Département du Lot

We left our Figeac refuge around 7:45 (breakfast was naturally brilliant}, bought a baguette at a bread shop and were on the way by 7:55. There were light clouds in the sky and in the valleys, but no rain, and after a few hours we were both down to a single T-shirt (each). It was a long walk - 31.3 km according to the GR65 signpost, but other than a steep hill up and then down at the start it was mostly steady small hills and flat areas, at least until a few more hills near Cajarc.

We saw very few walkers all day, so we tottled along at our own pace. Towards the end we overtook quite a few people, but otherwise we saw almost no-one. . Anne does not use the poles, but I use one of Amr and Rosie's (now that we have them), especially on the rockier paths. We were mostly on small roads or wide paths, with no mud to speak of (ie not deeper than shoe soles) but towards the end there were a few longish sections of rocks.

Mostly we were going through farmland or little woods, and going over hills often gave views of the whole countryside because it was all gentle hills. There were dry-stone walls most of the way, and we even went past a lone dolmen of unknown origin in a corner of a national park. The areas with rocky paths were probably hard to cultivate, because there were usually stunted tress and scrub beside the path, rather than fields. It was all extremely green, though - especially the rolling fields of oats or barley or rye or wheat (?).

We stopped for lunch on a stone wall in a messy little village where the church was closed. It was around 12;30, and we had done about 19-20km. We had to refill some of our water bottles there- a first for the trip. Suddenly the "eau potable" signs were important! We also stopped at a set of signs around 2pm to take a photo for Amr, Rosie and Annie Clarke, and to ask if they remembered where they were exactly 34 years ago (Australian EST). [A: Dinner at Amr and Rosie's in Shirley Road Wollstonecraft. Anne arrived late].

We reached Cajarc and the hotel around 3:30, although it might have been 10 mins earlier if one of us ( I ) had agreed the sign to Gite with our hotel's name would also take us to the hotel. We went into town and up the street to be sure... and they ended up being the same place.

Our luggage was at the hotel when we arrived, so we had a shower and walked into the town. The church is big, but without the arches and vaulted roofs of other old ones, and the town has building in the same stone as Figeac and St Come, but it is not as well kept. Lots of the old buildings are closed, and seem unlikely to be used again given the advanced state of disrepair. There is a large 14th C "palace" right near the centre of town that looks like it will need squillions to be usable, even with a wonderful facade.

We could hear a lot of cheering, so we also went to the local sports field thinking there might be a rugby game... but it was soccer. The team in green was better than the one in neck-to-knee grey.

The hotel ( La Peyrade) is part of the Logis chain, but perhaps only just. It is like a single storey country motel, although the room are much larger, so lots of space. It also has little terrace in front, with a view over the town and hills behind it. So far it's average: 1. Good wifi. 2. No tea or coffee. 3. Totally non-controllable temperature (to the point of the control panel being bolted shut). 4. Very light and open. 5 Dinner included a fish non-curry with vegetables that were surely once frozen. 6 Bed good. 7. Nice view from outside the room.

45,210 steps (might be a record), 36.2km and 86 flights.Lue lisää