May 23, 2026 – Carcassonne to Montréal – 25 kms – L’Echapée Belle Maison

May 24, 2026 – Montréal to Hounoux – 24 kms – L’Orchidée Chambre d’Hôtes

May 25, 2026 – Hounoux to Mirepoix – 18 kms – Appart Studio Centre Historique 

Gordon:  In describing pilgrimages in France, Ruth has long claimed that the landscape and the architecture change every three days.  This has certainly been the case in the three days since we left Carcassonne.  After first spying the snows of the Pyrenees in the distance a week ago, we are now traversing their foothills.  This means that we are climbing and descending much more than we were before Carcassonne.  The land use has also shifted, as we have moved from intensively cultivated land, mostly vineyards and grain fields, into an area with much more forest coverage.  This is a gift, as we are currently experiencing a heat wave.

The availability of wood is also reflected in the village architecture.  In the last few days we have encountered buildings with exposed, partial timber construction similar to Tudor style.  We are currently in the beautiful bastide village of Mirepoix, which has a central square lined with this style of building.  The use of wood extends to the arcades (covered walkways) surrounding the square.  Rather than stone, the arcades are constructed of rough hewn timbers, sagging from the weight of 800 years of use.  Some of the beam ends are carved with human and zoomorphic figures.

There has been more pilgrim infrastructure since we left Carcassonne.  The Chemin is relatively well marked, and many of the towns have small pilgrim gîtes.  What is noticeably missing on this pilgrim route is pilgrims.  This afternoon we met the first pilgrims we have encountered since St. Gilles, on the Arles route.  They are a couple from Germany that are walking from Carcassonne to somewhere after the Somport Pass.  It took us some period of conversation to realize that we were all more comfortable speaking English than French.

Thanks to the green owl (Duolingo) Ruth and I are both finding that our French is a step better than it was on previous trips.  Last night we had one of our favourite experiences in France: a home cooked meal in a chambre d’hôte shared with the family that made it.  We had two hours of conversation in French, and more wine and liqueurs than a sober curious couple should indulge in.  It was a lot of fun.