Walking the Camino de Santiago
As the pilgrim walks the Pont Valentré over the River Lot, he can’t help but notice that there’s a cliff on the other side of the river. Once, long ago, there was a tower built into the cliffside, and one would enter it and climb the interior steps to the top of the cliff. That medieval tower is long gone, […]
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The Camino leaves Cahors by means of the Pont Valentré, also known as Pont du Diable—the Devil’s Bridge. Construction began in 1308 on what has been called one of the most beautiful fortified medieval bridges still in existence. It was finally completed in 1378. Why the “Devil’s Bridge”? Legend has it that the master builder, exasperated by the slow pace of the […]
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It’s true that every society is a product of its history. While in France I was mostly drawn to the Medieval, it’s hard to argue that the First World War doesn’t loom large. Every village has a war monument listing the honoured dead. Nearly every church has an altar or statue of Saint Joan of Arc, who became a symbol […]
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After exploring the cathedral (and taking many, many more photos), I set out to explore the old town a bit and find a place for dinner. I absolutely loved the architecture in this particular neighbourhood, which I passed on my way to a very local place recommended by folks at my gîte. It was a little hole-in-the-wall place called Le […]
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The cathedral’s altar to Saint Joan of Arc obviously belongs to the early 20th century. The names of Cahor’s honoured dead from the First World War form the background to the saint. Throughout southern France, I found a chapel, or at least a statue, of Saint Joan in nearly every church. Joan, of course, was one of Francine’s favourite saints. […]
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The cathedral’s Lady Chapel is also sometimes called “chapelle longue”, meaning “long chapel”. In the various niches, we find a series of paintings of the Childhood of Christ: the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Nativity and Adoration of the Shepherds, and the Circumcision. Although the chapel was first dedicated in the 15th century, the altar and paintings are from the 17th […]
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For the next few days, I’ll be posting photos of the various side altars and chapels of the Cathédrale Saint-Étienne de Cahors. This particular side altar is found just off the nave and is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. I don’t know how old the wall paintings are – I suspect 19th century – but the construction of […]
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The pilgrim routine at the end of the walking day is largely unchanging. Check into your albergue. Take a shower. Wash your clothes – almost always by hand, but every now and again by machine. Journal if you’ve got ’em. Explore the village/town/city neighbourhood. Dinner. Somewhere in there, usually all in there, is socialization with other pilgrims. Honestly, if there’s […]
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The Cathédrale Saint-Étienne de Cahors is an absolute wonder. Medieval paintings decorate many of the walls and columns. The architecture itself is early Gothic, with an overlay of Byzantine elements. I’ve never seen anything quite like it. It has domes amid the Gothic: one is decorated with 14th-century frescoes depicting the stoning of Saint Stephen, as well as eight prophets. The […]
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This is my mascot, Dobbles, apparently enjoying an Orangina. Some explanation is probably in order. Very early in our Camino adventures, Francine and I both got into the habit of taking a “mascot”, a little figure or plushie that we could use in whimsical photos. The first was the rooster I picked up in Santo Domingo de la Calzada in […]
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