Cabrerets Day #1 & 2……..Rest & Reorganization and a day Trip to Rocamadour

October 9th

Our first day in Cabrerets dawns cool and foggy….no major sightseeing today as Annie and Queenie (Sue has taken on a new name) will rest and exercise the washer, while the boys will forage for supplies in Cahors about 30 minutes away. The trip to Cahors is surprisingly pleasant as the road follows the Lot river, a wide slow-moving river and hugs the limestone cliffs, sometimes burrowing through the limestone.

With enough food wine and spirits we are in good shape for the next few days…..the villages here are rather small, with modest selection and somewhat erratic hours. A pretty slack day turns into a slacker afternoon with cocktails, appies and then a nice dinner in our formal dining room.

October 10th

With a formal plan for the day we are off after breakfast……cool and foggy with promises of sun and low 20’s C. It is about a 1 h 30m drive and once again we put our faith in Miss Charm who leads us into the fog bound banks of the Cele River. We climb slowly up the valley on the regulation narrow roads and then through the forests and small clearings…we startle some rabbits and see a few small deer en route.

We turn a corner and suddenly the site appears, “houses above the river, churches above the houses, rocks above the churches and the castle on the rocks” as they say here:

The Christian reputation of this site came to pass in 1166 from the discovery of the body of St. Amadour, a hermit thought to be the founder of the shrine.

More currently, it is the Virgin Mary who is venerated……the Black Madonna. We organize the parking, with Queenie & Annie taking the elevator, while Bob and I climb the 216 stairs to the Sanctuary, albeit not on our knees like the pilgrims of yore.

At the church we are surprised to see folks out in their Sunday best +++, as it turns out this is a church wedding…..very cool with beautiful organ music and incense in the air.

We view the Black madonna in a side chapel:

….as well as chapel dedicated to the sport of rugby > which is obviously is taken rather seriously here:

Then for lunch we found a nice creperie:

Following which a return trip back to the ranch, preparation of supper…and finally sayonara …………………..