Camino Photo of the Day: the Butterflies of Mirkwood

Just after 10:30 that morning, I was walking down a dirt road through a forest that gave me serious Mirkwood vibes – all spindly trees wrapped in thick, gray-green moss – when I suddenly realized that I had left my Camino shell medal at the gîte this morning. I was so upset and angry at myself that I actually texted Francine about it. She suggested that perhaps there was somebody walking on the Way behind me who had need of it, and I should let it go. She was right, of course.

And then, as I was calming down, I was swarmed by a flock of black and purple butterflies. They were absolutely beautiful, and my heart felt lighter at once. I tried to take photos of them, but although there was a fluttering flock, not a one showed up in my photos.

Date: 03 September 2023
Place: between Labastide-Murat and Vers, Lot Département, Region of Occitanie, France

Maps!

The site I’ve been using for my daily maps, Gronze.com, while otherwise great, unfortunately doesn’t have maps for this variant. So here’s a map from my book Practical Pilgrimage showing the entirety of the three main variants and larger sub-variants. I walked the GR6 from Figeac to Rocamadour and the GR46 on to Cahors.