Faycelles and Carjac

I had a good breakfast this morning at the hotel where I stayed, the hotel de Bain. I liked the staff. They were cheerful and kind. As I left I sang the Karol Burnett song, “.I’m so glad we had this time together.” face smiled and waved goodbye. Singing this tune made me think of our family friend Micah who enjoys when we do this routine
There was a little confusion on the path leaving town. I met a couple of nice Belgian women and we puzzled over the problem until a nice lady came out to direct us the correct way.

Which bring me to the idea of kindness on the pilgrimage. People go out of their way to look out for us pilgrims. They’re very kind and helpful with directions. I have benefited many times from these guardian angels.

And the pilgrims can be very kind with each other. That’s one of the Belgian ladies let us up the the path out of the river valley, we came across an older woman from Marseille, who was hiking with a roller cart for her backpack. The path was a bit rough for this kind of car. I think it’s fair to say, but the lady from Marseille was a good cheer, but was struggling a bit. The Belgian lady gently lifted the wheels and carried the sack up the hill with the lady from Marseille. She did it in such a way as to not diminish the Lady of Marseille. That kind of kindness is humbling for me.

Random notes:
1. I took an accidental detour through Béduer, Fontieu, Surgies Haut, and Combe de Salgues. As a result, I got a view of a 13th century castle called appropriately enough The Château de Béduer.

2. I came across what has to become an Internet legend. It was a note by the entrance to a home. It had a picture of a dog called Suivrie. The sign cautioned pilgrims not to let the dog follow because it becomes lost. I think the dog’s name is almost exactly the French verb for follow, “suivre.” I was so amused that I forgot to take a picture of the sign.

3. I can understand why the French are having difficulty fighting fires. It’s obviously very dry right now. I came across some big tooth maples (érable à grandes dents) with their red autumn colors.

4. I made a bad decision at the end of a long and tiring hike. I decided to follow a Google direction to save 30 minutes on a hiking trail. It turned out to be an almost complete google hallucination. The Google map directed me town road that gave way to a firm room. Nothing surprising there. That’s the story of following GR 65.

What was novel, the farm wrote completely gave out. I could see the outlines of the typical farm road, lined by two sets of stone walls. Having already committed down this “ shortcut,” I pushed on rather than retreat.

Big mistake. This is the Dordogne region. It’s honeycombed with mines, caves, and cliffs that drop precipitously. I finally gave up when I came to one of these cliffs (I bet somebody uploaded a land record that shows the road from many years ago, and no one checked to see if it was still there)).

I backtracked looking for potential paths, and looked into a tiny hiking path that took me down the shoulder of this hill. That was the only way to get to my destination. As I’ve said for God looks out for fools and I am living proof.

5. Tonight’s stay features, a nice simple, clean Gîte: Gîte Le Pèlerin. One drawback. A father and son are listening at the loudest possible level to a French melodrama of some sort that features will come play than any noire crime novel.

6 I had a simple dinner at a bar/Café on the Lot River. Le Nautic Bar Restaurant. Good bar fare including my salad featuring chicken, thick cut French bacon (lardons)

7. I know I’ve been writing a lot about the Lot River. It runs wider and deeper here. This is the first time I saw people using speed, boats, and water skiing in inland France.

8. Nineteen and Thirty-one. The numbers of miles and kilometers I hike today.

Note: I’ll have to upload photos later. No Wi-Fi connection at this time.Læs mere