hike day 16: lectoure

after hearing that la romieu must not be missed, i left the ancient vicarage of lectoure at dawn in anticipation of a hot 35 km day. every 10 minutes like clockwork, the sound of a gunshot echoed across the valley, instantly followed by flocks of swallows noisily taking flight. with all the gunshots reverberating across the countryside, one would have thought these hunting grounds. but no, it was nothing more than the tried and true method of pest control, one step up from the old scarecrow routine.

listed among unesco's world heritage sites, le romieu was settled in 1062 by a couple of monks who had just returned from a pilgrimage to rome (thus the name "la romieu"). the jaw-dropping cathedral with its octogonal tower was completed mid-xiv century and is surrounded by gorgeous grounds.

also, ancient folklore would have it that a young girl saved the village from certain starvation after a severe storm wiped out the local crops in the xiv century. as a huge cat-lover, she was pressed by the villagers to sacrifice all her precious felines as an emergency food supply (eeee-yewww!!) unbeknownst to her neighbours, she hid her favourite male and female inside her home where they had dozens of kittens. a few years later, the village was visited by plague-carrying rats, upon which angeline cut loose her army of cats to oust them. thus the village was once again saved by angeline and her cats. it is said as she grew older, angeline's features became very feline-like with pointy ears and chin and a hairy face! to this day, locals hold the many strays in high regard, feeding them and keeping them off the bbq spit!