I did not venture near the Camino today. I stayed firmly on the tarmac and followed le Lot as it snaked its way to Livinac-Le-Haut. The weather could have gone either way, I had hoped that after descending from the Massif Central that I had a few days of  just cold and rain, but as I was preparing to leave this morning the snow started.

Visibility was ok and the snow had a difficult time gaining purchase on the wet and well salted roads but the route today really was on a knife edge. Had either the altitude increased or the temperature dropped just a little then I would have been seeking shelter much earlier than planned.

There used to be an old bridge just outside of Estaing and just after it is the Chapelle Del Dol, you can read the Legend of Aveyron through the link. Will we men ever learn?

A consequence of not following the Camino today was that I bypassed Conques and when I reached this junction the idea of the 16km+ detour just wasn’t open for discussion.

The last time I followed the Camino I remember the incline to the town and parking in-front of the church. I hung around for a while and decided to leave as in August the tourists are not unlike the eighth plague, but the junction at the bottom of the hill had me flummoxed. My map said I should cross the river but could I find the bridge? I wasted an hour heading back the way I had come, then back to the junction and further on. I had just about given up and returned to the T junction that should have been a cross roads and realised that the improbably narrow gap between the cafe and building next to it was actually the  bridge access. Gaining the other side of the river wasn’t much of a coup though as the climb on the other-side reminded me of Switzerland. I should say fondly reminded me but I clearly remember my demeanour not being at its best after the wasted hour and then the unexpected steep climb.

The valley that the Lot cuts is pretty enough but I didn’t stop much as today it was just dreich when the snow wasn’t blowing that is. I managed to miss the Gite and it took me a while to find it. This was no bad thing as the people leaving their car who I eventually stopped to ask were actually the owners and had just returned.

Sadly the Gite was another converted barn with air conditioning, which translates into a large poorly sealed building stylishly left bare to the beams, stones and mortar, heated in winter by a fan blowing warm air – great idea and just so effective.

The bedroom was better sealed and the air-con unit more appropriate in size and area of the room, but I’m certain this is where  the cold eventually got a hold of me as I needed to have the damn thing on all night.

Not only were they burning vast amounts of Nuclear electricity with their ill advised heating, but they were signs everywhere about water usage. I was frozen so had my customary “hour shower” which starts with cold water.

There are those of you who will just assume that this is another aspect of my masochistic behaviour but its practical as the cold water is warmer than my feet and I need to warm them slowly so that they dont swell up too much, believe me were new boots available I would have bought them already.

Anyway I ate with the people here, the woman was ok, the guy an artist and a bit of a prick who switched the Wifi off while I was in the middle of a call. There was no reason to switch the damn thing off, I think he just wanted to irritate me and by Jupiter, he did! On reflection I’m surprised he didn’t piss on the door step when we arrived or growl during dinner, but perhaps he has been house broken.