Le Puy Camino: Lauzerte to Saint-Martin

April 25, 2023

Today marked the first day that we encountered serious mud along the trail! I had heard horror stories about the possibility of mud and thought that it could not possibly be as bad as everyone predicted. We had 17 kilometers to walk to reach our destination in Saint-Martin and it was a damp and, at times, sluggish trek along the GR65.

It was a very rural walk today through orchards and agricultural land along dirt tracks. Our first stop was at the Chapelle St-Sernin. It is an 11th century Romanesque church and the most interesting thing I remember about this church is that there was a rope that hung down from the bell tower and pilgrims were allowed to tug on the rope and “ring” the bell!

After about 10 kilometers of walking, we came upon a welcome sign!

Le Relais Saint-Jacques is a well-known pilgrim stop in the town of Durfont-Lacapelette and it was crowded with pilgrims eager to take a break from the weather and fuel up with hot drinks and food. For about 7 euros we enjoyed a hot drink and some lunch!

Much of our walk today took us through row after row of orchard trees. We passed an interpretive sign at one point that described the agricultural importance of this region.

The sign describes the area we are in as “A Large Orchard” – or Un Grand Verger. This was certainly evident as we passed by many acres of fruit trees and grape vines. The sign states that this region in France ranks 4th in fruit production overall and 1st in the production of apples and plums. Other important crops of the region include melons, cherries, apricots, walnuts, almonds, chestnuts and grapes.

I was particularly impressed with the espaliered apple trees covered in netting – labor intensive!!

The mud today was evident along some of the more narrow dirt trails. It is sticky, wet mud that eventually seeps into even the most waterproof boots! The most alarming aspect of the mud was its ability to stick to and build up on my hiking boots making it difficult to walk. I had to keep stopping to scrap it off the soles and sides of the boots often!

After lunch, we had a shortish 3.5 kilometers to reach our destination in the tiny village of Saint-Martin. We had reservations at the Gîte Saint-Martin. It was a long ranch-style house with several rooms off the back side. Each room had a sliding glass door facing the back yard. We shared a room with a gentleman – yes, often the shared rooms are coed! It was miserable weather so we could not really enjoy the outside patio area.

Upon arrival, we had to discard our muddy boots and our packs in a separate building. We loaded our clothing and toiletries for the night into baskets that we took to the room. It was a well-organized set-up.

The gîte had 5 rooms that could accommodate a total of 14 people and it was completely full for the night. Our cost was 40 euros each for the demi-pension – an average price along the GR65. At dinner, we met a really nice family who were walking a portion of the GR65 during their 2-week school vacation. We would cross paths with them a few more times over the next few days. We learned that one of their daughters was going to be a high school exchange student in the US the following year – in Portland, OR. I was most impressed by their command of the English language and overall good cheer.

The next day would take us to Moissac – a larger town with an impressive historical site – the Moissac Abbey.