It was another grey morning when I left Montcuq. The route heads south out of the town, 
And that seemed to be the order of the day. There would be a stretch through forest, and then through fields. And so, I passed the hamlets of Rouillac, Berty, Raussou, St. Paul and others to reach Lazerte. I might have stopped in Montlauzun, but with a long day’s walk in prospect I decided to push on, and passed it by.
Saturday is market day in Lauzertes, but for better or worse I got there just as the stall holders were shutting up for the day. Otherwise I might have indulged in cheeses and paté, but it was not to be. But I did find a little restaurant in the square where I got a good dinner. Lauzerte itself is a pretty little town, and if I had organized my itinerary differently, it might have been good to spend more time there.
But as I mentioned, I was in a minor hurry, with still more than 20km to go from Lauzerte to my destination for the day. Just as I was leaving the town, it started to rain, which gave me a chance to try out some new raingear that I bought. I must include a photo of it here someday, because it makes me look like a hunchback, but it is effective, protecting both me and the rucksack. But the rain did not last long and the sun was soon out again. It was just enough to give the new raingear a trial, and it worked, so that is all good.
I saw a couple of interesting buildings on the way from Lauzerte: a dove-cote at Pech Abadeh, and the church of Saint Sermin later on.
But overall, it has to be said that the route after Lauzerte was largely uninteresting. More of the same: fields and forests, fields and forests. Even the village of Durfort-Lacapelette was disappointing. Everything was closed. OK, it is Saturday, but even so, I had hoped for some refreshments there. And after Durfort-Lacapalette, a lot of the route was on road. So I just pushed on as fast as I could and reached Moissac.
After registering at the hotel, I went looking for a restaurant, and was treated very well at Le Florentin close to the abbey in the town. The restaurant does not have Michelin stars, but is recommended, and I can see why,
Yesterday, I remarked on the sculptural pieces on the route, and art was in evidence again today.
As I mentioned, the route went through lots of woodland, both by footpath and by road.
And spring flowers were in evidence again today. Again, there was oil seed rape, still not at its most vivid yellow. There were daisies in fields of grass. And again there were flowers that I do not recognize.
It is easy to show you the visual aspects of the route. But what I cannot capture here are the sounds. The cuckoo seems everywhere and nowhere: heard everywhere, but nowhere seen. Then there is the skylark, with a song out of all proportion to its size as it rises from and descends to its nest in the grass. But the strangest of all was something I heard as I approached a small lake this morning.
After wondering “what bird is that”, I realised I was hearing a chorus of frogs! Perhaps by the end of the walk I will have figured out how to convey these sounds.
So that was my day. It was a long one, more than 35km. And the total step count for the day: 63052.
Walkingman 