August 13, 2016
Poitoued out: St. Benoit to Availles Limozine
The little campers were still in their tents when I left this morning at 9. I had to go into St. Benoit at 8 to get coffee, as I had run out. There is no life before coffee, you know. Anyway, the way out of the campground was down the far side of the river heading south. The road was mostly shaded for the first hour or so, and it opened up as I gradually climbed out of the valley. The countryside is mostly flat, so the kilomèters just flew along. I got to Gencay about 11:30, but it was too early for lunch. It was the biggest town on my route, though, and leaving it I hoped that I could find provisions as I rode on. In Chateau Garnier, a really small place in the back of behind, there was a grocery store stocking the basics. I got two slices of ham, half a baguette and some cookies for lunch and a bottle of water to refill my bottles. I ate on the village green and was away again before 1:30.
A short time later I found myself in Charroux with its splendid Carolingian ruins. I got a Perrier I n the bar, which was run by an English couple. Their French was primitive at best, and I wonder how they think that they're going to make the bar work not being fluent in the local language. Brexit has meant that the pound is weak against the euro and that has had a limiting effect on the numbers of British visitors. There seems to be a lot of Brits in this part of the world, and it surprises me how many have signs on their houses-cum-businesses written in English. It remains to be seen what will happen with their right to remain in France visa-free. I expect that those that are here now will be allowed to stay, but the process of moving from Britain to France will get more complicated in the future. Time will tell.
I rang the bell at the gate hiding the abbey ruins and a gentleman answered. He offered to give me a tour of the ruins, and I accepted gladly. He was a real passionné of the place and recounted to me, in incredible detail, all that was known of the abbey's history. The church itself is mostly gone. All,that remains is the central tower, which once stood over the main altar. It is 34 meters high, and once was the centerpiece of a circular crossing with three ambulatories around it. Erected in the tenth century, the church was rebuilt and embellished several times. What's left is in fact the ruins of the third church, the first wooden one burnt down and the second, commissioned by Charlemagne, was destroyed by Vikings. The last building was finally torn down in the revolution, but the monastery had been defunct for some time. The monks did manage to hide some of the treasures of the church before leaving for good, and these were rediscovered in the 1980's and are now on display. They include jeweled reliquaries one said to contain a fragment of the true cross, and some of the sculptures which once adorned the entry.
After thanking the guardian for his tour (a bit too long, but interesting), I rode on to St. Germaine de Confolens, leaving the Poitou and entering the department of the Charente. Another ruined chateau, but worse, the village is all but dead. Not a single business remains open. Confolens was only a short ride away, though, and I thought to go there because it is a good size town. What I didn't know was that it was also the weekend of Confolens annual music festival. Not only was everything full, security was so tight the one couldn't even get into town without passing a metal detector. Not for transient cyclists, then. So with the way ahead blocked, I backtracked to St. Germaine, and then onward to Availles-Limozine where there was a nice campground. After a shower I walked across the Vienne River bridge to town where I pleased to find a restaurant. I'm ashamed to say that I can't remember what I ate, but I do remember that it was good!
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Today's ride: 111 km (69 miles)
Total: 395 km (245 miles)
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