CAHORS - back on th GR 65

Arrived in Cahors yesterday afternoon for two nights, so today is a rest day.  Staying in a nice 3 star hotel with an air conditioned room and a really comfy bed. The restaurant even has a 'Michelin' recognition, last nights meal was sensational, and we are getting all this luxury at a 'pilgrim's rate'. Cahors also marks another milestone as it is (almost) the halfway point between Le Puy and St Jean Pied de Port. We have now walked 360 km.  

We've really enjoyed our 'lay day' here after 6 days on the Cele Valley route. It was a specracular walk at times but OMG it was tough.  Most walkers walk along the road that mostly follows the Cele River, but not us die hards, we followed the proper GR651 trail that followed the ridgeline up, down and over the spectacular cliffs and the really long, really steep rocky decents nearly had me on the next bus to Paris!  And, to make matters worse, there was a dramatic weather change that sent temperatures soaring into the mid 30's.

We stayed in two historic villages along the way, Marcilhac sur Cele and Cirq Lapopie which is considered to be ' the most beautiful' of all the beautiful villages in France!  We, however, disagree with the French regarding this, and believe Conques wins that title. On the walk up into the historic village of Cirq Lapopie, we had a fantastic view of the Cele River flowing into the much larger River Lot.

Yesterday was our last day on the GR651, it ended when we reached Cahors, which sits on the GR65 route.  Cahors also sits astride the beautiful Lot River, and yesterdays walk of  20km was largely spent walking along it's shady banks on a flat, soft earthen, rock free track in perfect walking conditions, 23 degrees with a gentle breeze.

Cahors is a lovely town, the largest we have stayed in so far.  It feels like a miniture Paris with tree lined boulavardes, designer shops and cafes, and four bridges crossing the river. We had a great 2hr cruise on the river vewing the old town that included navigating a river lock which was built in the 16th century.  The engineering of these locks is amazing and the boat would have risen two metres inside the lock to continue upstream around a weir.

A great surprise at reaching Cahors was meeting up with our Aussie friends Sandi and Karla.  They had a two day stop over here also, and our first day co-incided with their second day, so we were able to have a few wines together and talk about our adventures.  They caught a bus out today to move their schedule on so it probably is the last time we will see them on the way.  We are also in touch with Hanna by phone and she is doing well, having bussed forward and is now about 5 days in front of us.

We've actually spent quite some time following the River Lot, so it will be sad to walk off in another direction tomorrow.  We first walked beside the River Lot at St-Come d'Olt on May 1st and again walking into Estaing the following day.  It was actually in flood then from all the rain we'd experienced on the Aubrac Plateau.

France has four 4 public holidays in May;  May Day, Victory Day, Ascention Day and Whit Monday, making four long weekends in the month!  During these long weekends the French are out walking or driving between villages making accommodation scarce, so we have had to be diligent booking our hotels well in advance of these long weekends.  Long weekends also mean supermarkets, shops and bakeries are closed making it difficult to buy food for breakfast or lunch along the way.  

Now that we are back on 'The Way' we are beginning to feel like pilgrims again, whereas on the Cele Route we were just 'randonneurs'.