Via Tolosana Week 1

Day 1 - to L'Isle Jourdain (about 24kms)
Toulouse to Pibrac by train and bus!! Cheating but avoiding the endless out of town walking. I got to Pibrac about 08.15, the bus was late, the rush hour traffic was incredible. The bus stopped at the station so I had to find my way to the church to find the camino. In fact there was a church and a basilica so it took a bit of sorting, then finding the right signs and making sure I was walking in the right direction. The shells were facing the 'wrong' way, eventually I got it sorted.
I thought it was about 10kms to Leguevin and then 14.7 to L'Isle Jourdain, but it was less for the first leg, though I did manage to get lost once! I had a coffee in Leguevin and got a bit lost there too, I went round in circles trying to find my way out.  From there it was a short walk to the Fôret de Beauconne. My guide said that I would find a wide forest trail and I should follow this for 1 km. I followed it for 1 and a half hours! I then lost all further faith in my guide.

the forest trail

out of the forest!

When I left the forest I had cramp in my toes and the next 6-8 kms were agony. I got to L'Isle Jourdain at the time I expected so the overall distances must have been right. I went for a beer and took my boots off, after that I wore flip-flops, it was much better. I went to search for the Tourist Information Office, where they had the key to the Auberge, it started all right, then I couldn't see a sign where I thought there should be one, so I got lost. I asked some men who were playing petanque, they said: 'It's by the lake.' My response was, 'and where is the lake?' They pointed me into a caravan park, I looked around but I could see nothing, not even an exit. I phoned the Tourist Office, they said to walk around the rugby pitch and cross a bridge, as I walked around the rugby pitch I asked someone if I was going the right way for the lake, she said 'yes'. I walked along by a river for half an hour, it was very pretty but there was no sign of a lake, so I started back, by now we were having a thunderstorm. The men from the petanque started giving me more instructions, by this time I was so pissed off I was ready to put my boots back on and walk the next 16 kms, though I might have found this difficult as the route out was by the lake! I followed the new set of instructions and found the lake and the tourist Office and the Auberge, it is lovely and there are 3 of us, a lovely Flemish lady and a French man.

The lake (big enough to see)!

The tourist Information Office

The town was very nice and the instructions weren't really that bad, it was my interpretation of them. The other 2 had gone to the Town Hall and been given a map!

Day 2 - L'Isle Jourdain to Gimont 24 kms
I slept well and woke up at 7, we were all awake so got up to make some breakfast. I had thought that the next Gites were at 16 and 32 kms but Jacky had found info of a new one at Gimont so we decided to go there, it balanced the days out much better.

I started about 8. It was a lovely walk, just the right temperature for walking. Not far from L'Isle Jourdain I passed a large traffic island with bits of an Airbus parked on it!

I stopped for a coffee after 9kms in a little village called Monferran-Saves. Bars are infrequent on this route and this village had no bar but it had an 'up-market' restaurant. The Restaurant owner, very kindly, made me a coffee and then let me use the toilet!



The Restaurant in Monferran-Saves

 A kind lady then gave me instructions for a short cut, I decided it would not be a good idea as I would probably get lost, so I followed the road, only to discover that her 'short-cut' was the route I should have followed, I had to walk it backwards to find out where I should be! Once again it was a lovely walk but we had a thunderstorm and as the ground was mud it became quite slippery. I could have done with a stick but my sticks were attached to my back-pack and I didn't feel like taking it off again. Gimont is a lovely town and this Gîte is super and, at the moment I have a room to myself, with an en-suite! and there is a computer.



The old market place in Gimont

Day - Gimont to Auch 31 kms 

I slept well and got up at 7.20. There was breakfast 'on-site'. I left with Jacky and got some bread from the bakers next door, then we set off, he had remembered the way back to the chemin, I would never have found it. When we got back I thought we should turn off, he reckoned we should go straight ahead as we had turned right to get to the town and now the instructions said 'turn left'. The sign was ahead so we went straight ahead, we walked for about 10 minutes and found no signs, so came back, I had been right, but the instructions and signs were not clear. After that things became better, we walked together occasionally, then parted. I don't know if we will continue to do the same stages but we are the only 2 on this stage at the moment, we have lost Mireille. It strikes me that it is useful to have someone around, or will be when we get to the tricky bits, like going up mountains!

It was a beautiful day, cool in the morning and got warmer, but not too warm, the land is undulating, but not as up and down as Galicia. Some of the scenery was beautiful, we went through parkland and woods and passed some beautiful old buildings. The view of the town of Montegut, with its castle and church on top of a hill, was stunning, unfortunately the batteries in my camera are dead and when I put in the spares they had died too, so I have no photos :(
I planned to stop for coffee after 9kms, at L'Isle Arné, but there was no bar, so I sat and rested with a bar of chocolate. I then intended to stop at 13.00 but the route was badly signed in places, someone had nailed shells to the trees in one wood, that was a nice touch, but later the signs were old and led into a field and came to a dead end. You either had to climb through a brambly ditch, like I did, or walk through a ploughed field, like Jacky did.  The outcome was a road with no signs on it, fortunately it didn't take too long to work out how to get back to the marked route, but we had obviously followed the wrong signs somehow. I didn't want to stop until I knew where I was and when I did there was nowhere to stop, so it was 14.30, at Montegut, before I sat down to lunch. I had a lovely piece of bread, garlic cheese and wine: Du pain, du vin, du Boursin! except it wasn't Boursin. From there it wasn't too difficult to get to Auch, though Auch is a big town and getting to the centre takes a bit of a while.

the entrance to the Auberge

The view of the Cathedral from the Auberge

The auberge is a parochial one and right in the centre, a lovely old building, but there is only someone there between 3 & 5. Fortunately Jacky arrived before 5 and I arrived only a few minutes after. Again we are alone, I have a room to myself, with an en-suite. He has taken a room by a window so he can see the illuminated cathedral.  We were in time to shop for a good meal and to get food for breakfast.
Day 4 -Auch to L'Isle de Noë 24 kms

I started about 8, I could see straight away that it was going to be a wet day, there were big black clouds tinged with red, very pretty really.

It rained on and off all day but, fortunately never really heavily until late afternoon when the walk was over. Much of the walk was on tarmac but it was probably the best place to be as it was Sunday and there were lots of hunters around.

An up and down day, but not too steep, with the Pyrenees always in the background, an ominous reminder of what is to come.

entering L'Isle Noe

We are in a family home this evening, having dinner and breakfast with the family, each place we stay is totally different. I managed not to get lost today, right to the end, when Jacky had misunderstood the directions to the gite, fortunately the lady came out and rescued us. It seems that Jacky and I are a fixture together, at least for a while, pilgrim's are in short supply on this route. We did see one other one, at least he said he was, he had walked 4 kms and was sitting under a tree, later he was hitching!

Day 5 -L'Isle de Noë to Marciac 32 kms

 Breakfast 'en famille' and then off. It started fairly flat but I was having a 'slow walking' day. Much of  the walk was on earth paths and they were wet and slippery. After 8 kms I came to the little town of Montesquiou, it was very welcoming, with a statue of a pilgrim at the entrance and a picnic table (places to sit and eat are at a premium, it is really nice to see where someone has had the thought to provide a resting place).

There was also a bar, so I had a coffee, when I asked about the toilet he said: 'You see that wall there ....'  I thought I was being told to pee against a wall, that would be a first, but there was a little door behind the wall..!
I speeded up a bit after the coffee, but not for long, I kept stopping to take photos, also much of the signing was poor and I ended up having to return to check that I was on the right route. Altogether a long day.

The Auberge in Marciac is in an old tower, attached to a farm, the wash facilities, toilets and kitchen  are all on the ground floor. (The toilet is the hole in the ground type that I consider to be French and the French consider to be Turkish.) There were 3 of us sleeping on the 3rd floor and the stairs were old and winding, we were all determined not to get up in the night! We had met up with 2 French women who were walking to Lourdes, they belonged to the French Association of friends of the Camino and had walked many caminos.
The owners of the Auberge lived in a beautiful farm house next door.

The main square at Marciac

Day 6 - Marciac to Vidouze 24 kms
We were told that the walk would be flat but it started with some hills and finished with some hills. The backdrop of the Pyrenees was there most of the day but now they have snow on them.

It seemed hard today, no special reason, most villages seem to have very little in the way of facilities. We went through one village with a school and Town Hall, but no bar or shop! It seems most days will continue to be like this. I hadn't realised so was short of food, I only had some chocolate and a muesli bar, not much for lunch!

The Gite in Vidouze is very well equipped, it is a proper gite during the summer months and available to pilgrims the rest of the year.
We were offered an evening meal, pasta and tomato sauce, yogurt and fruit, we thought it would be prepared but we had to prepare it ourselves, but there was bread, sliced bread, so I was able to make a sandwich for the next day.

Day 7- Vidouze to Morlaas 29 kms
A beautiful red sky in the morning, this has been the third, the first was at Auch, it really did rain, though not really heavily until the afternoon. The second it rained just a little, and not for long, today it didn't rain at all.

The weather was pleasant, the country up and down and the back drop of the Pyrenees getting increasingly closer.

There were lots of different signs and the path was well signed.
The Auberge in Morlaas is by the swimming pool and campsite, 8 beds and 6€ for France it is excellent value, it has a good kitchen, a fridge and a super market right next door, and there was heating, at first I had thought I would be needing all my clothes on in bed as the evenings are getting chilly.
There is an internet place in town but my feet wouldn't go back that far, my heels are hurting, I'm not sure why, it is something inside.
I picked up some walnuts during the day then couldn't crack them. I didn't want to buy a nut cracker as they are heavy. I saw something similar in the supermarket, for cracking claws of lobster etc. it was plastic and very light, so I bought one! Not a good idea, it broke on the first nut, so I ended up on the floor with a stone, like a cave man!