Mélange

September 21, 2024

Livinhac-le-Haut -> Figeac

We had a riot at our gîte last night, with 13 French-speakers (14 total 😉), home cooking, Camino tales and insider advice on our stage today. Some things were lost in translation… does a potato on the head really defend against lightning strikes?

We need to talk about UNESCO. This imprint is all over the chemin, declaring that the preservation of old bridges, churches and castles helps “promote world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture”. OK then, nice sentiment… but then there are stretches of this trail that are also ‘UNESCO monuments’..? We’ve already passed thru several – the Aubrac and the PBV^TM’s – and today’s last 3/4 promised similar aspirations for humanity!

There were some lovely villages, churches, livestock. We shared a baguetto-wich in a rest area between a cemetery and a playground. Foot management remains an inexact science but silliness is assured:

S: You taking off your shoes? T: I don’t want to poke the bear S: You gotta release the hounds T: these dogs are barking already! And so it goes, playground or not, helping the underwhelming route go by.

So, we kept our senses open (except for AirPod moments) for the nice and the noteworthy:

The day turned muggy as we crested the final ridge and trundled into Figeac via a paved downhill and grim micro-suburb, with some helpful graffiti. A stone shepherd’s hut looked worthy of eternal preservation.