The morning started as usual — up at 7AM (I had completed the blog last night). Packed the suitcase and brought it down when I went for breakfast.
One’s suitcase must be in the pick-up zone by 8AM. As I was leaving at 8:05AM, the Le Malle Postale van was taking my suitcase away. On another occasion, it was 8AM exactly.
Le Malle Postale is the backbone of transferring bags between hotels and gîtes for hikers. See the logo above the name. LMP used stagecoaches in the past when it delivered more than Chemin bags. Monique mentioned this fact to me on Day 3 when I first saw one of its trucks. Stagecoaches from a different era.
Moral of the story. Have your bag positioned by 8AM sharp.
I have included some of the morning scenes from today’s walk including a quote from Antoine Saint Exupery. I saw about 25 walkers in total throughout the day.
When I stopped for a beer at noon, a woman came to my side waiting to order from the bar. I said that I had seen her a few times before. She said that this was her seventh time on the Chemin. She saw my Cicerone Guide. She opened it to the dedication page and pointed to her name: Bronwen Perry. A Welsh name said I. Indeed said she. I had met a Bronwen once — the daughter of a professor back in 1972.
After my beer, the clouds left for where I do not know. The sun was out but my fellow hikers and I had a 20 mph wind which provided some coolness. In the image below, you will see two little spires on the horizon under a sparsely clouded sky. I was coming down a hill just outside of Miradoux. Those spires were my final destination — Lectoure — 9 miles away.
About two miles after seeing Lectoure in the distance was the last village before the final push — Castet-Arrouy. I followed three French women into the village and then stopped to take a photo of a garage door. I wondered whether the owner planned the design. Welcoming, no?
I arrived at my hotel at 5:30PM. The church was behind the hotel up the hill. It was the spire to the right from the top of the hill photo. The Hotel de Bastard. You might think that the owners might re-brand. Bastard in French is bâtard. A change for the international crowd? But then again, we are in France.
The hotel’s restaurant was completely full for the evening. Staying there did not automatically save a place at the table. The desk clerk made a reservation for me at Café de La Tour about three blocks away.
The restaurant was very casual with ample outdoor space. The evening was still warm unlike the chilly evenings at the beginning of the Chemin when we were at 2500 feet or above.
The carte was written out on a blackboard. I was tickled to watch two tables lift the boards onto their tables to view their choices.
I went lighter for this evening. A panko coated fish (pink lake trout) and chips for my plat. Dessert was roasted pear and whipped cream or was it whipped cream and roasted pear?
I was refilled and refreshed.
I walked back through the village stopping at the church and looking back along the main street. Unlike Spanish villages or towns, people quiet down much earlier.
Lectoure has occupied this site since the Iron Age. It was a major Roman town. Like many other villages, it has significant remains of its ramparts because of constant warring. The forever war?
When I arrived back at my hotel, I took a peek into the bar room. On top of the bar were lined bottles of Armagnac, the largest collection of bottles that I had ever seen. The photo does not include bottles that were on the left side of the bar. Only a fisheye lens could have captured them all. I thought of ordering a verre de Armagnac. But I was tired and did not want to fall asleep in a chair. Tomorrow Condom, the center of the Armagnac trade.
