Beautiful walking weather. An easy path. This morning dark grey-blue clouds on the horizon against green, brown and yellow fields - at times it felt as though we were walking across a painted canvas. A delicious late lunch stop in the small village of Gimont. The French managed to get the last baguette sandwich from the boulangerie - three cheeses, (brie, chevre and emmenthal) with walnuts and salad. Yum. And he surprised me with a small packet of dark chocolate for un petit dessert. Parfait. And a few hours later, when the sun was hot, a brief afternoon tea stop - chocolate biscuits in the shade!
But on this quite perfect day, the real highlight was our late morning side trip to La Grange - a farm gite - to visit two strangers, Lille and Andreas. It's obvious to say that one of the most enjoyable and rewarding elements of walking the Camino is the people you meet along the way. Many you walk with for a few hours or perhaps a day or two, some many days more. Most you will never see again, which doesn't take away from the experience of having shared some hours or days with them. And some you keep in contact with and would be delighted if your paths crossed again, as they sometimes do.
All of these encounters are part of the richness of The Way. But perhaps not many people's lives have been changed in quite the way that Domi and I have experienced. On this Camino we've found ourselves often sharing the story of our meeting on the Chemin du Puy and the chain of events that followed. Our story usually comes to light when gite owners or other pilgrims (almost all of whom are French) are curious to know how a very French Frenchman has ended up living in Australia. And they all react in pretty much the same way - with surprise and delight and reflections that we are very lucky. As we are.
It was during one such conversation - at the gite in Les Casses - that the delightful hospitalero Christiane told us about another couple who met on the Camino and now have a gite further along the Arles Way. Do try to stay there if you can, she said. It's a wonderful gite, and they are very kind and would surely like to meet you and exchange stories. We thought that was a great idea but, as the days went by after Les Casses, we found that a stop at their gite, La Grange, didn't fit well with our timing. What a shame. But then the French said, perhaps we can just pop in as we pass by, explain that we know of them from Christiane - but not to stay long as they would surely be busy preparing the gite for pilgrims who may arrive later in the day.
And that's how we came to spend a delightful hour late this morning with Lille and Andreas and meet their two children, and various friends, and share a coffee and our stories around their table. They met in 2006 at the gite in Granon (Rioja country) on the Camino Frances in Spain. Lille (from Toulouse) spoke no German. And Andreas (from Hamburg) spoke no French. But, happily, they both spoke English. They walked together for some days, like Domi and I, built 'a small friendship', and stayed in touch. Some months later they met up again to walk in the Pyrenees. And so the story goes.
In 2009, having been together for a couple of years, they changed their lives completely, and bought the farm gite. They have been welcoming other pilgrims ever since, for six months each year. And they now have two children - a boy and a girl. How they came to buy that particular gite is another wonderful serendipitous story - but perhaps for another time.
Soon it was time for us to go. We still had 17 kms to walk. The French and I were so pleased we'd taken the time to visit, and they seemed genuinely delighted too. We promised to drop in again if we are ever nearby. Whether on foot or driving by, we are always welcome to visit or to stay.
As we walked back down the hill from La Grange to rejoin The Way, Domi and I reflected that every day on the Camino, something special happens. And today so many special things. But there was another in store. After 34 kms, we arrived at our destination for tonight, another farm gite, Gite de Lamothe. And the first to greet us was the Australian border collie, Callie. Surely a good omen.
J x
PS. I'm getting further behind in my email correspondence! So to all those who've kindly been in touch, and we haven't responded to, thank you for your messages and I hope to reply properly very soon. A shorter day tomorrow, so perhaps I can catch up then - or at least make a start. x
