The clanging of cow and sheep bells is a constant on the trail. You usually don't see them, they are in paddocks on the hillocks above you, sheltered by trees, or below you, hidden from site. Our last few days have been slow, or on busy roads with bells muffled by the sounds of traffic.
The early walk was the usual irritating walk in traffic with multiple stops for passing cars and switches on serpentine roads to ensure cars could see me. But then began a climb on a tiny road, almost to small for cars, up to the village of Neuilh. From this village, you could actually see Lourdes in the distance, the only town of any size in the region.
From then on, the roads were little traveled so I walked, trying not to trip over the many chestnuts in the road, observing the view from time to time, and rarely seeing a car. The path then turned to dirt and after slipping through the gate, I found myself in a paddock with the sheep. The sheep are generally smart enough to stay out of my way, they look, and then amble off. The views on this mountain path were spectacular so that I had to again pinch myself...yes this is real, I have wanted to do this for a long time.
A view from the trail
Some cows, thankfully behind fence
From the sheep paddock, sans sheep
The paddock with a lone sheep
The grand finale, many sheep assembled next to the gate so that I had to pass through them to continue.
As the afternoon heated up, the shaded roads disappeared as I made my descent into the big city -- Lourdes. I walked through the downtown, passing a family with a broken down car and empty jugs of Lourdes holy water...had they put the holy water in the radiator? Had the car broken down too soon?
Everywhere there are religious shops selling souvenirs from this place. Even the grocery store had empty plastic bottles in the image of Mary, all the way up to the gallon jugs I had seen next to the broken down car.
Farther on still, the castle, the cathedrals, and the hotels! The streets were full of tourists, I presume most are religious tourists judging by the souvenir shops and the names of the hotels.
The museum of the cure!
The castle, a cathedral in foreground
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Check out hotel names, my fave is Joan of Arc
Finally I reached the road up to our lodging at Cite St. Pierre. Drat, all uphill! How can this be? I finally arrived to find an enormous complex of buildings going up halfway up the mountain. More up, no signs, so I sat down on a post and took a short rest before struggling up the hill. After several requests for directions, I finally found the office and also ran into Laura.
Dinner, and rest, Lourdes will have to wait.
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