Day 9 - Historical Cities and Lush Forests : St Chely d'Aubrac to Espalion

As soon as we stepped out of our room this morning we could tell today was going to be hot. We had a quick buffet breakfast and then headed over the Pont Pelerin and began the climb out of the valley. Although the climb was steady and long, it wasn't generally too steep and most of it was on paved road or gravel tracks, and shaded by beech trees.

After Lestrade, which had a charming looking gite in the middle of nowhere, we began to climb again along a rocky forested path. On our way up we passed a group of about 60 school children, all of whom were very polite, and most of whom seemed very happy.

By this point it was very hot, so we stopped at a small cafe with a fantastic view and breeze for a piece of tarte aux fruits and a glass of lemonade with grenadine syrup.

Somewhat refreshed we began the descent into .the village of St Come d'Olt. This village has been voted one of the most beautiful in France, and I think it probably lives up to the designation. It is famous for the twisted spire on its Gothic style village church, as well as for its many well preserved medieval buildings.

We stopped inside the church, and it was truly amazing! It was cool and silent inside, and the light streaming through the stained glass windows behind the alter made the whole space inside glow.

It seemed like there were many photographic opportunities in Saint Comb d'Olt, and it would have been nice to spend more time there. However, we reluctantly crossed the bridge over the river Lot, and headed out of town along the road. As we wound our way along beside the river we passed quite a few families having picnics on the banks of the river and enjoying the cool water.

Once we left the village we found it pretty tough going due to the heat, the road walking, and the lack of breeze. The walk was quite beautiful, but I think we might have enjoyed the majestic views a bit more if it hadn't been 32 degrees. Just before we entered the town of Espalion, we stopped to visit an old Romanesque church. It was also very beautiful, with stone pillars, a rounded roof and windows, and the remains of a painted ceiling.

 

 

The walk into Espalion was along a multi-use path beside the river. There were people out biking, fishing, walking, picnicing, and generally enjoying the afternoon. At one point the path turned into a treed esplanade, with benches of retired folk watching the people go by and the teenagers jumping into the river. 

As we approached the city we got a spectacular view of the old 14th century bridge and castle of Calmont d'Olt. We managed to find our gite, but thought it didn't open until 4:30, so decided to walk around the town. We had an artisan ice cream in a cafe and visited the church, which was also lit up to be very beautiful inside. The organist was practising while we looked around, which was an extra treat.

 

 

We still had another hour to wait, but decided to sit in the shade outside the gite, and discovered that with a reservation it was actually possible to check in early. However, when we found our room of five, it was already occupied by three people who were extremely displeased to have anyone in the room with them.  They eventually demanded that we find another lodging and despite having already paid we walked away.

We were fortunate to be able to find alternate accommodations, and managed to secure a charming little attic room in a B&B instead.  To our surprise, just before dinner Mattias, a fellow pilgrim from Switzerland whom we have been bumping into since we started, showed up at the same chambre d'hotes we were staying at.

 We shared a fantastic meal with him and the owner of the accommodations, who is a collector of many different things, including stories. He spoke some English, and Mattias translated, and we were treated to demonstrations of some of his treasures, as well as an explanation of how modern scuba diving gear had been invented in Espalion from coal miner's equipment. In addition, he also extensively demonstrated his historical stereoscope photographs for us, which allow people to see images taken in the early 1900s in 3D! It was very interesting, and showed once again how when plans go awry on the Camino things have a way of working out.

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Practical Information:
Distance: 24.3 km

Cumulative ascent: app. 710 m

Cumulative descent: 769 m

Max Temperature: 28˚C

Accommodations: J & B Morin