Day eleven - Friday October 29

Departed: Vaylats 8:15am
Arrived: Cahors 1:15pm
Total hours: 5
Total kms: 24.6
Accumulated kms: 341.7
Weather: Sunny but overcast in the afternoon

Wow, how depressed do I seem to be getting? The walk today was really pretty boring. Lots more rocky paths through scrubby bush, a bit of walking along a freeway then a highway, and some gravelly, muddy paths up high before the descent into Cahors. That was the only highlight, coming over the top of the hill and finding this big city nestled down in a valley, surrounded by water.

I went to the Tourism Office to see if they could ring ahead for accommodation, as I wasn't planning on stopping here. Everything within a 30km radius was shut. Then, most of the things outside that for tomorrow night were also shut. I finally managed to book a room 32km out that's twice what I would normally pay, but it will have to do. It's getting harder and harder to find accom, and although I'm aware a large part of this is just me me missing Angie so much, I'm starting to think that the extra expense I'll have to go to just to get a bed and food each night may not be worth continuing on for. I'll give it a few more days, try to plan ahead a bit more, and see how I go.

Oh, and last night's stay at the monastary was just weird. I got the distinct sense that the woman who managed the place utterly loathed me, and another guy I met who was staying there and spoke French (he was Belgian) agreed with me. I missed Mass (one thing that went right) because, despite being told that last weekend was daylight savings, it's actually this weekend. I've been operating all week on the wrong time. Not that it matters, I've just been leaving with the sun, but somehow, despite the fact every single town has a church that rings its bells every hour, I've missed counting them for a whoile week.

I was speaking to this Belgian guy about missing Angie and he, who has been travelling for months on a different path, admitted to missing his girlfriend too. "However," he assured me, "I find it helps to sleep with others, it pushes the missing back for a little while. If you like, I can teach you how to tell a girl in French that you will not be around tomorrow." He was surprised when I respectfully declined.

One other strange and uncomfortable event that happened - I was walking along a rocky path between fields, in a scrubby corridor of trees, head down and a bit lost in meditation when suddenly I heard a loud yell from just to my right. It was a farmer, and he was trying to scare me. It worked, I jumped so high I could have been drafted for the Olympics. He killed himself laughing, shook my hand and sent me on my way. I still like him better than the woman at the monastary.

Cahors as I came over the hill.

And the full view of Cahors.

Bridges of Cahors.