Our Walk Along the Via Podiensis (GR 65)

Glamping on the Camino Via Podiensis GR65 Pilgrimage Breakfast was laid out at the gîte, enabling us to serve ourselves and, therefore, depart at whatever time we wanted to. We decided to get up early, as did everyone else. We were on our way around 6:15 AM, heading out across the Valentre Bridge, and then climbing a very steep set of natural rock steps on the other side, which gave us a wonderful view back over the beautiful city of Cahors . Once we climbed out of Cahors and reached the plateau above, the landscape changed once again. It turned into an oak savanna with scrub, which was very beautiful and different from anything we had seen so far. It was very hot today, and at times the white gravel tracks were very bright. However, for most of the day, there was some shade on the path, contradicting what our maps seemed to suggest. Around 8:30 AM, we arrived at a gîte in the woods on the outskirts of Labastide-Manhac. A sign outside said it was paired with the gîte in Orriso...

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 gîte 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 picturesque 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...