A pleasant midday start along paths not particularly well marked. The weather was overcast - perfect weather for walking as far as I'm concerned.
The route into the countryside was no more than 600 metres or so from the front door, so before very long I was striking out - everything feeling great, and right with the world. The wonders of the French countryside soon revealed themselves:
And then an image of late summer, such a common sight here:
My first view of something that looked like a camino:
I walked towards Cahuzac to pick up my route heading south. I've walked this small section of the GR46 before, and it never fails to amaze. Here's Castelnau de Montmiral dominating the landscape:
My route involved the linking together of several discrete routes, and several times I found myself puzzled as to where exactly the minimal signage was directing me. However there were no major delays or misdirection caused by the lack of clear directions, and I spent a very pleasant late summer afternoon wandering first due East and then South. Here I am just West of Cahuzac, and again the landscape is changing:
As the photos show, the landscape changed quite a bit even in this relatively short walk, although I was happy to spot Gaillac from afar - my resting place for the night. This is a view from above Broze:
The walk into town was, as could have been expected, along busy link roads dotted with businesses, but I reached my destination by around 17:00 or thereabouts (I don't carry a watch) and was, I can admit, happy to put down my rucksack!
After a much needed shower and refresh and several cups of various teas, I spent a little while chatting with the owners of this lovely little pilgrim gîte before going out for some food - which for me just now is simply a means of fuelling the body. So it was minutes later I found myself sitting in the Pizza Queen waiting for... you guessed it!
So, overall this was a good first day. No physical problems to report, even though most of me was very tired when I pitched up, having lugged just over 15kg up and down hill. But my legs will quickly adapt to the extra weight and I don't anticipate any problems tomorrow, even though I fear I may begin my day rather creeping about with slightly sore legs!
I did get my first stamp though, and a rather lovely one it is too:
The route into the countryside was no more than 600 metres or so from the front door, so before very long I was striking out - everything feeling great, and right with the world. The wonders of the French countryside soon revealed themselves:
And then an image of late summer, such a common sight here:
My first view of something that looked like a camino:
I walked towards Cahuzac to pick up my route heading south. I've walked this small section of the GR46 before, and it never fails to amaze. Here's Castelnau de Montmiral dominating the landscape:
My route involved the linking together of several discrete routes, and several times I found myself puzzled as to where exactly the minimal signage was directing me. However there were no major delays or misdirection caused by the lack of clear directions, and I spent a very pleasant late summer afternoon wandering first due East and then South. Here I am just West of Cahuzac, and again the landscape is changing:
As the photos show, the landscape changed quite a bit even in this relatively short walk, although I was happy to spot Gaillac from afar - my resting place for the night. This is a view from above Broze:
The walk into town was, as could have been expected, along busy link roads dotted with businesses, but I reached my destination by around 17:00 or thereabouts (I don't carry a watch) and was, I can admit, happy to put down my rucksack!
After a much needed shower and refresh and several cups of various teas, I spent a little while chatting with the owners of this lovely little pilgrim gîte before going out for some food - which for me just now is simply a means of fuelling the body. So it was minutes later I found myself sitting in the Pizza Queen waiting for... you guessed it!
So, overall this was a good first day. No physical problems to report, even though most of me was very tired when I pitched up, having lugged just over 15kg up and down hill. But my legs will quickly adapt to the extra weight and I don't anticipate any problems tomorrow, even though I fear I may begin my day rather creeping about with slightly sore legs!
I did get my first stamp though, and a rather lovely one it is too:
No comments:
Post a Comment