Easy/Hard - a problem to be solved??

Day 10 - Friday, 4 October 2024 - Espeyrac  to Conques. A mere 12.3 klms, total ~214.2 klms.

Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced.

Søren Kierkegaard

As predicted, today was an easy walk day. 12 klms, even with an 11kg backpack, is a 3-hour doddle. It took longer than that of course since we stopped at a wonderful, warm, sunny, friendly coffee shop in Sénergues for an hour or so (but who was counting).

The highlight of the day may have been dog/goat man, who appears to be creating a sensation wherever he ventures:

The walk was what I would now say is characteristically beautiful, although I run the risk of overusing that word. Some photos follow a bit later.

Despite the physical ease of the walk I finally made a hard decision today; to leave the walk early. It'd been building for a few days, and today I finally made my mind up. Apart from the not insubstantial financial consequences, the decision has far wider interpersonal ramifications which have weighed heavily on me. A sort of "no win", or perhaps "best worst", situation. I won't go into detail, but those who know will know.

I'll continue on until Cahors (about 140klms further) and then call it quits. The reasons are complex but in essence come down to the fact that my left foot has struggled at times with the uneven paths and I'm concerned that adding a further 400 klms from Cahors may well be too much, and both as a result and separately I'm finding the walk over the upper "enjoyable" limit and into the "this is too hard/not fun" domain. I don't like quitting, but if I'm not enjoying the walk why continue?? It's not like I have anything particular to prove either to myself or the wider world.

On reflection as I sit here today I am feeling that this will be my last very long distance unsupported walk. I might attempt smaller supported walks in the future (I have long desired to follow in the 150 year old footsteps of Great Grandfather James in Sikkim for example, but right now, who knows?)

So that was today's hard element. I'm not entirely happy - as I said it was a sort of "lose/lose" decision - but there we are.

On a brighter note, in this funny interconnected world we bumped into Bishop David Williams and Revd. Dominik Chmielewski both Anglican priests, who are here for the Festival of St Foy, the patron saint of the district. St Foy in France is St Faith in the UK, and St Faith is the patron saint of Winchester, where these two clergymen are from. We had an interesting chat about mediaeval England/France religious connections and about pilgrimage. Photo below courtesy of Trish:

Then capped off with a lovely farewell chat with Martin and Heidi from Stuttgart.

Now to today's trek photos:

Yes, I know there's been lots of cow/bull/donkey photos, but I do find these guys very handsome and photogenic. In this last one (video) the donkey seemed to take offense at Janet.

Above: along the way ...

Below, a few shots around Conques

The final shot below is our departure point in the morning (big 7/8 hour up-down 25klm stroll).

That Charlemagne certainly got around didn't he???

In conclusion an addendum. In the "sound" category I completely overlooked mentioning the tinkling of the cow bells. I had previously captured the sound in a few little videos, and then forgot about it. It's a wonderful sound, and apart from it being it, I am reminded of the tinkling of the yak bells in the Himalayas. Thanks to Trish for pointing out this oversight