Day 7 - Aubrac Plateau : Aumont Aubrac to Nasbinals

We dubbed today Cow Day!  We left the chambre d'hotes around 7:30 this morning, after a delicious breakfast of coffee, bread, homemade jams, apricots, and homemade green madeline pastries.  At first we walked through the outskirts of Aumont Aubrac, mostly on shaded paved roads.  It was a nice sunny day again, with a cool breeze.

The path wound through a forested area with a few grazing horses, and then we began the climb up onto the Aubrac plateau.

After a rather steep part, we came to the village of La Chaze de Payre, where we stopped and had an orange juice in the company of a very friendly dog.  Much of this stretch of the walk was on relatively busy roads and highways.  It is possible that these roads were extra busy due to the festival and the weekend, but nevertheless, it was the busiest and fastest stretch of traffic we have yet encountered on the trail.  A few kilometers after La Chaze we came to the Chapelle de Bastide, which is a tiny building situated at a crossroads.

We passed through the village of Lasbros, which looked very picturesque, and then continued a rather steep climb.  Once we arrived on the Aumont  plateau the landscape completely changed!  It was absolutely beautiful, and not like anything we expected to find in France.  There were rolling hills covered in blooming wildflowers, including narcissus, dandelions, buttercups, clover, and many others I don't know the names of.

The fields were divided by rock walls, and there were large boulders scattered across the landscape, together with thousands and thousands of smaller stones.  From the highest point on the plateau they looked like they had been sprinkled from the sky.

Some of the fields had herds of cows already in them, but many were still empty.  This weekend is the Festival of La Transhumance, when the Aubrac cows are taken up onto the plateau to graze for the summer.  It is a very big festival, and we are lucky enough to be here right in the middle of it!

As we crossed a bridge, seemingly in the middle of nowhere, we came upon a group of people waiting with cameras, and sure enough, a parade of cows came through shortly afterwards!

We stopped for a picnic at a nice shaded rest stop in the charming little village of Finieyrols.  It had a cafe with lots of people in it, as well as a picnic area with a water fountain and picnic table. As we continued to cross the plateau there was no shade, but we were lucky to have a nice cool breeze.

However, as we began the descent into Montgros, which at first we mistook for Nasbinals, the heat was getting pretty intense.  We were getting tired and hot, and attempted to stop at in Montgros for a cold drink.  The staff were not too pleasant, and proceeded to serve everyone except us 'Americans'.

We continued into the town of Nasbinals, which is very picturesque looking with its stone buildings, slate roofs, cobblestone streets, and central church.  It was very busy for the festival, but we managed to find our hotel and check in.

We visited the church, where the priest kindly gave us a stamp for our credentials, and then we enjoyed a picnic dinner of fresh bread, tomatoes, avocados, cheese, and local wine.

 
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Practical Information:
Distance: 26.2 km

Cumulative ascent: app. 518 m

Cumulative descent: app. 413 m

Max Temperature: 27˚C

Accommodations: Hotelde France