Condom

I had a good sleep at Vers le beau, a very nice gîte in Le Romieu. I had a room to myself. I hung my my clothes on a balcony, but it got soaked by a fast moving storm last night. Fortunately, another cycle through the washing machine rung out enough water, so I was able to hang my clothes to dry in my room.

I woke up early this morning and collected my laundry, and packed my bag. I was anxious to start the day so I skipped breakfast, which wasn’t served until 7:30 AM.

The first Village of the day was Castelnau-sur-l'Auvignon. A beautiful town on a hill with lots of history, including lots of history related to World War II and their resistance.

As I left town, I started walking towards L'Église Sainte-Germaine du Baradieu, an old church on the outskirts of the city of Condom. I got a stamp there in the deserted church and forgot my last walking stick there (It’s a good thing I’ve got a day off tomorrow in Condom).

Today was an easy walk except for a strange detour around a lake (lac de Bousquetara). I say strange because I don’t understand its purpose. I descended down a path. I see a lake in front of me. There’s a sign directing me to the right even though all the maps show me taking a a short direct route to the left.

But I’m a good pilgrim, and I followed the directions. As I start walking down this new path, I realize I’m walking away from my destination down the shore of a very long narrow lake.. As I continue in a direction away from my goal, I meet a man with his dog going in the opposite direction. I greet them and imagine I will never see them again. I continue down the new path away from my goal. After a long walk, I see that there is a dam (la digue) that offers a path to the left around the lake. Finally, I can turn and start back in the direction of my goal. As I turn, I again meet the man and his dog walking down the path in my direction. They have circumnavigated the lake. Why did the directions send me all the way down here? It’s a mystery.

Regardless, it was a nice short walk to Condom. I munch on a quiche I got from the very first boulangerie I saw. I’ve walked my way through the shops and cafés on the way to la cathédrale Saint-Pierre. I made a brief stop there and then crossed to the Cáfe des Sports for a café-crème and settle in to relax.

After that, I walked to my residence for tonight. Took a nice quick bath, changed my clothes and went for a walk in the town. Tonight, I think I’ll focus on writing some postcards and making reservations reservations for the next day.Leer más