This post was written on May 17th, though not posted until May 19th.
It was another misty morning leaving the gite at Bach. Incidentally, the village is named after a German family who settled there in centuries past. However, instead of pronouncing it similar to the name of the famous composer, the French pronounce it “Bash”.
But it was clear that the mist would burn off and disperse in the sunshine that was to come, so today there was no question of breaking out the raingear. And so I went on my way. But somewhere about two kilometers out of Bach, I took a wrong turn. I only realised the error when I found myself in the village of Vaylats. I had been following the red/white markers and the shell signs diligently, so I am not sure what happened. But once I realised the error, I then was able, luckily, to find a way back onto the correct trail without losing too much time or distance. It probably just added a kilometer or so to the day’s walk.
Once back on the trail, I found myself following what seemed like an endless path through the forest. This region is Quercy, and I suspect that it is the origin of the genus name for oak trees (Quercus). These forests are predominantly oak. There are occasional breaks, with cultivated fields, and even villages, but it is the forest that dominates for some 16km of the route. I would like to tell you that it was interesting, but visually, there are only so many ways to see oak trees. In terms of sound, which I cannot capture here, there were jays, nightingales, and the cuckoo. The sound of the cuckoo will be one of my abiding memories of this trip: I seem to have heard it every day.
But eventually Cahors came into view. There then followed a long steep descent, hard on the leg muscles. I arrived at the city, and crossed the bridge. Cahors is known for its historic bridge on the other side of town, but I have deliberately left that out of my photographic record. I will come back to Cahors for the next stage of my French journey, and it will be time then to photograph that other bridge. I willingly confess that on crossing the bridge into the city, I gave myself the appropriate reward.
This was journey’s end for this trip, so I went to my lodgings for the night and dropped off my stuff. Then I had time to wander around and see some of the older part of the city. There is the magnificent cathedral, of course. It has a wonderful array of stained glass behind the altar, and I have tried to capture just one panel here.
Cahors was planned as journey’s end for this trip, 340km of walking from where I started in Le Puy. So now it is time to return to Basel. I will write again in the coming days to reflect on the trip, and to look at the future of this project.
And today’s step count was 51050, the longest of the trip somehow.
Walkingman 