16th Day

16^th Day

Bonjour!

            Yesterday was the longest day of the year.

            I was on the bike early; eight bells were tolling from the tall stone Church tower.  The first chime of the day is at 7 and I was already brushing my teeth.

The road echoed the river all the way to Liourdes.  The flat as a crepe road was on occasional interrupted when the hillside jutted out like the broad shoulders of a weight lifter.

I rang the bell today for most expensive, 56 euros.  These charming little villages were strung together like beads on a rosary, but none of them had a store or a bakery.  They still had their churches.  However, several of them were locked up tight.  Traveling with a lighter larder forced me to have a delicious lunch in Montvalen and an equally delicious supper in LaCave.  Aaron always wanted to have our supper out.  I have found that eating in a restaurant by oneself adds to one’s aloneness.

The girl that suggested the route in Carrenac warned about the huge climb into Montvalen.  Hey would the name suggest otherwise?  I did ride the entire length, over 3 km.  The road was a main road and well traveled implying that the slope is more gradual.  She said that the road out of Carrenac would hug the river and then while rolling her eyes her hand shot up at 45 degrees.  This one I walked up the last half even with that compromise I was given a thumbs up by the passenger in a passing car.

Except for the restaurant, Montvalen was a tired little town.  For sale signs were posted on doors and the windows were shuttered like an old man falling asleep.

By the way, Carrenac is one of the jewels, not to be missed; the 12^th century Church, the winding streets, the archways, and the river below 

Two cyclists passed me by, one on a reclining bike.  I was able to match him until I took a water break.

I am staying at the campground 3 km from La Cave.  The Grotto in La Cave is spectacular.  I wondered whether my claustrophobia or my ADD would attack first.  I was not surprised when my ADD kicked in after 45 minutes.  How many variations of stalactites and stalagmites can there be?  And the color schemes?  Brown, white, and yellow, not exactly a Mexican kitchen.

Of course it didn’t help that guide’s platter was entirely in French.  I wanted to know the news reporter’s three W’s, who, when, and why.  Who discovered the caves, when were they discovered, and why were they there.  He must have been entertaining since the women were chuckling.  Not a smile creased any of the men’s faces.  They were as stoic as the ancient Greek having been led there on lease and collar.

It was like back to school night.  The mothers would guffaw at every good joke and at half of the bad ones.  But lordy, lordy, trying to get the fathers to laugh was a feat that Johnny Carson couldn’t accomplish.  It was like they were remembering all their old bad times and their new bad times writing checks that could cover a Maserati.

At the campground I crossed paths with pair of touring cyclists from England.  They have been cycle touring for three years.  This year, they upgraded their bicycles.  They bought Dutch bicycles with all the bells and whistles.  They are also heading to Rocamadour tomorrow and warned about the steep climb.  She said that she has been having nightmares about this climb the last three nights.

Two hikers stopped in for a glass of wine in the restaurant in La Cave.  Later they walked into the campground.  Get this you adventurer want-to-be; they have been hiking for seven years.  They have walked the entire Pyrenees from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean.  They have crossed the Alps from France into Switzerland.  They are from Toulouse, she translates books from Italian into French and he is an agronomist.

The sun has come out in vengeance trying to dry out the damage caused by 8 days of rain.  Supposedly, Friday will be cooler.

Au revoir!!!  (See you again!!!)