The Camino de Santiago in France / V. From Puy-en-Velay to Cahors (Via Podiensis) on GR65 track

To leave Limogne-en-Quercy, the GR65 reaches the outskirts on the heights of the village.

In this universe of moor and drought, it is always the same trees that you meet, those of the causses. The oak remains the dominant tree, the extremely powerful king. But, country maple and Montpellier maple also make their way there, as well as ash when the country opens up a bit. Hornbeams and chestnut trees are rare in the region, if not sometimes a little hornbeam bushes as usually along the hedges.

And the dry-stone walls pass by again, one behind the other. In this magnificent uniform ruin, which still stands by chance, perhaps a barn, a little larger than an ordinary “gariotte”, even the roof is made of gray limestone.

Sometimes the oaks twist, often grow askew to find a little light, and the high forests impose shadows of silence. Here the “gariotte”has not been able to withstand the ravages of time.

At the end of the forest, the large farm of Pech Canot marks out the route.

Here the Lot electricity company takes the bet on sustainable development. Well done!

Further ahead, the GR65 leaves the road to find a wide dirt track.

And nothing changes, along this great avenue. Nothing superfluous around here, just listen to the silence of the trees, that’s the program.

Further on, after a few meager fields of cereals, the pathway returns to a thicker undergrowth.

Everything is then orchestrated again in the serene and calm harmony of the peaceful forest, in the symphony of colors that the light casts on the oaks with gnarled branches, or on the faded moss of the stone walls.

The forest remains one of the last bastions of freedom not to be touched. Silence and loneliness at the moment cannot be sold. Do we know if one day we will have to pay for them at a high price?

Further afield, the GR65 finds again a small paved road.

Here you are 1 kilometer to Varaire and the GR65 follows the road that leads there.

The road climbs a little through the countryside to the village.

On your way up, you can see the steeple of the village, and the road reaches Les Ecoutilles crossroads.

The GR65 grazes Varaire (311 inhabitants), but does not stop there. Take the detour. The village deserves it. You can stay in Varaire, where you can also find something to eat, which deserves to be mentioned, because this type of infrastructure is not abundant on the stage. In the heart of the village lies a divine “butterfly washhouse”, in which the ducks splash around in the greenish water. It was the breeding ground of the Cardaillac, a famous sprawling family, which has spread to many places in the causses.

There used to be a hospital attached to a church, known as St Jacques de Peyronèse, which welcomed pilgrims, on the edge of an ancient Roman road, called here “Cami Gasco”, the one that precedes the “Cami Ferrat”, after Bach. History also notes that two inns received travelers in the Middle Ages.

The 15th century St Barthélemy church, enlarged in the 19th century, is very bright, in its gray and pink limestones. Some pretty nice statues of saints are present here.

Some pilgrims will be surprised by the kitsch side of the Virgin who rests in an alcove near the church. Nestled around its church, beautiful stone houses, some looking like fortresses, wrap around the seigniorial residence of the Cardaillacs and its gigantic dovecote.

You have to go back to Les Ecoutilles, to continue the journey.

The route leaves Les Ecoutilles on the paved road, along these magnificent stone walls covered with moss, which run alongside the tracks and roads on the causses. If at the top of the causses, it is mainly small downy oaks that haunt the forests, as soon as you descend lower, the vegetation is more complex. Large white oaks are more numerous, but you find in fairly large quantities walnut, ash, country maple and Montpellier maple, these last two trees being very common in the causses.

The GR65 still runs on the road near a sort of small castle lost in the trees, then reaches the dirt road, under hedges of oaks and maples trees.

Another beautiful stone house on the edge of the undergrowth, and the route returns in the majesty of the causse. Little by little, the oak resumes its role of master of the causses.

The pathway, always magnificent, will run for kilometers, among the trees, in a rather sparse forest, surrounded by stone walls. As always, the magic happens in these places.

What more can we say, except listen to the silence. There is no water here. It’s bone dry.

This entire region is included in the Causses du Quercy Regional Natural Park. It is part of a gigantic global geopark recognized by UNESCO since 2017, a protected area for its dry-stone heritage, its active pastoralism and its mineralogical and paleontological universe. 

The Church of L’Assomption dates back to a 12th century building, of which almost nothing remains. It was rebuilt in the 15th and 6th centuries, then transformed in the 19th century.

The GR65 leaves the village by the road which heads towards Vaylats. 

Shortly after, it leaves the road for a pathway towards Cahors and Vaylats. People quickly points out the possibility of accommodation in Vaylats or in the Bascot yurts, fairly recent accommodation on the route.

Here is the Cami Ferrat, the track of Caesar and the Roman armies towards Cahors on the GR65.

The landscape here is not the most beautiful on the causse. These are very long stretches on a plain that resembles a steppe. 

Further on, nature becomes more charming again when the pathway approaches the forest.

The pathway soon arrives at a crossroads which allows you to reach Vaylats. The GR65 goes straight on to the Cami ferrat. You will meet it back the next day at the exit of Vaylats.

The shortcut takes the wood a little…

…before returning to the broad Vaylats plain.

The land is undoubtedly a little less harsh here, because there are some crops.

The wide pathway continues like this, until you find a narrow pathway at the entrance to Vaylats.

The shortcut leads to the entrance to the village.

There is a wooded park in the middle of the village. The current church of St Pierre es Liens, in neo-Romanesque style, is a reconstruction from the end of the 19th century. It replaces, on the same site, a Gothic church from the end of the 15th century. 

There is also a bakery-grocery store-café, but above all a huge and splendid convent built at the end of the 19th century, on the site of an old castle destroyed during the revolution. This is the magnificent Convent of the Daughters of Jesus, which also serves as accommodation.

In the past, there was a communion here between the pilgrims, the volunteer staff and the sisters. One thing hasn’t changed. Everything is done to help the pilgrim. A large laundry room is available. However, it is not possible to cook. The stewardship will give you a tour of the premises. In the past, the pilgrim was advised to attend the service at 6 a.m. sharp. You had the privilege of hearing the cracked sounds coming out of the harmonium or the tired glottis of the old sisters. At 7 a.m. sharp, it was meal time, shared with the sisters. There were sometimes more than 30 people in the dining hall. Surprise! The sisters were drinking red wine. The meal began with a clear soup and few vegetables. You saw smiles appearing on the lips of a large majority of pilgrims. Then followed a very simple dish, often pasta, served by the volunteers with great kindness and in complete communion. This was also the Camino de Santiago.

But there! The Covid passed through here too, which decimated a large number of sisters. So, they are no longer present at the meal. But that’s not all that’s changed. The building has become more complex and managed in a more professional manner. Formerly, it was just a gîte. Today, there are hotel rooms of two categories, some at a pilgrim rate, others at a tourist rate, which obviously complicates stewardship, because the rate and the menu are not the same. And, the icing on the cake, there are even residents, most of them elderly, who live a separate life in the convent. We come to miss the atmosphere of yesteryear. Too bad, even if we understand that this type of institution cannot remain frozen in ancient times forever.

Evening descends on Vaylats. It’s time to take a digestive walk in the magnificent park which adjoins the convent. In the cemetery, the sisters are buried, side by side, in groups of three to five. There is no surname or dates of birth or death. Only the sisters’ names appear engraved on the tombstones. Curfew time is approaching. It’s time to head to the rooms. The doors of the convent will close for the night. It’s 8 o’clock in the evening. Good night! But you will have to be on time for breakfast. At 7 a.m. sharp. They don’t mess around with the timetable in convents.