Grey-Bruce Boomers Winter2023
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TRAVEL<br />
by May Tettero<br />
A Medieval village in<br />
France (Conques).<br />
Meseta Central, Spain<br />
and the café is closed for the much-coveted French<br />
siesta that lasts until 4 or 5 p.m. No coffee and no<br />
chance of drying up a bit, so it only makes sense to<br />
push on, but not before eating half a dozen chocolate<br />
digestive cookies from my snack bag.<br />
“Ok baby girl, you may as well continue,” I say<br />
silently to myself and then chuckle that, at almost<br />
60, I’m affectionately calling myself ‘baby girl.’ As<br />
I begin the 12 km descent that will bring me to my<br />
destination, the plus beaux village in France, I do my<br />
safety checks. Is my rear red light on and flashing?<br />
Check. Do I have my phone, wallet and reading<br />
glasses? Check. Is my helmet on my head? Check.<br />
How do my tires respond to braking on the wet<br />
surface? Check. Slowly I let off the brakes and allow<br />
myself to gain speed through the many switchbacks<br />
down the mountain. Up ahead I see the church tower<br />
of Saint-Come-d’Olt and from the corner of my eye<br />
I see an impressive stone building with gardens and<br />
pathways. “That’s a five-star hotel,” I tell myself, and<br />
fly right by, planning to find a bed in a hostel in the<br />
village. Or, finally, that coveted coffee.<br />
The village is deserted, not a single person is out. It’s<br />
still raining hard and I again find a chair under a café<br />
awning to take stock of my options. As I sit there, still<br />
in the same soaked, padded shorts, I look around.<br />
It’s like I’m in a Grimm’s fairytale, or a gingerbread<br />
house village. I’m absolutely awed at the ancient<br />
slate roofs, the medieval stone houses and shuttered<br />
windows.<br />
Million-dollar view from the<br />
Convent of St. Come d’Olt.<br />
I carefully fish my cellphone out of my Goretex<br />
pocket and Google the gites (hostel) in town. There<br />
are two with good reviews and I’m only 80 metres<br />
from one. I grab my bike and begin to walk in the<br />
direction the blue arrow indicates. Where the heck is<br />
this place? I don’t see any signs, there are no people<br />
to ask, and yet I’m so close. After 10 minutes, I find a<br />
narrow alleyway, then a tiny walled off terrace and a<br />
sign. I bring my bike onto the terrace, lean it against<br />
the wall and enter the three-storey stone building. I<br />
6 • GREYBRUCEBOOMERS.COM