LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS11) -- From July 23 to July 30, Father David Sanchez covered ground from Cahors, France to Aire-sur-l’Adour, France, completing his third week of a months-long pilgrimage effort to save the steeples of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Butchertown.
After another challenging ascent while leaving the city of Cahors at the beginning of the week, Sanchez had a strange encounter on the Camino between Montcuq and the medieval city of Lauzerte.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Excerpts have been pulled directly from Sanchez’s blog at wherespadre.org.
“There was a moment where I panic for several miles. When you walk by yourself, you don’t know what is there waiting for you. After 7 kms, and at the speed I was walking, I was scared by a man smoking a cigarette under a fig tree. I kept walking. I did not know who he was. He must left the village before me to be there. I walked as light speed. It had never happened before. There were many difficult descending trails, until I arrived to a beautiful chapel. The door was opened. I just let there door opened half way to take a pict. (See picture in Instagram) When I turned around, I gave a jump, the man was standing behind me. OMG! I just took the picture, and kept walking as fast as I could. It must happened close to Roiullac. As I entered the next village of Montlauzun, the man already reached me. He spoke English to me. He said he was from Austria. He asked me if it was my first Camino. I answered, yes, it is. No more verbal contact. I just walked parallel to him on the other side of the road. We went down the hill, following the white-red marks on the road poles. After 3 kms, he was 200 meters ahead of me. Suddenly, he screamed to me that that was not the trail, because there was an X white and red, and not the parallel sign =. He told me that he would continue on that road. I had two options: go back to the village that we just passed, or turn to the left direct to the corn field. There was small path there. I just did that, when suddenly by the creek was a small bridge with the = in white-red. I keep going. I never saw the man again. There were more hills to conquest, and the topography of the region changed. It was a new country, like being in Tuscany for second time. I entered a field of cantaloupes. It was harvest. There were so many fruits, cherrie tres already harvested, sun flowers in bloom facing east, nuts trees well planted, tomatoes, pimentos, sweet corn, and etc. As I gave a 90 degrees turn to the right. I founded a tall umbrella, and under it, a table with two wood boxes full of cantaloupes, a big kitchen knife, and a box for donations. I said, yes! I peeled one and ate it. It was sweet like a “sugar mama” watermelon from NC.
Now I am approaching the medieval city of Lauzerte. It was magestic from the distance at the top of the hill. It is unique, but for travelers, imagine Toledo in Spain or Siena in Italy. Wow! At the base of the hill, I did groceries for lunch and dinner, and shopping at the pharmacy for good feet tape. It was time to enter the city, the Camino way, and it was. A rocky path straight up to the city. I think I am become an expert on this matters, haha! As I entered the main plaza, it attracted me one corner of the plaza, was changed by an artist, and looked like the plaza was going on the air. I looked around, took pictures, and… No way the Austrian man of early in the morning was sitting having a beer in a local there. Again, I just kept walking. To descend, I had to go to the southwest side of the city. There was a nice area to eat my lunch. There was a local young man cleaning the area, but he was fine that I ate my lunch there. I descended by the concrete stairs. What a beautiful city to live! From there it was 12 more kms to Durfort-Lacapelette, a very hot small village. I spent the night here.”
The next morning, Sanchez left Durfort-Lacapelette in the company of local dogs and participated in a restorative Feast of St. James mass in Moissac.
“It was 5:30 am when I woke up. I protected my feet, and went on the march. Leaving the village was tricky. If I follow GR-65 my route, will take 3km to leave town. If I follow the cars road, it will be only one mile. I decided to go by the dirt road, around orchids, and fruits plantations, down the creek, and up the vineyard. When three dogs decided to join me, they were having fun, as they party all night. Tongs out, and big smiles. They vanished as they came. From there it was all flat roads for 6 kms. Then the descending moment came, no problems with the feet, but I was cover in chiggers. Chiggers, in France? Oh yeah!, and there are nastier. They had a party over me, like a bunch of drunks after the bachelor party. I was covered in bumps from toes to head.
“I arrived to Moissac at 9:30 am. I stopped at the garden shop, to get something for the chiggers, but there was nothing there. Half kilometer down the road was a groceries store. I bought a bottle of ammonia, main ingredient, in Afterbite medication, and my lunch for tomorrow.
“Entering the historical center of town, a nun greeted me, like she knew me from years. She asked me if I was going to Compostela and she asked me if a wanted the Pelerins blessing today. It was around 10:45am. And she said, it was better to hurry up, because St. James procession would start at 11am. Now, she made me run. In the mini, I told her that I was a priests, in 5 minutes I was dressed, and next to St. James relic. A priest from Vietnam, presided the procession and mass. You can see videos in Instagram:wherespadre. After mass, I went to the welcoming center of pelerins. It was fabulous! The people was so welcoming and charming. They helped me to heal my chiggers with ammonia, stamped my credential, and set a table for two in front of the office. A wonderful woman, collected flowers from the garden, and set them on the table, where I had lunch with Julian.”
Saturday morning greeted Sanchez with heavy rains and a muddy trek from La Romieu to Montreal, France, where he and walking friends from the Czech Republic and Germany took in the village’s street party.
“I started at 7am. Annie, from Bordeaux,my roommate woke up a 5:30am like me, but it was raining hard. She went back to bed. Chris woke up at 6:00 and the rain stopped. I drank my bottle of water, and started the day. Because of the rain, there was a lot of mud. It was not fun taking it out of the sandals several times. By the 10 km started to rain again. I put my rain coat on, but I was more wet inside because the heat that because the rain.
“When I arrived to the city of Condom, What? Yes, you read it, CONDOM is a city in France, the rain had stopped. I entered the first bakery and bought a sandwich and coffee. I saved half of the sandwich for lunch.
“I kept walking, with a good speed. At 2pm, I arrived to my destination for the day: Montreal, Fr. It is small village, and there is a village party tonight. The town is getting full right now.
“Before my arrival to Condom, I met Oliver. He is from the Czech Republic. He has been walking for 3months, 1 day on his way to Santiago. I passed me very fast. I entered the city of Condom, and Chris was having a coffee in the main plaza. The city was full of young people. There is a tennis tournament going on for a week. A priest walking by the middle of the street passed by me. I am sure he was from another exFrench colony in Africa, as all the priests that I have met. I entered the main church took picts, went to the tourism office and got my stamp, and leave town as I entered at light speed.
“During shopping in Montreal, Oliver invited me for dinner. He cooked a Czech pasta dish for Chris, he and me. It was delicious.
“Before dinner, I went for a city walk. The local church was opened, and emptied. I was in the need to pray. I went to the blessed sacrament, and chanted some repetitive scripture phrases. After an hour, I felt energized!
“Well now I have to go to the street party. It is good to taste the flavor of town.”
Sunday’s journey brought Sanchez an unexpected act of generosity from a young villager and a reminder of home on his way to Nogaro, France, before preparing to bid farewell to Chris, a friend made at the beginning of Sanchez’s journey in Le Puy, France.
“There was nothing to see from Eauze to Manciet, a very poor village. When an act of charity enlighten my day. In the middle of nowhere there was a picnic table, and a little girls called Eva, around 10 years old, run from a house to offer me a cold glass of water. It was around 2:30pm, and it was very hot. I said of course! She had coffee, hot water for tea, and sodas in a fridge. I had my lunch there. I asked her I she wanted anything. She asked me for my a piece of my aromatic salami. I cut a big piece for her, and she ate so fast.
“Now, she spoke French, English and Spanish. She knew were Puerto Rico was, because she goes to the Caribbean to the French islands every year. I don’t know how she was there, but she told me she was visiting a friend. Another pelerin came and sit with us too. It was time for me to continue, I said good bye, tipped her with 3eur and another kid came.
“Now after lunch was time to hit the paths, and fast… I needed to make it to Nogaro by 4:30pm. At 2km from Nogaro, it smell like Butchertown, on pork high demand, but the smell went away by the noisy car races at the Nogaro speedway. The noise broke the beauty of the place, worst that the butchers smell. These were the most noisy races that I had heard. I could see the cars racing from the hills.
“Tomorrow is the last day for Chris. He will return to Germany by bus and trains. By now, I am the only survivor from Le Puy. I think Cecile and Julien are a day behind.
(Please forgive my typos, I doing this before bed time.)”
Sanchez wrapped up his third week with a day off after 20 days of walking from Le Puy to Aire-sur-l’Adour. The small village is the last major waypoint before Sanchez will cross the Pyrenees Mountains into Spain in the coming week.
“A small village of 6,000 people divided in two by the Adour river. It will be the last of the more populated villages before crossing the Pyrenees. It has been 20 days of this amazing journey. Now the body has adapted to the adventure!
“Tomorrow will be my first day off, a rest to my mind and feet. I will go to visit Lourdes, France on a bus. Now that I am here, it is better to go on El Camino. I will return to Aire-sur-l’Adour in the afternoon to continue to the Pyrénées. I am 5-6 day to reach Spain.
“We entered Aire-sur-l’Adour as expected. I stopped by the pharmacy to get my feet tape, and other items. Chris went to the Cathedral. I reached him there and said good bye. He was returning to Germany today. I went to my gite. It was like walking home. Alejandro greeted me in Spanish. An we talked for almost an hour. He says it is hard for him to find people that speak Spanish in the area. He is originally from Valencia, Spain.
“I went to the tourism office in town to get the bus schedule for Lourdes. Later I stopped at the pub in the entrance of town where all the pelerins gather in the afternoon. I ordered a Monaco. The official drink of this trip, because is so refreshing, and go well with the heat. Suddenly I saw Chris, he could not leave town, because he will have to take the bus tomorrow morning. He stopped and he drank a Monaco too.
“It was time for me to return to the gite for the communal dinner. Yum, yum, yum garlic soup with ham, first dish. I ate two bowls! Then a lentil dish with pork. Bread bread bread!!! Everything is eaten with bread in France. It is the best bread in the world. It is customary in France to serve a cheeses plate during dinner, and then a wonderful pineapple dessert was served.
“The pelerins were from France, Portugal, Austria, Switzerland, and me. We spoke five languages at the table. It was a blessing! We finished dinner with tea or coffee.”
You can see select excerpts from Father Sanchez’s blog every week right here on WHAS11.com.
Sanchez’s full blog and additional photographs can be found at wherespadre.org.
