With a weather forecast suggesting low 40s we resolved to catch a bus to Cajarc. Clearly this sort of heat required a bus, air con and a pool. (And maybe a cocktail).

With buses and trains already planned for the transfer to Cahors and on to Bergerac why not chill a bit for another scorching day. So we wandered around Figeac for the morning and met at the bus stop ready for this most difficult journey.

The days of walking in the dark to miss the heat in Spain were distant memories – besides, the sun was rising so early that if we wanted to walk early we’d have to go to bed before dinner to get enough sleep at this time of the year.

We resolved to take the hard decision and spend the afternoon swapping between resting inside in the air-conditioning and sipping cold drinks by the pool for an hour or two. This was the sort of difficult decision a pilgrim sometimes has to make – it still may haunt us for years to come 😁.

We consoled ourselves with the knowledge we could immerse ourselves in French culture as we were all keen to visit these beautiful French towns and actually enjoy the sites rather than pass out from heat stroke after enduring 7 or 8 hours of hell over 20 or 30 kilometres.

Despite feeling traumatised by this decision, we still felt surprisingly hungry. So as the sun finally started to set we wandered back into the town for dinner whereupon we spotted a lonely cow in the street, the beginnings of a fiesta and then, most importantly, we stumbled across a Michelin restaurant willing to give us a table on short notice.

Clearly another difficult decision! Or not … We enjoyed a wonderful meal with great wine and meandered slowly back to our air conditioned hotel in near peak condition ready for another bus trip on the morrow!

A bientot