Day 10 September 5 Estaing

5.1 km 29⁰ C

We had some major excitement last night. It has been very hot during the day here all along, but thankfully it cools off to around 15⁰ C at night. Many nights we have just not been able to leave any windows open, for various reasons, but not last night. We had left the bathroom window (no screen) and the bedroom window inside (shuttered outside) wide open and were getting a lovely cross breeze.

At around 1:30am I woke up and it sounded like either a pigeon was outside on the roof or one had gotten into the room. I put on my flashlight and looked around in the bathroom and bedroom, didn’t see anything, so closed the bathroom window.

It was actually pretty cold in the room by that point. I got into bed but could hear something flying around so I turned on the bedroom light and there was a bat in the room. Russell semi woke up and I told him there was a bat in the room. He said ‘there’s no bat in here, it’s just a bug’.  I told him, no, it’s a bat. After he got up and stumbled around for a while, he agreed ‘ok, it’s a bat’ and started chasing it around until it went into the bathroom and he closed the door.

I then informed him I had closed the bathroom window, which he wasn’t too happy about. As soon as he opened the bathroom door the bat flew back into the bedroom. As he was getting a towel to chase it around with, I dove under the bed covers. Once safely hidden under there, I suggested he turn on the bathroom light, open the window again, and turn off the bedroom light. In the meanwhile, the poor thing flew into the bedroom door and fell onto the floor. Russell quickly followed my suggestions, the bat recovered, and flew into the bathroom and out the window. I told him to close the bathroom window again, but he had already done that.

I’m so lucky to have Russell with me on these trips, he’s so good at responding to these sorts of emergencies.

It actually was way too cold in the room last night, and we were wishing we hadn’t folded up the blanket and put it in the closet. No one wanted to get up and get it though.

We slept in until 7:30am and went to breakfast at 8pm. They don’t have yogurt, fresh fruit, or granola. Too bad for me, since we are here for two days. They did have cheese and ham, though, so Russell was happy.

After breakfast we went to the Church of Saint Fleuret. 

Saint Fleuret is the patron saint of Estaing and was the confessor of Louis the XIV. 

According to tradition, Fleuret, Bishop of Auvergne, stopped in Estaing where he died in 621 on his way back from Rome after he had performed several miracles. His worship has been attested since the 15^th century.  Today, Saint-Fleuret’s traditional procession takes place on the first Sunday of July every year. As indicated yesterday, we are staying in the Auberge Saint Fleuret.

It was very nice that at the church they had photocopied several copies of a parish pamphlet describing the adornments in the church, one of which was in English.

The Gothic church dates from the 15^th century, and is built over a spur of rock (schist) that represents the remains of burial places from the 11^th century. It is endowed with wealthy ornaments dating as far back as the 17^th century, but also including contemporary stained glass windows by Claude Baillon.

Outside the church was a replica of an XVIth century cross, and the original could be seen inside the crypt.

As we were following along the pamphlet, Joanne- the lawyer we met over coffee in Saint-Come d’Olt yesterday came in with her husband, Kevin. We all whispered hello’s. He was 6 ft 4 inches, and she was about the same height as me. She really is very interesting and engaging to talk to. I’m pretty sure she is Jewish. Kevin maybe not. We have met other Jewish people on the Camino, and many others that range from highly religious, somewhat religious, spiritual, seekers, and many that are not religious at all. The Camino appeals to many people for many reasons.

On that point, in the church pamphlet today it said the following:

After visiting the church we went to the Tourist Office and got a walking guide of Estaing, which we followed. Estaing is at the confluence La Coussane which flows into the river Lot. La Coussane has its source at the Aubrac. Four medieval bridges used to span the brook, but only two remain and have required several renovations.

Estaing is in the heart of Aveyron, in the High Lot Valley, where the mountains of Aubrac were formed into a natural hills setting. Estaing is classified as one of les Plus Beaux Villages de France on the via Podiensis, the Pilgrim’s Way to Saint-Jacques-de-Compostella.

Estaing means pond, emphasizing it is particularly well situated. The Gothic bridge over the Lot into Estaing has been recognized since 1998 as Cultural Good Humanity World Heritage by UNESCO as a road to Saint-Jacques-de-Compostella.

It was built in 1490 and completed under Francois d’Estaing, whose statue is on the bridge facing the city. Note that Olt (St-Come-d’Olt) was the name of the river Lot before the French language imposed its laws on the Occitans. The Lot crosses the Aveyron from east to west. A lively, powerful river, which has dug deep gorges in the landscape. Upstream, the widest points of the valley saw the establishment of towns along the riverbanks that radiate towards the surrounding plateaus.

Village life evolved around the Castle, an historical monument, which for eight centuries was the residence of Counts of Estaing. 

In 2005, the castle was purchased by Valery Giscard (French president of the republic from 1974 to 1981), and his brother. Valery Giscard then changed his name to Valery Giscard d’Estaing. The brothers said the purchase, supported by the local municipality, was an act of patronage, but a number major newspapers in several countries questioned their motives and hinted at self-appointed nobility and a usurped historical identity.

In researching the route tomorrow, we have discovered the exit of the town tomorrow involves a 300 meter climb, followed by a massive descent. This was probably a good day to take off.