Day 18 September 13 Mas-de-Vers to Cahors

20.3 km 315 ascent 451 descent 4:30 hr. 32⁰C

We were over at the Gite for breakfast at around 7:10am and I got the impression we were the last to arrive. The benefits of communal living. Everyone must want to get up early to get to the bathroom!

Breakfast consisted of cornflakes, yogurt, orange juice, coffee/tea, bread and jam.

We set out at 7:30am and it was already getting a bit hot by 9am. Apparently it only went down to 19⁰C last night. The calories from breakfast seemed to get burned off very quickly, and we had no provisions with us, except water.

The route back to the GR65 from the Gite was really well marked, and as always, so was the GR65. Honestly, you don’t even need a map to walk the Camino.

We walked about 6km through fields and woods getting to a major highway, the A20. We were wondering how the GR65 was going to handle getting us across that, which it did by somehow having us only crossing on-ramps and off-ramps. Sitting here now, writing about this I honestly don’t know how we managed to avoid either walking over it on an overpass or walking under it through a culvert. Neither of which we did. It’s a miracle.

There was no really hard climb today, but there were a series of climbs, most of which were either steep enough to be easy, or shallow enough to be easy.

We approached Cahors through a residential area where the houses were equivalent to the houses in Rockliffe Park in Ottawa. Unlike, Rockliffe Park, there were a lot of fences and gates, but no snarling guard dogs. We did pass a couple out walking their new puppy, and he was adorable.

This residential area was high on the top of a cliff. We were walking on a ridge, with a view of hills on the other side plunging to the valley below. It was a magnificent view. It was also out in the full sun there, with just a few trees. It made me think of Golgotha. This place, just outside of Cahors, would have been a perfect place to crucify political agitators and criminals. I was thinking that it also wouldn’t be a good place to be in a thunderstorm, and we noticed the big cumulonimbus cloud that was forming before us.

There was a very steep, approximately 150 meter descent into Cahors, on tarmac. I jogged down. You couldn’t see the city until about half way down, at which point it revealed itself, and many of its glorious bridges over the mighty river Lot.

This is the biggest city we have been in yet, on the Camino in France. It has a modern section and the old village. We are here for two days, so plan to do most of our sightseeing in the rain tomorrow. There is a 100% chance of rain, starting at 7pm today (rather a remarkably precise forecast) and it will rain all night and all day tomorrow, with the possibility of a thunderstorm between 5pm today and tomorrow. Bring it on, is all I can say, and hallelujah. This is supposed to be followed by a drop in temperature. Thursday’s high is forecast to be 22⁰C.

Talking about puppies, I failed to mention that the other day when we were leading the 7 French pilgrims to the GR65 near our Gite La Hulotte outside of Limogne-en-Quercy, we went past a farm where a cute little puppy came running out to play with me. This cute little puppy was soon after followed by three large barking dogs. I was about to panic, but quickly figured out they weren’t interested in me, they were trying to corral the puppy and get him to get back in his yard. I also felt safety in numbers, because there were 8 other pilgrims they could attack. The puppy was jumping up on my leg, and I knelt to pat it, but it was probably teething and just wanted to munch on something. The big dogs did manage to save me from being chewed by the little puppy, although he continued to follow me for a short distance after the big dogs gave up on him and went back in their yard. He sure was cute.

Another thing I have been meaning to mention is that, in addition to all the volcanic rock and marble we see all over, there is lots of chicken stone. Chicken stone is what our pond in the back yard is constructed of. This chicken stone is full of holes, suggesting there was a lot of water around here, at some point.

I meditated on time and eternity walking today. This didn’t go that well. I seem to recall meditating on time on the via Francigenia last year. Right off the bat today I got Diane Warren’s song, that Michael Bolton sang and made famous, ‘Time, Love, and Tenderness’ stuck in my head. Time heals a broken heart. We only have a short time here on earth. We need to make the most of time. Time marches forward. We waste so much time. What we do while here on earth will impact the planet for eternity. Our spirit will go on for eternity.

I saw my beloved blue butterflies today, and I have noticed that they always come in pairs. Maybe these blue butterflies are the spirit of my mother and father? I really miss them, I miss being able to speak to them, to be comforted by them, as only parents can do. Perhaps these spirits of my parents are there on the journey to encourage me to go on, to inspire me, to bring me joy. It made me cry to think of my parents following me along the Way. I miss them so much. I was truly blessed to have such wonderful, supportive parents. As Father Virgil said to me after my Dad died, he isn’t gone, he will always be with you. When you think of him, you will always know what he would have said. That is eternity, during our time.