Day 17 - It's back! (Cahors à Lascabanes 24 km)
After a day of rest in Cahors it was time to hit the road again. But unfortunately, I had an old friend appear who traveled with me today and who I expect will be with me for quite a while. The blister that was my nemesis on my first Camino has reappeared despite my precautions to prevent this. And I know exactly how this happened - two 30+ km hikes in a row during hot and demanding conditions.
Some of you may ask, why did you put yourself in these conditions? Two reasons. Firstly, I'm not good at leaving my Camino family. We had a plan to visit some special places in the Célé Valley and to stay together, we all had to push hard. I was not going to drop out and lose my family. Additionally, the first day in the valley was much harder than any of us thought it would be with numerous ascents/descents in hot conditions. The second long day was the last night together with Clément and Lucie in Cahors and there was no way I was going to miss that. Secondly, there were not many options to stay in the Célé Valley meaning that we had to travel far to find a place to stay. The guide book that I have is very detailed however it does not cover the Célé Valley variant and all planning I did was on my phone using Google maps and other sources. My estimate on the distance for day two was wrong and that affected things significantly. So, all of the above is why I've got a blister. Mea culpa. But I've been through this before and I know that my mind can battle the pain. I am good, I am strong, and I am exactly where I need to be.
Enough about my issues. Let's talk about today. Dan and I left our gîte shortly after 0700 to meet up with Pierre (aka Scout) on the bridge out of Cahors. Dan and Scout walked together for the day and because I'm now walking slower, I spent only a couple of hours with them.
After an initial steep but relatively short climb out of the city, the route today was pretty benign with only a few ascents and descents. Nothing today was as challenging as the Célé Valley. I did notice that there were more pilgrims on the route than before and we will see how that affects finding a bed in the future. Our intent for now is to travel about 20-25 km each day rather than pack on the kms. The terrain for quite a while now should be similar to what we experienced today - benign.
On my walk I met Roman who, after a very challenging two years as a nurse, has decided to take a year off. His first mission, to walk the Camino. He has yet to decide how far or for how long but that is no surprise as many of us are in that position along the Way. In another episode of ‘the world is small,’ Roman met Lucie and Clément at the bus station in Bouziès on Monday!
After we cleaned up and were relaxing, we were very pleased to see Santamaria arrive; she will be with us tonight which is a wonderful treat for us all. Another guest, Martine, arrived at the gîte just in time for dinner. Coincidentally, she was also at the gîte we stayed at last night.
Dinner was delicious as always. With 17 people at the table, the food was probably the best that I've had to date on this journey. Our host was such a lovely woman with a kind, soft voice who wanted nothing but the best for all of us.
One final point. The locals we have met, either along the Way in the villages or the gîte owners, have been incredibly generous, accommodating and kind. The gîtes and other businesses have been hit hard by Covid and it is quite evident that they are grateful to have pilgrims once again. Local residents have been very kind with no hesitation to provide water if we ask or to have tables set up with refreshments. Similar to my experiences in Canada, I've found that those who live in ‘small town’ France are wonderful people. I could easily live here.
