Day 19 - Castles in the Sky : Gramat to Rocamadour

Last night was very restful in our luxury gite, and we woke up to share a wonderful breakfast with the volunteers and our fellow guests. Around 8:30 we headed out in a light drizzle to the main town. While we were waiting for the post office to open so Sean could mail various things he has collected over the past 17 days home, we stopped by a bakery and purchased two raisin buns. These were still warm from the oven, and extremely enjoyable.

After visiting the post office, we had a bit of difficulty finding the correct way out of Gramat, and ended up exploring a little unnecessarily. However, we eventually ended up at the point where we had left the GR6 to go to the gite, and so continued from there.

It was a nice walk out of town, through a nice neighborhood, and then down a dirt track around a small lake in which were mallards and a great blue heron.

From there it was a pleasant walk through countryside, which felt very remote and peaceful. By mid-morning the sun came out, and we were thoroughly enjoying the walk. We passed a pony farm, and stopped to feed some very friendly ponies a few dandelions. After the pony farm the trail turned to charming green corridor with tree canopy overhead and mossy stone walls on either side.

In the late morning we suddenly found ourselves looking down the length of a truly impressive canyon. Huge stone walls seemed to plunge endlessly down to a river far below that we could hear but not see. Shortly after our first glimpse of the river valley we came to a sign saying that GR6 had been re-routed due to the danger of a collapse, so we set off on a 2.3km detour.

The next stretch of trail provided stunning views of a steep canyon with remains of old buildings along the bottom. As the morning progressed we navigated a series of switchbacks that led us down to the bottom of the valley, where we walked along a treed path next to the river. Except for one family enjoying a picnic at the top of the valley, we didn't see any other hikers. The walk along the valley floor felt quite magical.

Suddenly the path turned into a track, and we rounded the corner to see the town of Rocamadour built into the side of the cliff. It was truly impressive! We crossed a parking lot, and made our way up the stairs to the first level of the town. This street was lined with shops geared towards tourists, and was very full of people. We stopped at the tourist information office and asked where our gite was, and were directed to the next level up.

We climbed the Grand Escalier, which is the staircase pilgrims of old climbed in the final ascent to the holy sanctuary beyond, at what used to be the end of their pilgrimage. This staircase is 269 steps, and is meant as the final preparation before entering the Holy City.

We climbed the stairs, entered the Holy City, and found Le Cantou de Nostros Damos, which is run by nuns, and which is where we are staying. The lady kindly let us leave our backpacks inside, and we set out to explore.

We visited the main church, and the chapel with the black Madonna. Both were very full of tourists, many of whom didn't seem to be paying any attention to what they were doing or seeing. It was a bit disheartening.

We walked Le Chemin des Croixes up to the ramparts, which provided spectacular views of the city and valley it sits in. While we were up there two military jets came tearing down the valley, only just slightly above us, which was a bit unnerving.

 

Finally we made our way back down to the Gite, and were welcomed and checked in by a very friendly lady. It turned out we each had our own single room, which was quite cute. Each room has its own skylight, and mine has a view of the cliffs above.

We walked around the old town some more, and then had a fantastic dinner at a restaurant overlooking the valley. Sean had risotto with Rocamadour cheese (this was very tasty), and I had an omelet with regional mushrooms. For desert we split a piece of black nut cake. It was a wonderful, if extravagant, dinner.

After dinner we went back to the chapel of the Madonna for Complies. It turned out that we were the only ones in attendance, and the service was sung by a single nun. She had a very beautiful voice, and it was quite special to be in the chapel alone with the music, but I think she was a little disappointed that we didn't know how to sing the French songs. With so many people visiting this holy site, it is a little disappointing that so few seem willing to engage what it is all about, but maybe things are different on other days or times of year.

Once it got dark out, we again went for a walk around the town. The moon had risen over the opposite valley wall, and the town itself was lit by spotlights. It was quite magical to see under a clear sky. Our walk was accompanied by the sounds of a creature we haven't yet identified – it is either a frog or an insect, but either way it sounds kind of electronic.

Although there were moments today that were a bit dispiriting, overall the beauty and magic of this place more than made up for this, especially once the tour buses had departed and the town had quietened down. It was well worth the walk!

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Practical Information:
 

Distance: 12.5 km

Max Temperature: 17˚C

Accommodations: Le Cantou