floor there are some interesting flowering plants. This one looks like an orchid, but with my very limited knowledge, I am not sure.
And among the animal life, I saw a species of slug that I do not recall every seeing before. This guy was about 12cm long, with what for me were most unusual markings
And then there were the human influences. A common sight in this part of the world are caselles. These are dry stone buildings with a stone roof.
The caselles have a door, but there appears to be nothing holding up the roof other than some wooden beams. How they are build and what they are used for remains something of a mystery to me.
And near Verdier, the route passes a Dolmen. These ancient sites, known back home in Ireland as passage graves are pre-historic burial sites. Apparently there are several in the Cajarc area. And beside the dolmen is a stone cross reported to be the oldest on the trail. I wonder how they know.
Anyway, I am here in Cajarc tonight, and after a good meal, I am ready to sleep and build up my strength for tomorrow. Cajarc is not especially interesting, but it does have its own tribute to Mr. Eifel and his wonderful tower.
And today’s step count was 48283
Walkingman 