Tellement beau

Just so beautiful. Awe-inspiring, breathtaking, words are inadequate to describe the countryside around St Guilhem le desert. Today we did another randonnee in this area, and I'm back with tired legs and a full heart. We walked to the little chapel of Notre Dame de l'Hermitage, and then round the back of the mountains shown above, returning over the hill where the ridge dips at the very back of the second photo (I hope that's clear..) - 10km.



Here's the chapel - we were so lucky, a Belgian couple arrived shortly after we did, who were friends of the Carmelite nuns who take care of the property and they had the key. They told us the legends as well - you ring the bell outside the church and make a wish, then drink the water from the spring which has miraculous properties. There had been a hermit there once - in a grotto at the back of the wee church. Inside it was tiny - whitewashed plaster walls, with wooden benches to sit on. Attached to the chapel was some very basic accommodation (no bathroom) where members of the order could stay on retreat. We lit a candle in the chapel, then set off up the trail.

These are weird - they are caterpillars, walking like a troupe of elephants, nose to tail. What are they doing, where are they going? I don't know. We saw quite a few of these.



Signs of spring. Another one, here, flowers