And finally we are off

Moissac to Malause 13km
Gite le Grenier du Levant

This morning we caught a train from Toulouse to Moissac, where we ended our camino last year. The route was the tow path for the Midi Canal which has been converted to a bicycle route between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. It was a lovely cool day, so although we enjoyed the shade trees all the way along, we were not as desperate for them as we might have been if the sun was out.
Our gite,  le Grenier du Levant, has been a real treat. Gord and I shared a fabulous meal with our hosts Annie and Ramond outside their 1630 Farm House. This Gite is part of an association of gites (Les Haltes Vers) that pride themselves on welcoming pilgrims in the true spirit of the Camino.

Time to Stop

Dufort-La Capelette - Moissac (420km)
Convent de Carmel
We are about 1100km shy of St. Jacques de Compostela - a goal for next year. Gord and I have come to the end of this year's journey on the Camino. We began this trip feeling that in some ways we were imposters faking a Catholic pilgrimage but the fantastic community of people walking together towards similar but different goals transformed us into our own form of pilgrims. The feeling of interconnectedness more present on the Camino than any other place in my experience. Our farewell drink with Kurt and Ilse before exploring the town was a lovely example of the friendships made on route.

Moissac was an important Medeval center and even though the railway cuts the historic core into two, it still has some of the best Romenesque carvings you will ever see. What you don't see in Moissac , behind all the beauty, is the brutal history of of Cathar suppression. In a single day, more than 250 so called heretics were burned alive in the square.

Our final night on the Camino was lovely but a bit sad. We could have happily continued on, but we will have to be patient.