Day 2 La Romieu to Condom, 15 kms

Our second day was a leisurely 15 kms to Condom. Again bright blue skies, a mild morning but the temperature soon climbed. Luckily there was a gentle breeze most of the day, and we arrived in Condom just before midday.

Going back to last night. We had dinner at Chez Angeline in La Romieu. The other guests were an American couple from Oregon and six Australians from Melbourne walking the Camino Le Puy as a group. There is a 7th member but she’d decided to forego dinner for an early night. We all ate together at a long table. Excellent food and company, a treat for me to be able to speak English, all delighted to meet The French who helped translate the menu and Domi and I answered many questions about how we met and came to be living in nearby Lectoure. It was a fun night.

En route today, three places of interest. The first was a brief stop at the home of British couple Bronwen and Gez, who live on a lovely rural property on The Way. We hadn’t met before. Bronwen and I are in the same French class what’s app group. A few members including our friend Veronique have an interest in the Camîno so I shared the link to this blog with the group. Bronwen read yesterday’s post and sent a message last night saying that they live between La Romieu and Castelnau-sur l’Auvignon. And we would be passing right by their house. She said pop in if you like and meet ‘the boys’ - four alpacas. They were all very curious and Ralph, the most friendly, came right up to me. What an unexpected treat. Merci Bronwen and Gez - and the boys - for your warm welcome. 🙏

After leaving Chez Bronwen and Gez, we had our first small climb for the day, which took us to the second place of interest - the village of Castelnau-sur-l’Auvignon, a significant base for an international operation as part of the French Resistance in 1942. The history of what happened in this place is told in tableaus, plaques and memorials dotted throughout the village. You can read more here ..

https://francetoday.com/culture/castelnau-sur-l…

Leaving the Resistance village, we went down and up again to arrive at the third place - the small Chapelle Sainte Germaine. This is a welcome stop in a delightful garden, with fresh drinking water available. As The French and I have visited all of these places recently on various day walks, we didn’t linger long. We left the Chapelle and continued on the road. After just a few hundred metres a car pulled up and the driver starting talking to Domi. He was on his way to visit the cemetery in the grounds of the chapel. He told us he goes there every day to visit his wife who is ‘resting’ there. He spoke of her love of flowers and told us that her name is Violet Rose. It was a touching encounter. 💜

Little more than an hour later we arrived in Condom and at our gite for thé night, Gite le Champ d’Etoiles. It translates to ‘field of stars’. This is the gite where The French and I met in April 2014. So of course we are staying here, hosted by the delightful Florian, who took over the gite about a year ago and whom we now count as a friend. As I finish this update, Florian is putting the final touches on the communal dinner which we will share tonight with Florian and the other pilgrims, from France Germany and Belgium. We will be called to the garden for an apero at 7pm. I think I will write a separate post about the Gite tomorrow or in coming days. It’s special to us but, more than that, Florian has created a lovely environment here and offers a warm and generous welcome to all.

The French and I saw all our dinner companions from last night in Condom today. And enjoyed a chat with all. It’s unlikely we will see any of them again as the Australian group are having a rest day here tomorrow and the Americans Reg and Sue are walking to Montreal du Gers while we go further.

Gotta go. Our apero in the garden is calling. 😎Read more