Cahors is known (locally at least) for its annual blues festival in July which had to be cancelled this year due to Covid-19. Despite this, the town has organised weekly music evenings each Thursday throughout July and August. The main road in the centre of town is closed to traffic and stages are set up at 8 locations around the town for different bands and musical acts each week. Restaurants near to each location offer their usual menu or an ‘Assiette Lotoise’ – a typical local salad plate that includes pate de foie gras, duck breast, melon de Quercy, the local Cabecou goats cheese, charcuterie and green salad. We cycled over to have a look and found that you definitely need to book in advance so we’ll try that for another Thursday. The town was much livelier with families supporting the acts appearing, judging by the small son and parents of the lead singer in a band we stopped to watch. Of course they’re very lucky to have the weather here to pretty much guarantee the outdoor dining and concerts.
Cahors also has a twice weekly market, the largest in the region. It is usually located in the historic centre around the Cathedral and extends into neighbouring streets depending on the number of stalls. Due to Covid it is now held in the Allée Fénelon, the attractive public garden area next to the theatre and tourist office. A one-way system was strictly enforced.
On Thursday Joe suggested a walk along the river to the east of Cahors and the map shows there is a variation of the Chemin de Compostelle route into Cahors (the GR36 variante) that passes just behind the campsite. The non-variation route follows some of the same path along the river but heads inland as it nears Cahors and heads over the hills, joining the elevated walk we did the other day. The flattish riverside walk won out on this (hot) day and we picked up the path at the back of the campsite. We had a very enjoyable walk, initially along the side of the alluvial plain next to the river, with fields of rich dark soil that look like they would grow whatever seeds you throw on them. We passed private allotments and larger market garden fields full of healthy vegetables, intended we assume to be sold at local markets. Fields of sunflowers and maize followed and the irrigation sprinklers drawing (free?) water from the Lot river provided a refreshing spray as we passed by.
We soon came to a lock where some a pleasure cruiser was approaching and, as there were only two people on board, they asked for our assistance in what was quite a long-winded process, which we’ll feature in a separate up date. On the opposite side of the river the old church at Laroque-des-Arcs is perched high on a hill. It reminds us of one we climbed up to last year with Claire’s brother Philip when he joined us at Castellane in the Gorges du Verdon.
Lunch by the river at Arcambal and on the way back a very welcome dangle of our feet in the cooling river from a pontoon, as well as cleaning off our very dusty legs and feet. And now we can say that we’ve done a very small part of the Chemin de Compostelle.
Face mask fashion
You need to have a face mask with you all the time here, even on the campsite for enclosed spaces, and it’s interesting to note the different ways that masks are carried or accessorised. Men wearing shirts tend to carry a surgical face mask in their breast pockets, worn like a new-age pocket handkerchief. Many ladies loop the ear loops around their wrist like a bracelet. For temporary use, the mask may be hung down the side of the face from one ear or worn under the chin until needed. The new normal for France – and the UK?
Life at the campsite
The French holiday season is in full swing now so it’s much busier in camp than for our first few weeks. Add to that prolonged high temperatures, holiday excitement and Mediterranean temperaments and it makes for some interesting times. Our neighbours, previously mentioned, were a family occupying two mobile homes and with initial excitement over, some tensions between the three generations were showing. The family don’t seem to eat before 10.30p.m. at night so lots of noise until very late with about 10 of them, on what is otherwise a fairly quiet site at night. Last night grandmother, again very chatty with us, ‘lost the plot’ and launched in the early hours into a tirade against a daughter or grand-daughter. This was compounded by the arrival on our other side of a family with two young children whose presence was felt from the moment the Motorhome door opened. We’re certainly not anti-children or other people and understand the realities of camping but, with two more weeks here, we decided a change of plot might be a good idea, scouted the campsite and the reception were able to oblige. So we packed up very efficiently and put it all back up again around the corner! The new plot gives better views and layout, so a good move and it feels almost like a new campsite.
