Figeac would mark our departure from river country, as we would climb up onto a vast limestone plateau called the "Causse" and follow remote tracks until eventually entering the lush agricultural region of the Tarn-et-Garonne. Numbers of walkers would drop here as the jaw-dropping scenery of previous stages mellowed out in this stretch. Temperatures remained in the low-to-mid 30's - hot, in other words - but a relief from the scorching heat of the previous stretch. By now we had established a fairly steady and successful routine: walking 6 days out of every 7, averaging 18km/day (more or less), and resting on the 7th day, usually in a municipal campground with a pool included (or nearby)...
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| How many backpacking moms are rocking this style? |
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| Vast panorama from the stunning village of Faycelles. |
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| Bo shows off his toy arsenal in camp. |
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| Climbing up gradually into the "Causse". |
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| One of the Causse's premier features: caselles, or dry stone huts, used traditionally by farmers as temporary shelters for animals, tools, or the farmers themselves. |
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| Another prominent feature of the Causse: dry stone walling. |
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| Nap time on wheels. |
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| The little man, exploring old villages... |
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| ... and climbing around on dolmens, prehistoric burial chambers. |
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| We're in high spirits here. |
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| Bo braves the notoriously stony paths of the Causse. |
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| Our campsite in quiet forest land. |
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| Espying the town of Cajarc down in the valley. |
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| A brisk descent brings us to... |
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| ... the river! The Lot, once more... |
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| Certainly a unique way to travel. |
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| Back up on the plateau, far reaching views of the Quercy countryside. |
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| This explosion of color and shells is a local village school's project to celebrate the Camino. Saint-Jean-de-Laur. |
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| St. Jacques Pelerin in Limogne-en-Quercy. |
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| This pilgrim brought his best friend. |
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| In the village of Varaire. |
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| Fun team here. |
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| Bo sports the bleu-blanc-rouge on his shell... |
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| ... before demanding his bike and taking off down the trail! |
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| This kind of gite publicity is to be found all along the Way of Le Puy. |
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| Ain't nothin' like hot dinner cooked on a campfire after a long day's walk. |
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| Mesmerized by the fire. |
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| We found a gorgeous piece of singletrack, perfect for Bo, not-so-perfect for the Chariot. |
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| Who can argue with this guy? |
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| He gets his way and starts the long descent towards Cahors in his birthday suit. |
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| This is what it must feel like to be on display in a zoo. Arriving in a bustling city on foot with this crazy contraption and a 2-year-old inside. Needless to say we captured a lot of attention. |
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| Wednesday is market day in Cahors; we strolled in unawares and found ourselves in the middle of one of southern France's great regional public markets. And went to seek out organic artesenal bread, of course. |
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| Bo fires past Cathedrale St. Etienne. |
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| The cathedral features all kinds of bizarre creatures in its facades. |
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| More scallop shell motifs. |
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| We were welcomed in Cahors at L'Octroi de Cahors, a volunteer-run center that offers information and assistance to pilgrims in Cahors. Here we are pictured with Dutch volunteers who live in the area. |
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| The pilgrims' welcome included cold drinks and biscuits, and passport-stamping. |
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| Medieval-era door seen in Cahors. |
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| The municipal campground features a swimming pool, which we made the most of. |
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| Think this guy's got anything to complain about? |
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| The campground had organized canoe tours while we were there, for 5 Euros each! Brilliant. |
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| The three of us on the Lot, after another hot day. |
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| This was too good to be true. |
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| Pont Valentré, built in the 14th century, and one of France's most recognizable medieval bridges. |
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| Jeff, Bo and Katy crossing the bridge, a defining moment for Le Puy pilgrims. |
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| Climbing away from Cahors, we had views back over the cathedral... |
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| ... and the stunning bridge. |
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| We would meet a whole bunch of long-distance pilgrims in these days, starting with this guy from Czech Republic. THAT is a serious walk (Prague-Compostela), over 3000km and more than 4 months. |
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| Another rough descent as we leave the Causse and enter Quercy Blanc. |
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| Mostly-remote lands make for easy and enjoyable camping. |
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| Look who's ready and roaring to go early in the morning while Mammy and Daddy pack up camp! |
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| Quercy Blanc is so named for the stark white appearance of its villages. Lascabanes. |
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| Chatting with a couple of pilgrims walking Le Puy-St. Jean-Pied-du-Port. |
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| A rare and treasured moment: Jeff gets a hand while climbing. |
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| In Montcuq we had a three-way harmonica jam while waiting out the midday heat. |
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| Jean-Phillippe, like us walking from Le Puy to Santiago. |
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| Bo and Jean-Phillippe share a clowning moment. |
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| We climbed the 12th century tower of Montcuq, a tight, spiralled stone staircase leading up into the sky... |
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| Views over the countryside of Quercy Blanc. |
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| A great way to cap a summer day's walk. |
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| We spent the night at this church in Rouillac, where we encountered some pilgrim friends and met several others. Ostensibly we were seeking refuge from a planned night of storms, which never materialized. |
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| This pilgrim, Italian, was walking from near Milan to Santiago. |
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| Ripe sunflowers make for some pilgrims' folk art. |
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| Lauzerte, another hilltop fortified village and our next destination: brooding in the misty distance. |
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| The rains forecast for the previous evening hit us on our way to Lauzerte and gave us a thorough soaking. |
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| We first visited Lauzerte in May (on bikes) while WWOOFing in the area, and were surprised to see how different it feels from the perspective of a pilgrim (on foot). |
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| St. Jacques Pelerin seen in the church at Lauzerte. |
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| Bo in the main plaza of Lauzerte. He really enjoyed riding all over this square. |
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| Pilgrims taking a breather. |
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| Lauzerte features some amazing old houses and architectural features. |
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| Dovecote (pigeonnier) seen at Le Chartron between Lauzerte and Durfort. This is the most fantastic pigeonnier we have yet seen. |
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| Some gorgeous forest trail as we approach Chapelle St. Sernin... |
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| Chapelle St. Sernin. |
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| Chance encounter with a sunflower. |
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| Nearing Durfort, now in the Tarn-et-Garonne (one of France's most fruit-producing departments), we came upon this unattended stand in a field, offering pilgrims fresh melons and grapes. |
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| This guy makes his choice obvious. |
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| A view over the fertile lands of the Tarn-et-Garonne. |
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| A dusk puncture, Bo cheers us up with his antics. |
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| In Durfort-Lacapellete we run into our pal Guilhem, and Bo immediately sets himself to clicking his backpack's buckles, one of his favorite pasttimes. |
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| In St. Hubert we would visit the home of a former WWOOF stay (where we were in early May of this year). |
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| We found the grapes to be ripening... |
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| ... and the natural swimming pool was just what we needed. |
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| Bo examines one of the many frogs who inhabit the pool. |
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| Jeff leads storytime with Eva, Robin and Bodhi. |
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| Pictured here with some WWOOFing friends of ours: Gil, Nadine and family, and Eva. |
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| Eva shows off some of the finest specimens of our St. Hubert wild mushroom harvest: king boletes and Caesar's mushrooms. |
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