Day 53 – Livinhac-le-Haut to Figeac (36,1km) – Thuesday 22.08.2023
I slept quite well last night despite the heat. At 7 a.m. I got up and packed everything up and walked across the bridge into town with my things. The sun, which was still low, made the river shine in a beautiful light.
I turned right after the bridge to buy two sandwiches at a bakery. I devoured one straight away and packed the other in my backpack for later. Then I continued through the town and left after church.
The first few kilometers were done quickly. After almost 6km I took my first coffee break. Since there were more pilgrims on the road again today and some had overtaken me during my break, I had to catch up with each one again and then leave them behind me. I kept running into familiar faces. Among other things, I met several times a Dutchman who I met at the campsite yesterday evening. We walked together for a while and talked about our further routes. He was currently on sick leave due to burnout and was following this path in the meantime. But he had such an abnormal pace that I wondered whether it wouldn’t be better for him to slow down a bit. When I took a break from drinking after a while, he continued on without me.
Overall, the path today was quite unspectacular. It wasn’t steep or up, nor was there a particularly nice view. Only the heat made me sweat more and more. With it now 35 degrees in the shade, every climb, no matter how small, was a sweaty affair. At least there were always drinking fountains in between, which all the pilgrims were very happy about.
When I arrived in Figeac, I crossed the river and looked at the church. When I entered the church and felt the cool air, it was a real relief. I sit down on a chair and rest briefly in the cool church. Then I took a closer look at the individual things. Different objects were illuminated in different colors, which made the whole thing look special. There was also a small chapel within the church, which was beautifully decorated.
After I left the cool building, I had to march on again in the sun at 37 degrees. But first I bought some food for the evening in a supermarket and rested in the shade of a tree in a small park. Since I didn’t want to spend the night in Figeac, I went back across the river and then up the mountain. It was really strenuous given the prevailing temperatures. At some point I took a wrong turn and took a small detour of a few kilometers.
After the climb I continued through meadows. At 6 p.m. I finally reached a place that was suitable as a place to sleep. There I first rested a little and made myself dinner. Shortly after 8 p.m. I set up my tent on the edge of the forest. I watched the sunset briefly and then tried to sleep in my tent, which wasn’t that easy when it was over 30 degrees. But I was happy that I had still managed 36km despite these temperatures.
Day 54 – Figeac to Cajarc (36km) – Wednesday 23.08.2023
There was a lot going on in the forest tonight. First a larger animal wandered past my tent and ran around in the forest for a while. At around 3 a.m. I was woken up by the calls of a pheasant that was screaming through the night not 20 meters away from me.
At 6:30 a.m. my alarm went off and I had to take down my tent again. Since the temperatures were still quite pleasant early in the morning, I ran quickly and covered a few kilometers in a short time.
When I arrived in the first smaller town, I sat on a bench and took a breakfast break. After coffee we walked through the small but beautiful town.
Afterwards we walked for some time through the pleasantly cool forest. To my surprise, I met the Dutchman again, who was coming towards me from a completely different direction. He wanted to spend the night at a campsite in a town not far from the Way of St. James. Since this campsite no longer existed, he set up his tent next to a sports field and spent the night there. Because of the young people who were doing sports there for a while, he couldn’t really sleep. I preferred a place in nature.
This morning I was moving quickly and by 12 o’clock I had covered the first 20km of the day.
When I arrived in Cajarc at 1:30 p.m., I went to a restaurant and ordered a salad for lunch.
Afterwards I went to a park, spread out my sleeping mat and took a nap.
At around 4 p.m. I set off again. By now the 40 degree mark had been cracked and it was really hot. There was a bit of wind most of the way, which made running easier. However, there were also some windless areas where you almost ran into a wall of hot air and I was happy as soon as I felt a little breeze again. I bought a cold cola in a small shop and enjoyed it in the shade of a bridge.
Some time later I stopped by a town again. To replenish my water reserves and have a little something to drink, I went to the local cemetery. There I drank two liters of water straight away and refilled my bottles. Then came a strenuous climb. It was now 40 degrees and I was constantly sweating. Since I unfortunately couldn’t find a suitable place to sleep on the slope, I kept walking up.
When I reached the top, I followed the path again for some time and finally found a straight area for my tent that was not directly visible from the path. By now it was almost 7 p.m. I quickly cooked myself something to eat and then went to sleep soon. Unfortunately, I couldn’t watch the sunset from my spot today because there were trees everywhere to the west.
Today I managed 36km again in 40 degrees. As a result, I was exhausted and fell asleep quickly despite the heat.
Day 55 – Cajarc to Bach (28km) – Thursday 24.08.2023
Today I got up again at 6:30 a.m. and took down my tent. At this time it was still quite dark and my tent was almost invisible. At 7 a.m. I finally started walking and was able to watch the rising sun next to me.
I took advantage of the cool hours of the day again and was quickly on the way. Early on I met pilgrims again, some of whom had left their accommodation at 5 a.m. so that they could walk in the morning hours. I wasn’t out that early, but I still quickly overtook some of the other pilgrims.
When I was just taking a break to drink, two Germans came towards me. When I greeted her in German, we quickly started talking. As it turned out, one of the two had left Karlsruhe for Santiago 6 months ago and was currently on his way back to his hometown in Baden. In the beginning, like me, he often traveled with the tent. But since he had quite a bit of rain, he eventually sent it back and then slept in shelters. He gave me a few tips for my trip and told me a little about what he had experienced and was happy that I wanted to walk the same route as him. The other man, on the other hand, was only here for a vacation. He had a camper van and always drove a few days ahead. Then he ran towards his colleague and they ran together again for some time. Overall, an interesting way to travel. But the two older men seemed to have a lot of fun. After a while they said goodbye and we continued walking in the opposite direction.
I walked alone again through the warm midday sun. Over the next few kilometers there were always small huts made of stone, which were supposedly very old and looked really interesting.
At a waterhole I met a deer that was drinking water. Only when I was only about 20m away did it notice me and quickly run away.
Later I passed by a small town. I was debating whether I should get somewhere to stay tonight or find a place to pitch my tent again. Since it was really warm now, I first went to the local restaurant to get something to eat. Unfortunately, the owner told me that food wouldn’t be available until the evening, but that I could have a drink on the terrace behind the house. So I walked there briefly. There I met a Frenchman who I had run with a few days ago. He said he was currently looking for his pilgrim accommodation for tonight and if I wanted I could come with him and ask if there was still a place for me.
So we walked together to a house on the outskirts of town. When we arrived at the private accommodation, we were immediately warmly welcomed by the owner and there was actually a place for me.
First we drank an ice-cold beer together. Then the host Nico showed us our beds in the dormitory and where we could find showers etc. I took a cold shower, which was really pleasant in these temperatures. Afterwards we had our clothes washed and took a short nap. In the meantime, other pilgrims also arrived. In total there were 5 pilgrims in the accommodation that evening. Nico cooked us something delicious to eat and we chatted while we did it, which unfortunately wasn’t always that easy. I was the only one who couldn’t speak French and two women couldn’t speak English. Nico, on the other hand, spoke French, English, German, Italian and Spanish as well as a bit of Russian and Polish, which we all found very impressive. After the delicious main course of ratatouille and quiche, there was a blackberry tart for dessert.
Before we went to sleep, we played a bit of cards and I actually won the first game, even though I didn’t know the game. Overall, it was a very fun evening with the other pilgrims in the private pilgrim accommodation, which was paid for on a donation basis. Everyone could give as much as they wanted or thought appropriate.
Day 56 – Bach to Cahors (26,7km) – Friday 25.08.2023
It was pretty warm again tonight so none of us really slept well. We had breakfast together and then we each set off on our own again.
Since it was significantly cooler today and you didn’t sweat so quickly, I was able to really accelerate and completed the first 12 kilometers after just under 2 hours. After that, however, I became increasingly slower. Not only did I notice the exertion of the last few days, but the steadily decreasing air pressure was also making me tired. Nevertheless, I kept running. For long stretches it was pretty flat through the forest.
On the way I kept meeting other pilgrims and also a larger family who were hiking on the Way of St. James. Otherwise, very little happened today and the route was somehow always the same. Only shortly before Cahors did the landscape change. More and more hills could be seen and you could already guess where Cahors was, although you couldn’t see it until shortly beforehand.
When I finally got a look at my destination, Cahors, I was already 2 kilometers away from my hotel.
Since I couldn’t check in until 4 p.m. and I arrived in Cahors at 2:30 p.m., I walked into the old town. There I looked at the cathedral. I got two stamps straight away in my pilgrim passport. The man meant one for the city and one for the cathedral.
When I was finished sightseeing, I did some quick shopping in a supermarket and then walked back to my hotel. I checked in there and just rested for the rest of the evening to recover from the exertions of the hot days.
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