Five days near Foix

Our five days in Foix are coming to an end.

We have been staying in a very comfortable Chambre d'Hote called Les Sapines in a small town just south of Foix called Montgailhard. The hosts Helga and John are extremely hospitable and find just the right balance between assistance, advice and allowing us our independence and autonomy.

We flew from London to Toulouse last Sunday, and then took the train to Foix, arriving at our accommodation late afternoon.

We hired a car Monday and headed to Mirepoix for the weekly market day, and then on to Montsegur,  an ancient catcher village/fort situated on the summit of a 1200 metre hill rising steeply from the surrounding countryside. It was the site of a ten month siege in 1243/44, at the end of which some 200 Cathar 'heretics' were burned at the stake at the foot of the mountain.

We climbed to the summit and tramped around the ruins, then proceeded to the museum in the village nearby. All quite interesting. I had simultaneously been reading a novel by an Australian author, Catherine Jinks, called the Inquisitor, set in nearby regions in he eleventh century, which gives an extremely illuminating perspective into the mindset of the Inquisition and the complexity of religious and political beliefs in medieval Europe.

Tuesday we drove south into the mountains (or perhaps the foothills might be more accurate), parked the car and walked for two hours up a valley, 'up' being the operative word. Tramping through beautiful beech forests along a part of the GR 10 which is the name of the walking track from the mediterranean to the atlantic through the Pyrenees. The views were spectacular, snow not too far above us.

That evening at dinner we decided to change our plans and not try to walk the GR78 as we had planned. My knees are not up to it, and Boronia has a shoulder injury. Our new plan is to hire a car and spend some time in different locations, where we can walk (without packs) for a couple of hours every day or second day.

Wednesday we drove to Ax le Therme, then (following a navigation error on my part) across to a town called Axat. The countryside was dramatic, we explored an old castle at Puitres, and enjoyed serendipitously exploring the countryside.

Thursday 5 May was allocated to walking part of the GR78 along a small part of our originally planned route. We drove to a point about eight kms to the east of Mas d'Azil, and walked for two hours into the village through beech forest, muddy trails, and along the edge of a lake. The village was neat, and charming, made more so by the bar/brasserie we found to serve us coffee and creme catalan. The walk back was shorter as we took the road as it was very hot. After four hours walking, hot, knees sore, tired, we were glad to reach our car. Sitting beside it was a young French lad walking from Narbonne to Cape Finisterre in western Spain, he had no map, a large pack and was camping all the way. He seemed very content, and gratefully accepted some water and biscuits.

He reminded me of my travels in 1973, riding from London to Perpingnan, and then hitchhiking to Barcelona, and on to Pamplona, camping in a swag and living off around a dollar a day.

Friday we drove to Carcassonne. I had never been there, and while the old city and the fortress are impressive, i was hugely disappointed by the commercialisation and the crowds of tourists. On the way, we visited an old Romanesque church form the eleventh century (or older) in the village of Vals. It is unique in heat it is built into the rocks on the hillside, and has three internal levels inside, plus above the altar were a number of lovely frescoes depicting religious events (the annunciation etc).

Tomorrow we plan to head to St Girons for their market day, then return to Foix and take the train to Toulouse where we pick up a new hire car and head to Amies les Bains down near the Spanish border on the mediterranean side. We will explore the surrounding area for four days or so, and then decide where to go next. Possibilities include south to Spain, Languedoc,or even Provence....