Today was a great sunny day on the Chemin de Compostelle. Breakfast at the gite was early and we were walking by 7:40 am, back through Moissac to the river and along a path by a canal. The canal was a grand British project to give access from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea. Back in the day, barges loaded with goods were pulled along the canal by horses on the shore. Today the canal is the playground of pleasure boaters and the horse paths on either side are now walking and biking paths. The canal is lined with giant trees, plantanes or plane trees, shading the entire waterway.
Just shy of Pommevic, we spied our friends across the canal at a lock keeper’s house, having a drink. We crossed the narrow walkway on the lock and joined them. A young couple, Yol and Remy are renting the lock keeper’s house and have opened it as a Gite this year. The drinks, coffee and water with flavoured syrups were by donation. The locks are all automated now so they have a cool setting but none of the work.
Yol and Remy have opened a new Gite, Ecluse 28 Du Braguel, in the old lock keeper’s house along the canal near Pommevic. Yol is Scottish and Remy is French. On this day they were welcoming pelerins with a Donativo cafe in their garden.
Louis is from Quebec City, Canada. In 2023 he walked the Chemin Le Puy all the way to Santiago de Compostela. This year he is planning to do it again.
We walked 22 km today and climbed the equivalent of only one flight of stairs. Only in the final 1 km did we climb another 12 flights as all the medieval towns are built on hills. This town, Auvillar is a beauty. The castle was destroyed in a holy war but where it stood is a beautiful view of the river valley and our Gite. Gite D’Etape Place du Chateau is a lovingly restored 18th century home. We have a room for three and were able to do our laundry for 6 euros. We ate Thai food for dinner at Le Bistrot du Coin and it was amazing. The owner/chef has relatives in Toronto.