Said goodbye to our friends from Limoges, who are taking the bus to Castres and so will be a day ahead of us from now on, and set off from Boissezon at 8 am. We soon discovered that we are not in the flatlands yet, but in the foothills of the mountains, and there are more ups and downs to be covered.
The peace of this bucolic countryside was soon interrupted by a gang of men in camouflage gear, armed with machine guns. We found ourselves in the midst of some kind of French army drill, and for several kilometres we were surprised from time to time by young men crouching behind bushes with their guns, or by bursts of gunfire in the distance. We were not the only pilgrims on the trail, and presumably the first group of soldiers ordered a cease-fire whenever a hiker came through, because we emerged unscathed, and around midday saw the army truck taking all the young recruits out of the combat zone. War is over! Time for lunch!
We enjoyed our lunch on the grass behind the church in Saint-Hippolyte and then walked the last hour into Castres. We came to the statue of the pilgrim where the city centre begins, and then to our lodgings to drop off our bags.
We then had the rest of the afternoon to explore the city: the churches of St. Jacques and St. Benoit, the houses along the Agoût river, and the Goya Museum, housing France's largest collection of Spanish paintings, including a few Goyas and Velazquezes as well as a fine El Greco.
Spent the evening making a plan and booking accommodations for the next few days, as we were worried about the May 1 holiday. We did find that a couple of places were fully booked, but played the wild card, airbnb, and now every night is accounted for. Two nights in pilgrim hostels, one night in a nunnery, a night in a yurta and a night in a house by the Canal du Midi.
Should be interesting!
Boissezon - Castres 18 km
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