I am my own worst enemy. I was supposed to walk 22km, but ended up doing almost 30km, as I chose a different route that added 5km, and then walked a 3km diversion for lunch (which is the positive way of saying that I missed a turn and didn’t realise before I was close to a place I could buy some lunch😅). And as if that wasn’t enough, I got drenched going for a walk after dinner.
I left Saint-Gaudens getting ready for the annual party, that started today and lasted a week. A travelling Tivoli blocked one of the main thoroughfares. Leaving town, I passed a buste of Andre Maginot who, after WW1, devised the Maginot line, that was supposed to ensure that France could never be invaded again. As we know Hitler just went around it during WW2, and the plaque below the buste, mentioned that he was Minister of Pensions.
It was a beautiful days walking, in beautiful weather. Leaving Saint-Gaudens and crossing the Garonne, and a a gate in a roundabout representing the Gate to the Pyrenees, I followed the Canal de Camon for the next 7km. I should have taken a different route after 3km, but was enjoying the walk along the canal I decided to take the official route, which continued along the canal. Unfortunately I made a wrong turn at one point and didn’t realise for a few kilometers. When I did realise I wasn’t too far from a supermarket, so decided to continue and get some lunch, before heading back – a 6km walk, instead of 3km!
After lunch the terrain changed from the flat landscape along the canal, to rolling green hills, the foothills of the Pyrenees, which become more and more imposing for every step I take.
For the last 5 or 6km of today’s walk I had views of the imposing village of Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges, situated on a rock high above the surrounding landscape, my destination for today.
Just before my destination I visited Basilique Saint-Just de Valcabrère, from the 11th century and on the UNESCO World Heritage list.
The village I am staying is perched on the top of a hill and it was a heavy climb up many steps to reach the village and the hotel I am staying tonight.
The village has a very long history. Built on the site of a Roman city, it was once a large town called Lugdunum Convenarum, where Pompeii ruled over 10,000 inhabitants. Things have changed slightly, today it only has ca. 250 inhabitants.
The Cathedral is at the very top and everything goes downhill from it. The village is prized as one of France’s most beautiful villages (one of many I am sure). Whilst the Cathedral is all dominating, the village is very nice with many half-timbered houses. Bertrand came to Commiges as bishop in the 11th century, and ordered that the Cathedral be built, and was used as a stop over for pilgrims on their way to Santiago (almost 1000km away). He was canonised in the 13th century, hence the name of the village.
There was a massive thunderstorm whilst eating dinner – several lightening bolts per minute and continuous thunder claps. It wasn’t raining, so I decided to go out and see if I could catch a picture. I found a good spot with a view over the valley, but the lightening was behind a nearby mountain. As I started my return to the hotel, it started to rain, and within a minute it was torrential. I sheltered for 5 minutes and found out it wasn’t going to stop raining, and mad a dash – wearing flip-flops – back to the hotel.