Category: Photo of the Day 2023

Walking uphill does have its advantages, though not necessarily in the walking itself. Once you get to the top of whatever you’re climbing, sometimes you’re fortunate enough to have a view – and what a view this was! If you look carefully, you can see the cloud shadows falling into the valley below. Date: 30 August 2023 Place: between Figeac […]

Three kilometers or so later, I reached the shores of the little lake at about 1 PM. Ávila and Bruno were still picnicking there when I arrived, and at their invitation, I had a snack myself. It was a lovely spot, with lily pads and dragonflies. After that, the three of us more or less walked together the rest of the […]

Back on the trail! After the village of Cardaillac, the Camino took a downhill path, which lasted maybe a couple of hundred meters. After crossing over a stream on a stone bridge, it was back to uphill as the Camino continued today’s long climb up to the Causse de Gramat.  Date: 30 August 2023 Place: between Figeac and Lacapelle-Marival, Lot […]

After lunch, I explored the village of Cardaillac a bit, and in particular, le quartier du Fort, the Fort District. This contains the remains of the former castle of the Cardaillac family, which once ruled much of this area. There were once three towers here, but one was destroyed sometime in the aftermath of the Revolution. You can see what […]

I don’t often post photos of meals, but this salad I had for lunch in the French village of Cardaillac is representative of the quality of food I had in rural France. Look at those tomatoes! While I was eating, my pilgrim friends Ávila and Bruno passed through. They bought sandwiches to go, planning a picnic at a lake about […]

So. It’s been a while since I’ve posted the Camino Photo of the Day. Since Good Friday, in fact. Since then, my life has been torn apart by the sudden illness and death of my beloved bride. On this Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, it seemed appropriate to resume where I left off, in the courtyard […]

For Good Friday, I thought this photo appropriate. This Crucifix stands next to the graveyard of the church of Saint-Julien de Cardaillac. The church itself was locked. Almost all of the churches I passed in France were open, but for some reason in this region – today in fact – this was the second locked church I’d come across. Date: […]

After the sign announcing the village of Cardaillac, I walked another twenty minutes through mostly forested land before finally emerging to see this view of the village proper. You can just see the castle in the distance on the left. My goal here was to visit the church, visit the castle, and to obtain a late second breakfast, or possibly […]

After about an hour of walking, I entered the village of Cardaillac, or possibly Cardalhac in Occitan. This place is built around a castle – photo to come – and dates back to the 8th century. It is named after the Cardaillac family, which traces its origin to a fellow named Bertand de Cardaillac. By the 11th century, the Cardaillacs […]

While the Camino route from Figeac to Rocamadour is these days classed as an “alternate” route, in earlier centuries, it was not. Rocamadour was a “can’t miss” site for medieval pilgrims. I continued walking on an asphalt road through the woods under a beautiful canopy of trees. Occasionally, I would catch glimpses of a stream off to my left and […]