Between Puivert and Bugarach there are north and south variants of the path, so I have decided to do these two sections as a circuit walk that will take five days. Hopefully it is about 120 kms of walking but I am only guessing, since I am planning on diverting from the path on the last day to avoid walking back to Puivert for 15 kms along the same path I did today.
The Castles aren't all here because of the Cathars, but because this was contested territory between france and spain in medieval times. Spain actually ruled over what is now the french side of the pyrenees. Anyway, there are a lot of castles. and they came in handy when the French king persuaded the pope to declare a crusade against the cathars for their heretical version of christianity in the 13th century. Not that they did them much good, with a number of atrocities leading to the almost complete defeat of the sect. Because the crusade was conducted by northern franks against local occitan people it was not just about religion but asserting control over an area that was still quite independent of the french crown. perhaps that is why the cathars seem to be such a popular topic here. they represent the repression of locals by the northern government.
Sorry, got a little carried away with the history there...
today I walked from Puivert to Quillan. Last year I actually read a novel that was partly set at Puivert castle, 'The Burning Chambers', set during another religious upheaval. Compared to a lot of the other castles, it is in a pretty good state of repair, with intact walls, towers and keep. I infamously slipped under the fence and took a peek two years ago, when I was frustrated by the closed ticket office, despite being there during the advertised opening times. Unlike the even more infamous macedonian tomb break in this year, I set no alarms off! I promise I will go and buy a ticket to visit next time I am there.
It was almost beautiful walking weather, but in fact was a little too hot by the end of the day. 28 and clear skies. A thing i find strange in France is how the hottest part of the day is in late afternoon. the maximum for today arrived at five o'clock. The walking was mostly easy along old farm tracks and forest footpaths, with a tiny bit of road walking in between. There was one very steep bit to reach the top of the pays du sault , which is a large plateau area above puivert and belesta, with a lot of sheer cliffs. A lot of raptors can be seen hovering around looking for prey. At the very start was an indication of just how many paths there are in France. It was a veritable crossroads of a number of paths.
And there are so many paths branching off that are unmarked. When you consider the length of human occupation, it is not surprising that so many paths exist, but it always makes me wonder, where are all the ancient paths in Australia?
I really enjoyed the walk, breathing in the scent of pine resin and wild thyme, hearing the bird song and cicadas and seeing thousands of moths and butterflies fluttering around the hedgerows. I also passed a cherry tree dripping with cherries and ate one juicy specimen.
it is still amazing to me that france is so empty. Despite walking 21 kms I saw only one other walker, and saw no one else at all until I reached Quillan.Despite telling myself I would have an AFW I lasted one day and headed straight to a bar and a cold beer when I arrived. In a strange incident, an old lady came up to me asking me for a cigarette and when i said no, i don't smoke, she flagged down a car and asked the driver as well. Got to my chambre d'hote and used my attempt at french to greet the host who said,' you can stop all that, I'm English.'
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