Day 11: Golinhac to Conques. 22.86km
Today started much better than yesterday, except for forgetting my poles, which was a common occurrence for me on the Camino.
I’d had a good sleep and nice breakfast and we were all up early to smash out the 21km to Conques. A lot of people – Guy, Bea, the 3 Swiss girls – were stopping there and it’s quite common for French people to only walk that section of the chemin. This meant that the accommodation along that section of the way needed to be booked a few days in advance because there were always more people walking. So everything was going to change tomorrow after Conques, as the crowds thinned out.
As I mentioned, I left my poles at the gite, and I realised halfway up a hill out of town and thankfully could just go back and get them. I saw Bea there and said we’d catch up later at the Abbey and wished her a bon chemin.
It was rainy, again. The landscape was some forests and country lanes. There were lots of walnuts, and some Aubrac cows. Walking uphill in the fields we also got shrouded with mist, which made it quite chilly. It was also pretty hilly. I was walking along a road and heard my name from behind me – Ellen had rejoined my route after staying in a place called Campuac. We walked together to this gorgeous village of Espeyrac.
Thankfully, there was an epicerie and cafe there so I went in to buy a sandwich and some lollies. I also bought Ellen’s food to pay her back for the washing machine use the other day. She was staying there for a bit, but I was heading off – I didn’t really like going for a sit down mid-morning break because my muscles started cooling down and it was always harder to get going afterwards.
Espeyrac was beautiful too and I wanted to spend a bit of time taking some photos of the lovely stone houses. Eventually I kept going along the trail and out into the countryside again.
It wasn’t long before I was in another little country village called Senergues. There was a chateau there and a church, as well as a collection of houses and a convenience store. I didn’t stay there long but walked up the hill on the way out. What a slog that was too. Eventually I noticed a few picnic tables under a shelter with a toilet nearby so stopped to have my lunch there. The ladies from the gite in Golinhac came over to have their lunch there too. Then it was time to continue again.
I don’t remember that much on the way into Conques – just more paddocks and little collections of house – but I sure do remember the way into Conques purely because it was SO PAINFUL. The road was just so steep. Weaving downhill didn’t help my knee out. Walking slowly was about the only way not to have excruciating pain, but it was still painful. I realised a few days later that walking backwards was much better for it but at the time, I was just really hoping to make it to the town. Eventually, thank goodness, I made it to the bottom of that hill and started along the cobbles of Conques.
Conques is another place that I have been to before but which is so beautiful that it’s worth going back to. It was just how I remembered it, and probably how it’s been for 100’s of years. I walked along the streets with the other pilgrims, and finally found the way to the Abbey. They had a very good process. You were greeted at the door by a greeter who then took you to the courtyard to remove shoes, pack away hiking poles and put your bag in a plastic sack. Then you went inside to check in, and pay if you hadn’t already (I had only put down a deposit and forgot to pay the rest online). Then the greeter, who was a South African woman, showed me to my dorm. I had to choose a bed and she made a note of it, then she showed me the bathrooms and gave me the list of the night’s entertainment.
I was in a room with 8 bunk beds, and every bed ended up being full. I made my bed, grabbed stuff for a shower and went to the bathrooms. There were about 8 shower stalls which was great, though it was a bit chilly. And I washed my clothes in the sinks. Then grabbed my camera and gear and went out for a walk.
I popped into the cathedral, and lit a candle for someone I know, then wandered uphill through the village. Strangely enough, as soon as I’d stopped walking and changed my shoes, my knee had settled down from its extreme pain of earlier. I went into a souvenir shop and bought a bracelet like one I’d seen others wearing with a shell on it, and took loads of photos. By the time I went back to the dorm, it had filled up.
Annoyingly, I’d picked a bed where the USB slot wasn’t working so couldn’t power my devices so the nice man next to me – Oscar – let me charge then on his USB. There were a few people in my room I knew – Guy and his friend (I’d met the friend in Saint-Chely, can’t remember his name) and a girl from the convent in Saint-Come, whose name I’ve also forgotten at time of writing (note for next camino: take notes every day!). Wolfgang and Bea were also in a different dorm and I caught up with them as we all moved into the dining hall for dinner.
The dinner is cooked and provided by volunteers, which was amazing.
The soup starter was really nice - I think it was some kind of zucchini soup but it had an interesting flavour that I couldn’t quite pick. Then dinner was something with rice, and dessert was chocolate chip cooking. It was nice and simple. We then all filed out after dinner as the mass at the cathedral for the pilgrims started at 8:30.
This was late for me on the Camino – usually I was in bed around 8:30 so I had to fight to stay awake. The mass was beautiful though and the singing was really lovely. They also asked for people who were continuing the camino to come forward and Bea made me go up and they gave me a book of prayers in French. We then went outside where the priest apparently told everyone assembled about the carvings on the cathedral and the relics and other treasures inside. It was all in French so it got a bit much for me. I couldn’t understand a word of what he was saying. It was late and so I bid everyone goodnight and went to bed.
I thought sleeping in a dorm room with 15 other people would be so difficult, but I took some melatonin and had one of the best night’s sleeps. I didn’t even hear when everyone came in from the church, I was so asleep!
Abbaye Sainte-Foy. 10/10. Really amazing vibe. It's very dorm-y and the food was simple but the atmosphere was amazing. Breakfast was also 10/10, best breakfast on the Camino.