Day 19 September 14 Cahors

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

Today is a day of sight-seeing in Cahors, the capital of the Lot department in south western France. Its site is dramatic, being contained on three sides with a U-shaped bend in the River Lot, known as the presqu’ile. Today it is perhaps best known as the center of the famous ‘black’ wine known since the middle ages and exported via Bordeaux, long before that region had developed its own viniculture industry.

The original name of the town was derived from "Divona of the Cadurci’. Divona was a fountain, now called "la fontaine des Chartreux", worshiped by the Cadurci, a Celtic people of Gaul before the Roman conquest in the 50s BC. The Cadurci were among the last Celtic tribes to resist the Roman invasion. However, Romanization was rapid and profound: Cahors became a large Roman city, with many monuments whose remnants can be seen today. It has declined economically since the Middle Ages, and lost its university in the 18th century. Today it is a popular tourist centre with people coming to enjoy its mediaeval quarter and the 14th-century fortified Valentré bridge.

It was also infamous at that time for having bankers that charged interest on their loans. The church in these times said that using money as an end in itself (usury) was a sin. Because of this Cahors became synonymous with this sin, and was mentioned in Dante’s Inferno alongside Sodom as wicked.

I forgot to mention yesterday that when we crossed the Louis Philippe bridge into Cahors yesterday, there was a pilgrim welcome office in the old toll booth on the way where we were warmly welcomed and given a stamp, a cold drink, cookies, and prunes. They were collecting stats on what country the pilgrims were visiting from. It was very much appreciated.

We set out in the rain this morning toward the Rampart, the defensive wall along the land locked part of the peninsula. 

thesell was wondering if there was some way of getting up into the defensive tower and we wandered through the Cahors cemetery looking for one. Some of the tombstone monuments were very touching. There was no access to the tower. We admired the Gate of Saint Michel. This seems to be have built in the 14^th and 15^th centuries.

Cahors is famous for its public gardens. Wherever we went we saw beautiful gardens, some of which were ‘secret’, and some were specifically dedicated to something. They must be splendid when the flowers are in their prime. Now, they are primarily different shades of green, but there are some fall flowers still in bloom, and the hyacinths are gorgeous.

We visited the Cahors Barbacane (english, a barbican is a fortified outpost or gateway, such as an outer defense to a city or castle, or any tower situated over a gate or bridge which was used for defensive purposes. Usually barbicans were situated outside the main line of defences and connected to the city walls with a walled road called the neck. In the 15th century, with the improvement in siege tactics and artillery, barbicans lost their significance. However, several barbicans were built even in the 16th century). The beautiful garden at the Barbacane was called ‘The little enclosure of the Crusades’. The garden inspired by a military theme lies at the foot of the ‘Barbacane and the Tour’ St. John. The plants are ones brought back by returning crusaders.

Note that there are war memorials scattered everywhere throughout the town, dedicated to and remembering the children of Cahors France that died in various wars. France has been involved in a lot of wars, going back for centuries, unlike Canada.

Saint-Barthélémy Church (14th century), had a beautiful rock garden dedicated to St. Jacques, which evokes the arid landscapes traversed by the pilgrims. Another meditative garden was dedicated to and willingly welcomed passing pilgrims. Both the main door (permanently closed-situated facing the River Lot), and the (very locked) functioning door faced small side streets in the old Village of Cahors. That church was only open on Sundays.

At the church there was the entrance to the Ferryman’s garden, which is the largest of the secret gardens and provides a physical transition from the upper to the lower town. There were 3 gardeners blowing leaves as we entered and they all stopped to let us pass.

We next visited the Cathedral Saint-Etienne, a national monument, and its cloisters. On the way, we ran into Jim, the Irish pilgrim, also taking a day off in Cahors, and invited him and Natalie to join us for dinner tonight.

The Cathedral is an impressive example of the transition between late Romanesque architecture and the Gothic. The church was built in the 11th century, over a church erected in the 7th century. The church has the sturdy appearance of a fortified edifice. I looked all over but couldn’t find a stamp. The cloister was built in the 1504 is now home to a museum of Religious Art. We ran into Nathalie, one of the 7 French pilgrims, in the Cathedral. She is visiting Cahors today and going home to Lyon tomorrow.

There was a bustling market set up in the square by the church. Russell wanted to go to the supermarket and buy a cheap bottle of wine for siesta today, and I said ‘we are only going to be in Cahors once’. So we got a lovely bottle of Cahors Malbec at the market. It was well worth the price.

Finally, before going back to the hotel for lunch, we visited the Maison Henri IV, where Henry IV lived during religious wars that ravaged the region. While there, we ran into Natalie, and invited her too to join us for dinner.

All the shops and the market were closing up when started heading back to the hotel.

After siesta we visited the Valentre Bridge, the symbol of the town. Building began in 1308 and was completed in 1378. The legend associated with this bridge is one of the most fully realized of all Devil’s Bridge legends. The story goes that when the bridge was first built, the master mason in charge of the work despaired of ever getting it finished in time. So he made a deal with the devil, who in exchange for the mason’s soul, agreed to get the construction finished. However, when it was nearing completion, the mason, still hoping to save his soul sent the devil off to a spring to fetch water for the building work – but in a sieve! Realizing that he had been tricked the devil backed out, but in revenge removed a stone from the central tower and cast a spell on it so that every time it was replaced it would dislodge itself again. When the bridge was restored in 1879 the architect noticed that there was still a stone missing, and decided to fill the space with the sculpture of a devil clutching at the cornerstone which he tries desperately, but always in vain, to extract.

Next we visited the Roman Arc of Diana and the remains of a Roman amphitheater that was discovered during the construction of a parking lot.

Jim and Natalie did join us for dinner at Chez Bourgougnoux, and we had a wonderful supper and conversation. It was late when we got back to the hotel, and we tried to be totally organized for tomorrow. It is 34 km to Montcuq tomorrow, and a very dangerous climb up steep, high steps out of Cahors. I decided that if it was wet and slippery, I would take a cab to Labastide-Marnhac in the morning, which would save 10km and the steep climb.