Day 14 Figueac to Gréalou

Our previous day of rest meant no heavy bags but there was still walking. G has spent his morning walking around local Capdenac to get the morning bread & then to the pharmacy to purchase the next lot of potions - he is enjoying the chance to flex the linguist tongue.

Figeac is another beautiful old medieval town- I'm sure I'm not going to tire of these incredible beauties but at the same time I feel inadequate in describing them- the feel of time and ancient history that now survives alongside modern society and it's use of concrete, glass and plastic.

Our second day of rest apart from getting to be with Frances and Cathy and seeing their town was also spent exploring Figeac, walking in between leaning buildings that feel as if they will topple over at any minute but obviously the fact that they have been standing for hundreds of years means they will survive for a few more days.

Figueac is the birthplace of Champollion, - who was the decipherer of the Egyptian hieroglyphs using the different codes of the Rosetta Stone. On the ‘Place des Ecritures’ there is a giant copy of the Rosetta Stone which you can walk over and see the three different inscriptions. (The original is of course in London) but this was good to see and peer at without any guard rails or guards stopping you from taking photos.

Figueac is a small town but quite busy in the morning when we leave and the traffic lights are busy controlling the traffic. It is blissful to finally gain distance from this morning business of commuters and head off into the woods and the country lanes and to hear the peace of nature again. It is amazing how the busy sounds of civilisation cause now a certain degree of distress. We are now opting to try and find gites that are outside the towns or in smaller villages at least. There is of course a steep climb but after that we are treated to some relatively level tracks which meant we make quite good progress - this is fortunate as the temperature has climbed to 27. degrees and I spend the day walking in shorts and using lots of suncream.

It is delightful to see Alban and Simon walk into our mid- morning coffee stop. I thought with our rest days would mean we would be out of sync with their movements. They are of course walking further than us today so I think we might start losing them from here on.

The cows have been replaced by sheep and we come across the sweet scene of a newly born lamb trying to understand what it's legs are for and how to use them. The countryside side is more rolling with a lot more evidence of the land being prepared for growing crops.

This area is called Quercy which used to be the ancient home of Celtic people who inhabited the region before the Roman invasion of the 1st century. It is a dry limestone plateau and we notice the first lot of 'gariottes' which are small circular stone buildings that were built for the shepards. We used one of these today for our lunch stop.

Our gite for the night is straight out of Nimbin. It is run by a Swiss German who is also an artist and the gite reflects her alternative lifestyle. The walls have leaves painted on them, there are paintings hung in every possible wall space, bright colours of every hue adorn the furniture, the curtains, the bed coverings. there is bunting across the little lane leading down to the gite, outside there is bunting, prayer flags, bells, chimes. I am having trouble describing this Aladdin cave. We are greeted by Esther the proprietor and another Swiss German who looks like he lives here called Christian. The warmth of Esther and Christian is sincere and welcoming. We are even introduced to Ben the dog.Their policy is like a lot of gites in that boots are left downstairs (in this case outside) the poles - batons are put in a tub and we are given a basket to put only what we need from our bags to take upstairs. The risk and fear of bedbugs drives this need to keep the equipment away from the beds. I notice that they even sell a spray in which you can spray your bag to prevent the infestation. Maybe this is worth purchasing . The dormitory above our little chamber is filled with beds all decorated with varying colours alongside even hammocks. It looks like Joseph's coat of many colours.

This stop is so far from what we normally experience in our Sydney life that I am totally intrigued. We are the only two guests tonight and as I sit outside the gite with the lane side in front I can smell Christian's cooking inside making my stomach juices churn.

My washing is also drying as it sits on the rack along side the road- imagine putting your rack up in front of the house alongside the street back home.

I have made enquires about seeing the Romanesque church across the road and next minute I am given the big brass key to go and let myself in and take a look around. It is a special feeling to open the church door by yourself and to have a whole church all to yourself.

I am led back to the gite by the lure of music- it is Esther sitting outside the gite playing the piano accordion- again not what you would expect.

It is now after dinner while I finish this day's writing. Another person arrived for the night after my earlier writing- she is a young French girl who has let her boyfriend walk on his own for a week on another route and then they will rejoin again later on. She is fascinating as she talks about music therapy, the use of yoga to tell the brain that the pain in your leg or shoulder is not to control your thoughts- it is worth trying.

Christian sits with us for dinner. His meal of laksa soup, lasagne with fresh garden vegetables, salad with walnut dressing, fresh cheese and then fig with fromage Blanc for dessert all deserve a special prize. It is all wonderful. It is Christian and his story that has us amazed. He is Swiss German and three years ago he woke up after a stroke not being able to speak ( he knows German, French & English but couldn't speak any of these) He said that he spent 18months in hospital before taking himself out of the hospital to walk to Santiago de Compestella. He now is very philosophical about life and takes one day at a time. He is heading off next week with a one way ticket without any plans except to go to Switzerland and the Reunion Island but then he doesn't know. You can see he still struggles with some words or thoughts and he said he can't speak French at all now. He looks as if he could be Gandalf from Lord of the Rings.