Gaillac to Varaire and onto Lalbenque. The last of the GR65 leg for this trip.

My last day hiking turned out to be long again, but punctuated by a delicious lunch in Limogne-en-Quercy. It’s a bit tricky in this part of the world as check in times are 5pm-ish. It is best to make use of the cool of the morning and many restaurants only tend to be open 12 til 2, so a decent lunch break makes good sense. I had to take a slight D19 road shortcut to get to lunch in time, but saw a beautiful deer on the way, so it was still a very pretty morning.

The special deer in this region.. Massive ears!

After admittedly a pretty rich lunch I had a wee rest at the local church, appreciating the art, my good fortune at being able to do this walk, and digesting!

The next section of the day was back on the GR65 proper and through the most beautiful truffle forests and ancient walls, dolmens etc. Can’t get enough of this ancient rock in all its forms. Quite moving.

1.5 hours as planned was becoming two, as I kept stopping to take photos of beautiful things. So I took a google maps walking “shortcut” to save 5 minutes so my hosts wouldn’t worry…. Whoops.

Started OK, an old path between stime walled fields, but quickly became COMPLETELY OVERGROWN and of course my phone was getting really low on battery. Hate that. Also there are GIANT TICKS in the region (it was on the news!) so with all the grass etc brushing against my legs, leggings were always good choice 😱. No tan for me.

At one point I even carried a decent rock in one hand, as it just felt so remote and creepy, but of course it was fine. My situational awareness and fight or flight are a little oversensitive, though definitely improved with all the solo walking I’ve now done.

Finally made it to the beautiful gite d’étape and I was the only guest, so had the whole lovely bunk room and bathroom to myself. Lucky. Dinner with the family and plans made to get to my next accommodation and onto Cahors for the day and I had a rare, great sleep.

My feet and achilles were getting hot again (blisters and inflammation) so I listened to my body and agreed the hot and hilly hiking would be done for now. Friday was to be 30 degrees, so it was a good decision.

After a day of trains up from the south, I am now in Baden-Baden just half an hour by TGV over the border, having spent the morning in beautiful Strasbourg.

Looking forward to some thermal water on these legs and feet tomorrow. Then I’ll be catching up with lovely old friends in Fürth and onto Frankfurt for the return home. I’m ready!

Gaillac to Varaire 1