May 5, 2018
Day 40: Moissac to Saint Maurin
We were excited to get up and go find the market in Moissac, where today had been designated a strawberry festival. As we covered the short distance from the Naoleon bridge to the centre of town we remarked once again on how every view in the town would make a pleasing photo.
There was also relief in there being few or no cars trundling about. Without them, enjoyment of the old town was dramatically increased.
The market benefits from a good partial roof, and is situated directly in the centre of town. And yes, there were strawberries galore. These seemed to be of two main varieties. "Dely" were rather long and elegant, while "Garriguette" was shorter and stockier. Dodie went for the elegant ones, though they were 50 cents more per basket. What a wild and crazy lady!
Aside from a market full of strawberries, we came to realize that Moissac had a claim to fame in the "Camino" and "Cluny" areas. In town we saw groups of obvious Camino walkers, gearing up for walk to the next town. And then there was the 1000 year old St. Pierre abbey, standing not far from the market.
This of course adds to the downtown ambiance, a bit unusual given that abbeys are often found out of town, up on a hill. A little like a cathedral, the abbey has a sculpted portal. There is a long description nearby of what is to be found in the sculpture, but it is all to much for me to absorb.
We carried the market treasures we had bought to a small group of tables, just beside the open market and the covered market. We assumed these tables were provided as part of the markets. But shortly after we had spread out our berries and pastries, a man appeared to take our order. He was from the bar across the street. This is a European phenomenon that, like miniature "cups" of coffee, we have not yet assimilated. Restaurants can be running outdoor tables quite far from their premises, and waiters may "run" quite some distances with full meals. In this case, the bar was nearby, but across a narrow street. Touche. So, I ordered one of those miniature coffees to keep the man happy.
We greeted some of the walkers who were still in the town and set off along the canal path. Here we found the other walkers, strung out according to their starting times and walking speeds. On the Camino, we had always enjoyed seeing who was the most advanced walker, and then trying to sort out fast or early ones from villages further back from slow or late ones from villages further on.
We noticed one man pulling one of those shopping carts, like the fellow yesterday. Only we saw he was changing the hand that was pulling the cart, first using the left and then the right. When we drew level, Dodie stopped and proposed to the man a foam pad for the handle, which she fabricated from a coffee cup holder/warmer that somehow she still had from our Southern Tier. I showed the man that the holder was a souvenir of Pensacola, Florida and he told me that he had a son in Florida.
This man turned out to be 81 years old. Last year he had done the Camino, from St Jean Pied de Port to Santiago. Now he was back, to do Le Puy to St. Jean, thereby finishing the whole thing. 81 years old, pulling a shopping cart! Buon Camino, and hats off to you sir.
A quick spin down the canal and we arrived at Valence d'Agen. Here was another beautiful town, and we could sense it had a market just from the number of people parking their cars and extracting market baskets. Sure enough in the centre of town was another covered space, and even more strawberries!
Left to watch over the bikes while Dodie checked out the market, I noticed a nearby Citroen car. This was the swoopy model that has the adjustable rear suspension. It was model DS-23. Probably not at all rare in France, but still not a common sight. The second thing noticed was a dry cleaner shop! (This bike watching must be boring!) Specifically, there was a sign in the window giving some of the main prices for different kinds of clothes cleaning. Not only was this a little lesson in the French words for various clothes, but there were additional details - like "Dress, not lined, not pleated". I have always known about bread prices posted in bakery windows, and can sort of understand that. After all, revolutions have been won and lost over bread. But I am unlikely to bring a government down when ripped off over cleaning my pants! The law that required the sign is just another slight cultural difference that a tourist like me might notice, when stuck babysitting a bike!
Now it was time to "head for the hills", following instructions that had been emailed by Leo Woodland, so that we could reach Leo and Stephanie at their place on the far outskirts of the tiny town of Saint Maurin. There were a fair number of twists and turns, all perfectly understandable now that we are familiar with the landscape, but mysterious the first time through. What we could easily see, however, was the beauty of the place, which boasted hills and dales, all lush and beautiful with pastures, cornfields, and forest stands.
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We wondered how Leo and Stephanie had found such a wonderful, and to us totally unknown paradise. Later, of course, we would get the story of how they came here, starting across the valley right in the town of Montjoi and fifteen years ago moving to their present farm house in St. Maurin.
Léo and Stephanie are avid cycle tourists, and Leo is the author of many first rate journals here on Cycleblaze. Have a quick look at the list by clicking this. There are 21 titles to choose from! Better read quick, because Léo and Stephanie will start another trip, in Iceland, later this month.
We wanted to meet Léo and Stephanie because of the wonderful journals and their fame among other cyclists. But a bonus was getting to ride to their place in a landscape that otherwise we would not have found. Also, picking up on the fact that we had been freezing, they offered to drive us into Agen to visit the Decathlon, and then around to two of the neighbouring villages for a look see. This was tremendously sweet and worked out really well.
At Decathlon we found fleecy tops, and tights, that are going to make a big difference if the chilly weather and high winds we have been experiencing persists.
And then, we got an expert guided tour of St. Maurin and Montjoi. These towns are perched on the edge of a valley and offer great views. In St. Maurin, Léo told the story of Maurin, who came to town and informed the inhabitants that their practice of Christianity was wrong and that they needed to change it. They responded by beheading him. But when he picked up his head and walked off (for a bit), they suspected they had made an error and that this was a saint. An abbey was then built at the site of his grave. At least that is the story. But you can see it carved in stone even today, in the walls of the former abbey.
Stephanie and Léo prepared a lovely evening meal for us, and naturally we enjoyed trading cycling stories, and lots of other stories. But it's the whole thing - the hills towns, the stone buildings of Léo and Stephanie's place, Léo and Stephanie themselves, the idea of British people successfully transplanting to France, Léo's accounts of French and British history and all the other topics we discussed that will make this a memorable chapter in this tour.
Today's ride: 46 km (29 miles)
Total: 2,616 km (1,625 miles)
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I never met Leo and Stephanie but I met Bernard M (A frog that hops America) here with Philippe ...
https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/pics/docs/00/01/17/61/large/DSC08977.JPG?v=5
Best wishes to all,
Michel
5 years ago
5 years ago
----->Bill
5 years ago
5 years ago
Hey, we could also meet in Vancouver Island. We discovered a sticky bun place that Leo missed, in Ladysmith!
5 years ago
5 years ago