Jour 8 -- Orniac to Cabrerets and then to St. Cirq Lapopie

The day started out well enough and I headed for Cabrerets, taking the road to the town (rather than the trail) which saved me a little time, and continued on from there. Cabrerets was a pretty town, and the overhanging cliffs that dominate the historic town revealed a ruined castle, built by the English and also known as the "devil's castle".  I stopped and took a few photos, but I didn't linger, to make up for lost time and continued on to the Pech Merle cave, since the GR went right by it, reaching it just as it started to drizzle lightly. The Pech Merle cave is home to prehistoric cave paintings, being one of the few sites in France which remain open to the general public. Unfortunately the portion available for us to see didn't have the most interesting examples. On the other hand, it had been a nasty climb up to the cave, but I decided to make the most of the opportunity and took the tour with a large group of 25 people, followed by lunch, hoping for an improvement in the weather. 

Afterward I continued on my way to St. Cirq Lapopie, a relatively easy walk, somehow missing the entrance to the towpath and ending up taking another route.  It was less-frequented, which worried me for awhile, but ended well.  I discovered, to my delight, that a medieval festival was being held that weekend so I benefited from that (there were fireworks that evening), but there were also crowds of people. It was the perfect place for such a festival, but I was most disappointed to to find that the sole ATM machine was out-of-order.  

Someone has posted a lovely video of St. Cirq Lapopie on YouTube, which I thought I'd post here.  St. Cirq was voted "Le village préféré des français" (France's favorite village) in a 2012 show on France 2, one of France's television channels.

Cabrerets

St. Cirq Lapopie

Some of the games were rather dangerous (see implements in previous photo)

 I learned that the historic and architecturally interesting gîte communal had been commandeered by the mayor for his own purposes, so I was housed with some other "pilgrims" in a place called Camping a la Plage by the river just outside the town in a huge "pilgrim tent"!

 


(Psalm 84) 1How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD of
hosts! 2 My soul longs, indeed it faints for the courts of the
LORD; my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living
God. 3 Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a
nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your
altars, O LORD of hosts, my King and my God. 4 Happy
are those who live in your house, ever singing your praise.
5 Happy are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart
are the highways to Zion. 6 As they go through the valley
of Baca they make it a place of springs; the early rain also
covers it with pools.…. 10 For a day in your courts is better
than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper
in the house of my God than live in the tents of
wickedness. 11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield; he
bestows favor and honor. No good thing does the LORD
withhold from those who walk uprightly. 12 O LORD of
hosts, happy is everyone who trusts in you.