Day 22 - Pilgrim in the Lot River Valley : Vers to Cahors

Pilgrim in the Lot River Valley

Via Podiensis GR65 Hike

Now that the heat of summer seems to have found us, we are finding the French custom of having a full breakfast that typically begins around 7:30 AM, and takes about an hour to consume, to be a bit of a problem for us. We had hoped to head out of the gite around 6:30 AM or so but didn't end up doing so, because we were in one large room with everyone else, and didn't want to wake everyone up. Nevertheless, we ate rather quickly, and perhaps a little rudely headed out around 7:00 AM, well before the others were finished eating or packing.

When we hiked out of town the views were spectacular, as the valley had filled with fog. Only on leaving Vers did we realize that the steep walls of the escarpment followed the Vers River in a very beautiful way. The picaresque fog also kept us cool, which we were very grateful for.

Upon leaving Vers it is necessary to pay attention to the signs because it is important to stay on GR46, and not deviate from GR36. Today we were also given a choice of two routes into Cahors – one which followed the Lot River, and the other which went up into the hills, and apparently provided spectacular views of Cahors from above.

We had intended to take the higher route but somehow managed to miss the turnoff completely. As a result, much of the day was spent on a shaded green tunnel of a path next to the river. This was blessedly cool.

At times the path emerged from the dense cocoon of vegetation, and we were offered a glimpse of the towns on the opposite banks of the river.

At other times the path emerged into fields and wonderful community gardens. It was Saturday, so many people were out tending to their garden plots.

At one point we stopped for a break and a snack of granola bars beside a lock on the Lot River, and a boat pulled up. Sean helped them dock, and then we watched them open the lock-up, which was quite interesting. Over the course of the day, we saw quite a few pleasure boats out cruising on the river.

Cahors

Around 1 PM we reached Cahors and crossed the first bridge into the city, which was an urban basin of extreme heat by this point. Assuming that we could not enter our gite until 3:30, we wandered around the city for a bit, exploring some of the medieval buildings, historical landmarks, and artisanal ice cream stores!

It didn't take us long to find the Cathédrale Saint-Étienne de Cahors, which is best described as including an almost random mixture of varying architectural styles and designs. The main structure encompasses two large domes of an almost Middle Eastern design, painted Italian frescoes, Romanesque artwork, and many modern stained glass windows, as well as what appear to be original stained glass windows in a more traditional style.

Soon after exploring Cahors cathedral, we ventured through the marketplace, enjoying very large ice creams to assuage the heat of the day, and wandering through the local vegetable market.

Given that it was now nearing 2:30 PM, we wandered back towards our gite. Once we located it we soon discovered that it had a very smart layout, offering access to cold drinks, fresh cherries, lockers for backpacks, a covered sitting area, and a courtyard where laundry could be washed and hung. Signs were encouraging early arrivals to make use of all these facilities, and indicating the dormitory would be open at 3pm. Well. When we arrived, Serge, a former pilgrim and the owner of the gite, quickly invited us in to get settled.

By 3 PM we had showered and washed our laundry and were again ready to head out and explore more of the city.

At 5:30 PM we ventured back to the Cathedral at the advice of the Gite operator to get our pilgrim credentials stamped with the official seal of the church. There we met a wonderful lady, who despite closing her stall, stopped to ask about our pilgrimage and stamp our passports!

In our wanderings, we also came across a street festival of sorts where a large group of drummers were playing and another group of dancers were parading around with some very strange and entertaining blow-up creatures.

After a very nice communal dinner in the gite, complete with great company, we headed out again to explore the city at night. It was a beautiful night, with many people out and about enjoying it. There was a large concert in a central park with many teenagers hanging around to listen. The music sounded nice.

We wandered through the vibrant and lively city, down to the Valentre Bridge, which was lit up. There were quite a few people out enjoying the sights, both on the bridge and along the landscaped walkway beside the river.

On the way back to our gite we stopped to listen to a small group of slightly older students singing and playing guitar down an alley. This was somehow magical, as was the strong artistic and creative vibe of the city. This was a beautiful place, and I think it might have warranted a second day of exploration.