Pilgrim's Progress – Long Distance Walks in Europe and the UK

There is special providence in the fall of a sparrow

William Shakespeare – Hamlet

Before starting today’s blog, I’m holding a small competition. Who, without using google, can name the flag below? If you can, then you are cleverer than I!

My stay in Conques more than matched my expectations. Supper in the Abbey hostelry was a convivial affair. On my table were 3 pilgrims who lived near St Jean Pied de Port and were bemused by the number of Asians who started off on the Camino from there. They were fascinated to hear the story of the K-pop band (G.O.D) which generated such a huge interest in the Camino with Koreans.

Also on my table was Michael from Beauvais who was hoping to walk to Cahors and a raven haired lissome lycra clad bicyclist  called Angelique who had passed me several times during the day and was on her way to St Jean Pied de Port. The conversation was aided by copious amounts of pasta and a couple of bottles of pilgrim wine.

When I woke up this morning it was, yet again, tipping down. Despite the long day ahead, I couldn’t summon the enthusiasm to start until well past 8am. This time I made sure to buy a cheese sandwich from the bakery before I left.

Before leaving Conques it’s worth saying a few words about the magnificent Abbey which is well worth a visit if only to see the tympanum, or the carving of the Last Judgement above the main entrance.

The tympanum is divided unto three rows, with Christ on his throne in the centre of the middle row. The left half of the tympanum shows heaven, and the right side has scenes from hell. The top row is the angels that are announcing the Last Judgement, with two angels supporting the Cross.

In the middle row, to the left of Christ are the Virgin Mary, Saint Peter and other important personnages. To the immediate right of Christ, you can see the angels that are stopping the damned (on the far right) from reaching paradise. The damned are being tormented by demons.

In the bottom row of the tympanum, the central figure (at the top) is Saint Michael who is deciding which souls can gain access to paradise. Those who are granted access are shown passing thriough the door below Saint Michael. The left is dominated by Abraham, surrounded by other saints, while on the right you can see Satan surrounded by sinners of various describtions being tormented by demons.

Each character in hell depicts a particular sin, depicted in a way that visitors could recognise these sins – for example there is an adulterous female tied with a cord around her neck to her lover, a slanderer, and a drunk.

The climb out of Conques was as arduous as the previous afternoon’s descent had been perilous. I followed a gaggle of poncho clad pilgrims up the narrow path. They looked for all the world like a convoy of camels.

If I’m brutally honest, not a huge amount of interest happened during the day’s walk with one noticeable exception.

Just beyond Décazeville (a sprawling and unremarkable old mining town) I bumped into 4 English pilgrims sheltering from the rain underneath a gazebo in the main village square in Livinhac-le-Haut. From Yorkshire and Derbyshire two of them were walking from Cluny to Compostella, a feat that would take them 3 months. They weren’t going to be back to vote in the UK General Election on 4 July something that didn’t seem of huge concern.

The heavens opened periodically during the afternoon. Once again the mud on the path was at times almost impassable. Despite my best efforts I slipped and fell flat on my face at one point, emerging as if I’d just played a game of rugby as a prop forward.

My main objective was to get to Figeac by 7pm. In the early afternoon I had some good news – there was room at one gite just outside Figeac called ‘Chez Antoine’. I wouldn’t have to deploy my tent after all.

Even better news awaited when I arrived at the gite – I was the only pilgrim staying there. This I found utterly amazing as the gite was clean, well equipped and had comfortable beds rather than bunk beds.

The gite, it turned out wasn’t run by Antoine but by a charming and enterprising couple who hailed from the French island of Réunion. The island’s flag held pride of place in the dining room.

Supper with Marcellino and Claudine was a sumptuous affair, aided and abetted with copious quantities of rum and wine.

An entrée of samosas was followed by creole sausage (which they had made themselves) and saffron rice. It was delicious as was the creole cake that was served for dessert.

By the end of the evening, during which we discussed the many charms of Réunion (hikes/beaches/food etc) I was left with a hankering to visit the island. Regular flights from Toulouse via Paris….