France at 3 MPH: The End of the Story?

We walked into Moissac before noon. All of us were tired, even though it was only 16 km. Our lodging was in the Ancienne Carmel, now a gite which reminds me of a conference center. Except for the bunk beds! The place is run by volunteers. The food was good and honest but not the fancy meals of some smaller gites, but the company was excellent. Over the last week we have gotten to know Anne-Marie (Ireland) and Ingrid (Austria). They met on the trail; Anne-Marie finishes in two weeks at St Jean Pied-de-Port, while Ingrid continues to Compostela. Johan and Mette and I have shared many meals and a few glasses (bottles, perhaps) of vino. He is a ship captain and I have learned much from him. He and his ship are the subject of a documentary (Netflix) called The Last Breath which I’ll watch when back home. Patrice and Mary France (France, on the far right of the photo) live in Paris and have invited me to visit. I fully expect to take them up on this. The photo is in the pilgrim welcome office here (Accuel Pelerins) with the volunteers who are running it. Remy has a rural gite and is one of the people who makes this a true pilgrimage experience. I’ll write a separate story about him. Serge has a gite in Cahors, another person who is focused on helping us be le vrais pelerins. He locks the door shoulders his pack, and walks to Compostela each year on October 15. We learned quickly how much he is respected down the trail. I’ll write more about Serge when I have time. What will I do when there is no walk each morning, no ancient churches to visit, when everyone around me is speaking English instead of French?