Day 25 - Pigeon Coops, Cherry Stands, and Clouisters : Lauzerte to Moissac

Today began with a communal breakfast at 6:00am, consisting of the usual orange juice, coffee, bread, jam, and fruit. This gite was very well set-up for pilgrims who wanted to start early, and the cafeteria style layout of breakfast was reminiscent of the Spanish portion of the Camino Frances. We shared the meal with two Danish ladies we had met at dinner last night, and then headed off up the hill to the old town.

We took a slight detour off The Way to the pilgrim garden to briefly enjoy the sunrise over the valley below. We then found the 'Passage du Pelerin' and started off with about 20 fellow hikers across the valley. We soon began climbing, and were awarded with a spectacular view back over the city of Lauzerte.

A few kilometres past the town, as we climbed along a shaded dirt pathway, we came across one of the first of several pigeoneries of the day.  Apparently the pigeons used to be kept in the region as a source of fertilizer for the crops.

A little ways farther along we came to the chapel of Saint Sernin, which looked very beautiful as the sun rose behind it. We took a short break there, and several pilgrims went inside to ring the bell. While sitting on the bench outside, we were bitten by the first swarm of mosquitoes we've encountered in France.

The trail gradually turned into a paved road through mostly agricultural land. By 9:00 it was already extremely hot, and we came across Corinne and Danielle, who were trying to find someone to call about a golden retriever that had followed them for 5 or so kilometres out of town, and was now on the side of the road trying to chase cars. After a few minutes a car stopped and the owner of the dog retrieved it, amid a bit of a row, but all seemed to be solved.  It seemed like an unappreciated act of kindness on their part.

As we continued the trail wove between fields of wheat, corn, and hay, as well as fruit orchards and some vineyards. At one point we passed a table offering fresh cherries from the adjacent orchard for donation.

Around 10:30 we arrived in the town of Dufort-Lacapalette.  Most things were closed except for a bar and variety store at the edge of town, just beside the drinking water fountain. We had a glass of orange juice inside, mostly just to sit in the shade for a few minutes, and then restocked on granola bars and apple sauce packets for snacks.

By 11:00 it felt nearly too hot to move, and we were climbing a lot of steep hills on asphalt roads without any shade. We stopped at the Chapel of Saint Martin, which was not open, but had a bench in the shade, and a sign we had been seeing throughout the day marking it as a resting point for pilgrims.

Again, this was one of the subtle shifts we have seen since Cahors that makes this stretch seem more geared towards pilgrims on their way to Saint Jacques. Another sign is that the markers are now a mixture of the familiar red and white bars for the GR65 and signs for the Chemin de Compostelle.

The rest of the afternoon was very hot, and the walk had very little shade. There was a short stretch of shaded path which lead to a rest area for hikers with a small snack bar. Just before it there was a signpost marking various spots along the way and the chemin.

We arrived on the outskirts of Moissac around 2:30. There was a fountain at the outskirts of town, and then a rather hot walk through the streets. We found our gite, and were happy to discover that it has a wonderful shaded garden courtyard. We received a wonderful welcome involving cold drinks, tasty shortbread, and a fan, and then were shown to a wonderfully cool room. I can without a doubt say that we had just stepped into one of the nicest albergues on any camino we have trekked.

We spent the afternoon doing laundry and staying inside, and then headed back out around 5pm to visit the abbey and the cloister. It was still very hot and humid, but the church was wonderfully cool inside. There was a pilgrim welcome centre inside where the lady kindly offered a stamp and an English guide the church. It is an interesting building, having originally been a Roman structure, and then being rebuilt. The walls and ceiling are painted, with some of the original paint being visible around the windows, which gives it a different look than any of the churches we have been in so far.

After visiting the church we went into the cloister, which is famous for the carvings at the top of its many columns, and is supposedly the oldest cloister in the world. It was a beautiful place, but our visit was a little rushed since they were closing.

 

After visiting the cloister we returned to the church to hear the nuns sing Complies. This sounded very beautiful in the old church, but unfortunately there were quite a few rather rude tourists milling around who didn't seem to realize that talking was inappropriate during a service.

We returned to have a communal dinner in the courtyard of the gite. One of the other guests, who did not speak much French or English, was a German man who was walking to Saint Jacques from Italy. He was in his late 70's and had been walking for two months. What an adventure! It was a wonderful meal of melon, steamed veggies (beans, carrots, and potatoes), roast pork, and ice cream. We went to bed early, proud of ourselves for having completed nearly 28 km in 34 degree heat.

__________________________________________________________________________________
Practical Information:
Distance: 27.1 km

Cumulative ascent: 681 m

Cumulative descent: 829 m

Max Temperature: 34˚C

Accommodations: Gite Ultreia