Le Puy Camino – via Podiensis: Vivioles to Le Terly

April 15, 2023

After some cold, damp days, the weather took a more positive turn! It was sunny for most of our 18 kilometer walk today, albeit a tad windy and cool. But – oh, the sun!! 🙂

We left Vivioles bright and early and skirted the small city of Decazeville ultimately reaching the Chapelle Saint-Roch.

The chapel of St. Roch was built in the 1500’s and is situated above Decazeville and the valley below. It’s a beautiful chapel with a stone exterior and simple, yet elegant interior.

After leaving the chapel, we walked along a paved road for a short distance before diverting onto a footpath that eventually descended rather steeply to the Lot River valley below and the town of Livinhac-le-Haut.

We crossed the river and walked into town – looking for a place to rest and grab a cup of coffee.

We found a “bar” in the square – Place du Quatorze Juin – opposite the Église Saint-Adrien de Livinhac-le-Haut.

Saint Adrien was a Roman soldier who converted to Christianity in the 4th century and was beheaded for this choice. He is considered to be the patron saint of soldiers.

From Livinhac-le-Haut, the way follows a mostly dirt path through agricultural lands and rolling hills.

Before reaching the town of Montredon, we came upon a large stone cross with an interpretive sign and picnic area. Translating the sign, it explains that the cross traditionally marked the junction of three historical regions – Quercy, Rouergue, Auvergne. The present day cross is a modern day reproduction of the original and provides a beautiful rest area for pilgrims.

Once we arrived at the village of Montredon, we got down to the business of getting warm and finding sustenance to keep us going. We were rewarded with a fantastic meal at a small restaurant/gîte called Bien et Toit. Even though the sun was shining, it was cool and windy. Our host went out of his way to make us feel welcome and even fired up the small woodstove in the restaurant so that we could warm up!

We enjoyed a hot, grilled sandwich and cup of hot tea – all for a whooping 13 euros total.

Before leaving town, we toured the Chapelle Notre-Dame de Pitié.

We continued on towards our destination for the night. It’s always interesting what one will see along the way. We passed through a residential area at one point and I was surprised to see a “robotic” lawn mower! Too funny! The old and the new alongside each other on the Way.

Along this section of the GR65, we met a gentleman who has embarked on an epic pilgrimage. Gustav started his journey in Finisterre on the coast of Spain and was following the Jerusalem Way all the way to Israel. Remarkable! We encountered him in mid-April and he said he hoped to reach Jerusalem by December. I took a snapshot of the blog that he was writing to chronicle his journey. He took a selfie with us and said he would be posting it to his blog along with all the other people he has encountered along the way. I forgot all about looking up his blog until I started writing this post. It appears he made it to Adana, Turkey. I actually found a place marker for our picture on his blog – there was a caption “Susan and Lin from USA” but no photograph. Oh well, it was gratifying to know that he had made it so far.

In the tiny hamlet of Guirande, we came across an ancient chapel – Chapelle Sainte-Madeleine de Guirande. This chapel dates back to the 13th century and is adorned with beautiful murals in the very simplistic interior of the church.

After we explored the tiny chapel, we continued on to Le Terly – our stop for the night. We had reservations at Gîte du Fournil du Terly. The accommodation is run by a young woman who is a new owner and was located outside of town in the French countryside. It was a great spot and we had a full house of all women pilgrims who shared with us the dormitory-style second floor. The communal meal was hearty and well-prepared. The only issue for a second night in a row – no heat!! There was a huge pile of blankets for us to add to our beds and that did help to keep us warm during the night.

It was a good day! Tomorrow we would have a short day to arrive in the medieval town of Figeac.