My Compostelle 2 : the Via Tolosana: Part 2, day 10 : Boissezon to Castres

The walk from Boissezon to Castres felt long because it was so warm. The temperatures were rising during the day making walking uncomfortable. My gîte had been attractive, comfortable, and modern, and it had been wonderful being together like that before we all split up to go our separate ways. Pierre and Pierrette were stopping this year in Castres, as was Hervé, who would be visiting friends there. Only Bernard and I remained, and I would be only going to Toulouse, Bernard to Santiago or even beyond to Finisterra. After all he was not planning on going back to New Caledonia until November 24.

Shortly out of Boissezon, I stopped at Noailhac to have a look at their bread and croissant-dispensing machine. It was a novelty, but was, of course, replacing the boulangerie. It was a great idea, and stocked an excellent product, but wasn't the same. I supposed people buying their bread at the same time at the dispensing machine could have a conversation with each other, as they had once had with the baker, but something was missing. Again another loss for these small forgotten towns in the middle of nowhere... Another small travesty...

I finally made it to the outskirts of Castres, but the walk in seemed interminable in the oppressive heat. In the outskirts of the city in St. Hippolyte, I met an old man in his 80s who lived just off the GR who was accustomed to inviting tired pilgrims into his house for a drink of water. On this particular day he invited me in as I must have looked exhausted as I passed by, walking very slowly. His wife was away because of an unfortunate death in the family, and I learned that he too, like Bernard, was a retired diplomat. He really wasn't from the area in which he lived and he craved conversation from those from elsewhere.

I then continued on into Castres, and finally made it to my gîte, a form of bed and breakfast provided by a woman named Madeleine with an Italian last name. She was one of the most hospitable people I was to meet along the route. She would give me a head-start on my journey the next morning.

Castres, known for Jean-Jaurès, the emblematic French socialist figure who name features prominently in many places in France. Unfortunately the Cathedral dedicated to St. Benoît was closed, but I did enjoy the lovely gardens nearby designed by Le Nôtre, who also was responsible for those in Versailles.