Camino de Santiago – Part 6
Before I resume with the story of my adventure on the Camino de Santiago, let me wish each and every one of my newsletter readers a happy Thanksgiving. Please remember to be thankful for the good people and things in your life.
Day 6 began in the very small village of Beduer. As mentioned in part 5 of this story, I spent the night in a lovely home where I enjoy outstanding hospitality and food. That morning, I enjoyed a delicious breakfast and then said my goodbyes to the other guests and my gracious hosts in a light drizzle.
That morning, I went through a lovely section of France along the Lot River. The highlight of the day was spending about two hours in a town of St Cirq Lapopie. Much like Conques, this small village seemed like something out of a Disney movie, with narrow lanes of cobblestone on the side of a mountain. I like how France keeps the cars out of these historic villages, which they seem to achieve by making everyone park outside of town and walk in.
After an enjoyable stay there, I was back on the road with the goal of making it to at least Cahors. Along the way, my bicycle started to have trouble shifting. The rolling hills of France necessitated many gear changes, which were starting to take their toll. Another thing to note is new bicycles should get an adjustment after a little breaking in, which I never did. As I started to approach Cahors, a drizzle had turned into a full downpour. Meanwhile, my bicycle was impossible to get in any gear and nearly unrideable.
Cahors is a picturesque city along a bend in the Lot River. It is said to be the birthplace of merlot wine. When I managed to make it to the center of the city in the pouring rain, I found it difficult to find anywhere to stay. A woman in the tourist office was very helpful by calling a few places to find who had rooms and at what price. I chose one near the train station.
After getting settled into my room and drying off, I borrowed a hotel umbrella for a look about the city. Unlike every other place in France since Léon, Cahors was flat. It is located in a bend on the Lot River, with beautiful bridges going over it. The most famous is probably the Pont Valentré, which includes three medieval towers. The Camino goes right over said bridge.
As I finished enjoying the Pont Valentré, it suddenly stopped raining. I don’t recall ever seeing such a dramatic change in weather so quickly. It was nice walking along the river, although I was overdressed with a lot of clothing for rain. Two objectives I had for the day were to do laundry and get my bicycle fixed. It was a Sunday, so this would be a challenge.
As to laundry, the map app on my phone indicated a place in the center of the city, near the tourist office. Based on a picture, it was another set of coin operated outdoor machines like I used in Aumont-Aubrac. However, said place simply didn’t exist. I decided I would wash them in my hotel room and hot they would dry overnight. This would prove to be a mistake. It was easy to wash the clothes but impossible to dry them. A hair dryer seemed to only make the wet clothes hot but didn’t dry them.
As to bicycle repairs, Apple maps indicated two places, both of which were closed Sundays AND Mondays. I had seen this before in France. Many small businesses close for at least two hours starting around noon and are closed completely on Sunday and Monday. This includes many restaurants too, especially it would seem those in Cahors. However, I fortunately managed to find one that was open for dinner.
As I ate, I had to think about my plan. Neither bicycle store would be open until Tuesday. As nice as Cahors was, it was a small town and one can see all the highlights in a few hours. I didn’t want to be stuck again somewhere for a whole day again as had happened in Conques.
It should also be noted I was way behind schedule. I had already decided I would have to skip a portion of the Camino if I wanted to get to Santiago but had not decided on the details. It should be noted that there is a train station in Cahors. My hotel was almost across the street from it. What made sense was to use the day on Monday to travel by train towards or to Spain.
Another consideration was that after going up and down mountains in France since I started, I craved a flat and sunny section of the Camino. I needed it. The Camino goes over the Pyrenees, which is the mountain range between France and Spain. I didn’t want to take my bike over that section. Another issue, as I recall, was the trains didn’t go anywhere in that section of the Camino.
One option was to take a sequence of trains to Bayonne, France, which is a coastal city just north of the border with Spain. From there, I could access the Northern Way, which is a lesser traveled route on the Camino along the north coast of Spain. Mark, the hippy guy I met in Conques, said that Camino was very hilly. That was not what I wanted. It was very important to me to get to any flat and sunny section.
After much thought and research, I decided I would travel by train to Burgos, Spain. This would take two days and five trains, but there didn’t seem to be a better option. Besides, I rather like trains. This plan would take me through Bayonne, which I very much wanted to visit. It would be a significant cut in my total mileage, from 900 to 500 miles. However, I was beginning to learn that the Camino is not about speed or destination, but the journey itself.
Stay tuned for part 7 where I begin that journey.
November 21, 2024 Question
In front of you are 12 pearls, 11 being real and one fake. The real ones all weigh the same and the fake one differs in weight from the real ones (may weigh more or less). With a balance scale and three weighings how can you weed out the fake one and determine whether it is too heavy or too light?
November 28, 2024 Answer
- 1. Weigh 4 vs. 4
- 2. If step 1 is unbalanced, then go to step 3, otherwise go to step 11.
- 3. Label the four pearls on the heavy side from step 2 has H, the four pearl on the light side as L and the other four as R (for real).
- 4. Weigh HHLL vs. HLRR.
- 5. If the HHLL side from step 4 goes up, go to step 8.
- 6. If the HHLL side from step 4 goes down, go to step 9
- 7. If the two sides from step 4 are balanced, to go step 10.
- 8. Either one of the LL pearls from the HHLL side it too light or the H pearl from HLRR side is too heavy. Weigh an L against the H. If the L goes down, it is fake and too light. If the H goes down, then it is fake and too heavy. If they stay the same, the other unweighed L pearl from weighing 2 is fake and too light.
- 9. Either one of the HH pearls from the HHLL side it too heavy or the L pearl from HLRR side is too light. Weigh a H against the L. If the H goes down, it is fake and too heavy. If the L goes up, then it is fake and too heavy. If they stay the same, the other unweighed H pearl from weighing 2 is fake and too light.
- 10. The H or L pearl from weighing 1 that was not weighed in weighting 2 is the fake. Weigh them on the side side against any two real pearls. If the HL side goes down, the H pearl is fake and too heavy. If the HL side goes up, the L pearl is fake and too light.
- 11. Label the eight pearls weighed from step 1 as R (for real). Label the other 4 as Q (for questionable).
- 12. Weigh QQQ vs RRR. If the QQQ side goes up, go to step 13. If the QQQ side goes down, go to step 14. If they stay the same, go to step 15.
- 13. One of the QQQ pearls from step 12 is fake and too heavy. Weigh any two of them against each other. If one side goes down, the pearl on it is fake. If they stay the same, the other unweighed Q pearl from weighing 3 is fake.
- 14. One of the QQQ pearls from step 12 is fake and too light. Weigh any two of them against each other. If one side goes up, the pearl on it is fake. If they stay the same, the other unweighed Q pearl from weighing 3 is fake.
- 15. The other unweighed Q pearl from weighing 2 is fake. Weigh it against any of the other pearls. If it's side of the scale goes down, it's too heavy. If it goes up, it's too light.
November 28, 2024 Question
How can you arrange ten buttons into five rows of four buttons each?