Le Puy Camino – via Podiensis: Le Terly to Figeac

April 16, 2023

Leaving Le Terly, it would be a shortish walk to our destination of Figeac – about 11 kilometers. Piece of cake!! The weather gods delivered us a nice day for our hike – sunny, blue skies!

The first small hamlet we came to was about a 3km walk from Le Terly. In Saint-Félix, the main attraction is the Église Sainte Radegonde which dominated the landscape. Parts of the church date to the 11th century.

I include the above photograph because, throughout the Way, our feet were our focus. Adjusting the laces, removing our boots on occasion to air out our feet and dry our socks…never ending attention to the condition of our feet!

Saint-Jean-Mirabel was a short 1.8km from Saint-Félix and a walk through a landscape of rolling hills. The GR65 brought us into one section of the town near the Salle Communale and the office of the Mairie. It looked like there was an event going on in the Community Hall but we stopped there and used the restrooms and had our picnic lunch on the grounds.

There was another section of the town a little further from us up on the hill. It is where the Eglise Saint-Jean-Baptiste is located. We did not detour over there – although upon reflection, I wish we had.

A couple of things are memorable about this day in this town. I noticed as we entered the village that there was an area for “free” RV parking. Cool!

The other highlight in the village was the sculpture outside the Community Hall commemorating the year the Tour de France passed through this village. The plaque roughly translates to “This bike was made in honor of the 2004 Tour de France by J.C. Navet, J.C. Bedel and M. Lefèvre – Saint Flour-Figeac stage via Saint Jean Mirabel on July 15 – won by David Moncoutié from Lot.”

On one of the buildings, there was an interesting poem written on a piece of stone. It was clearly intended for those hiking the Camino. It starts by saying: “Pilgrim, where are you going? Hiker, where are you going? Maybe you do not know who is guiding you on the path…” and goes on to recount the many regions and places you will encounter and the many landscape features that will be crossed. The last sentence – Tu n’oublieras plus le chemin – “You will never forget the way”. Reading this now after more than a year and a half since walking – I’m definitely getting a tad teary-eyed.

After our snack, we continued on our journey through more bucolic countryside! With less than 8 kilometers to go until reaching Figeac, we enjoyed the more leisurely walk.

Figeac sits in the valley of the River Cèlè. It is a medieval town much like many of the towns we have traveled through on this journey. The river winds its way through the center of town.

Our destination was the Chambre d’hôtes Chemin des Anges. We shared a room this night with a father and daughter who were walking the Chemin. At 54.50 euros for the demi-pension, it was a good deal and our host was very friendly.

After dropping our bags at the accommodation, we headed into Figeac to explore. It was Sunday so stores were starting to close as is the custom in France. The architecture was amazing!

We were looking for a cafe for a snack and came across these two “best friends” – who we have seen along the way and shared accommodations. They invited us to join them at the Cafe & Hôtel Champollion. They spoke very little English but we still enjoyed their company. Sometimes words are not needed.

After our snack, we wandered around the village and peeked inside the Église Abbatiale Saint Sauveur à Figeac. In 843, an abbey was founded on the site of the current church by Benedictine monks. The church itself dates to the 12th century. It served as a major pilgrimage sanctuary during the Middle Ages until the Wars of Religion caused the town to be taken over by the Protestants. This is when parts of the church and abbey were destroyed. In later years, the church was rebuilt to its current structure.

We had a very special mission while in Figeac. The last time Susan, my walking partner, was here hiking the Camino she had wanted to find the Carmel monastery and church. She was not able to due to time constraints so we made it a priority on our visit to the city. Susan is a Secular Carmelite who, as a lay person in the Catholic Church, commits to following the teachings of the order. So, for her, it was a deeply spiritual endeavor to see this church. Select this link for an overview of the Federation of Carmelites in France. As it happens, the church was a very short walk from our lodging and we went to take a look.

The Carmel is an unassuming set of buildings surrounded by a tall stone wall. We entered through the wrought-iron gate and were greeted by a gentleman who explained that the Gîte du Carmel was not yet open for the season. He figured we were pilgrims looking for accommodations and the Carmel caters to pilgrims by offering inexpensive lodging from May to September. Susan explained why we were there and that she was hoping to go into the chapel. She did get to access the chapel and, in addition, she was surprised when one of the Carmelite nuns came to one of the doors and greeted her. They live a very secluded lifestyle so this was extremely special for Susan to receive her blessing. I was very touched. This was by far the highlight of our short stay in Figeac. You never know what will transpire on “the way.”

Back at our lodging, we had dinner and retired for the night. Tomorrow – destination is the town of Béduer.