Oct 26, Day 19: Lalbenque to Bach (15.6 km)

Susan's favourite selfie.
We spent a leisurely morning resting and packing.  We knew that we did not have far to walk today.

Walking to Lalbenque.

How many croissants did we eat on this trip?
We said good-bye to the gariotte and walked into Lalbenque.  The town is the black truffle capital of France and there was an upscale feel to the place.  We stopped at the Carrefour grocery store just outside of town to get some lunch supplies, and then coffee, croissants and pain au chocolate in town.  We were surprised to find the tourist office open, but it was probably due to the truffle market beginning in December.  At the tourist office we checked our instructions for the path back to the GR65 as we had taken a detour to spend the night in the gariotte.

Susan and her purple backpack.

René and his blue backpack.

The walk was very pleasant and flat with farmers fields and lovely pastoral views.  We crossed three pilgrims because we were still walking opposite to the customary direction for the GR65.

Picnic lunch spot.
Lunch was an excellent baguette from the boulangerie in Lalbenque, Cantal cheese and an apple.  We took advantage of a picnic spot on an ancient farm wall and enjoyed the break and the delicious food.  We had only about 16 km today, but my leg was still bothering me.

René with a signpost of pilgrimage distances.
We ended up in Bach at a very cute chambres d'hôtes, La Grange Saint Jacques.  The owner, Mike, is English, and he had walked the whole way from Le Puy to Santiago a few years ago.  He married a French woman and now they run a gîte and bed and breakfast for passing pilgrims.

Who do we look so tanned?
We spent a pleasant afternoon resting, washing and reading.  We also walked into the tiny town of Bach and visited the local church.

Supper was at 19h00 and we were expecting another pilgrim who had called ahead for a last minute reservation.  Andrew, also English, arrived just as it was getting dark.  He described the forest he had just walked through as spooky and he was happy to have arrived safely.  Supper was vegetable soup, roast chicken, stuffing, roast potatoes, Brussels sprouts and an apple crumble, all made by madame.  The conversation was in English.  We heard about Mike`s experience walking the Compostelle in one shot from Le Puy to Santiago, and Andrew`s experience, which was walking in sections when his job would allow.  We talked about backpack weight, supplies, and reasons for walking.


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