May 12, 2019
Figeac to St-Cirq-Lapopie
More pastoral scenery and another cave!
We feasted this morning on scrambled eggs with the remaining roasted peppers and bread, plus as much café au lait and orange juice as we could handle. We had packaged up the leftover pasta, chicken, and cheese for lunch (and stowed the butter for future meals) so all we needed to pick up for lunch was a bit more bread.
We were on the road well before 10 and soon found ourselves spinning down the Céré valley on D41. Good weather, nice scenery.... We found a boulangerie in Marcilhac-sir-Célé and got not only a demi-baguette but a small tarte aux noix to share for dessert. There seemed to be a nice place to sit there but it was still a little early to eat so we carried on. Eventually we stopped at an "aire de repos" of which we saw several on this route. We also saw more cyclists (the weather and the fact it's Sunday might have an effect) and quite a few Camino walkers. This route along the Céré eventually joins the main Camino at St-Jean-Pied-de-Port.
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At Cabrerets it was decision time and we opted to make the right turn and the climb up to Grotte du Pech-Merle. Entry is with a guided tour (27€ for both of us) and the tours are in French. We were each given a laminated booklet with translationed descriptions of each of the stops to take along on the visit.
It was interesting in that this cave features both cool geological features (cave pearls!) and prehistoric paintings. The differences from out other guided visits include the group size (larger--too large we thought), and that we were allowed to carry our handlebar bags and others in the group had small backpacks and were only told not to touch anything. The paintings and engravings were either well out of reach or behind shields. No photos, of course.
Then back down the hill and along D662 to cross the river via the small bridge at Bouziès. Up again but a quite manageable grade at the end of the day, along another beautiful quiet road to St-Cirq-Lapopie.
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We found the Auberge du Sombral in the centre of town and it's nice. I showered and did my laundry while Al had the pression he'd been thinking about during the last climb. I joined him for a second, then he did the shower/laundry thing while I had a walkabout.
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For dinner, we went to L'Oustal, a "tiny but atmospheric place" according to the Rough Guide. Good description and the food and service were excellent! We are both sated with exercise and good food so goodnight!
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Today's ride: 66 km (41 miles)
Total: 587 km (365 miles)
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