DAY 260

Tuesday 27 March 2012

The camp owner's massive dog

Charles called a local mechanic with camp owner Andy's help to try and fix our squawking car wheels, but the tiny garage was booked solid, so after a quick, reassuring call from Sebastian we checked out of the camp at 1 PM and drove to Lourdes, praying for an automobile-miracle.

Charles and camp owner Alex

We hate to compare to another sacred site, but it was our family's consensus that Lourdes was more peaceful and purer than Fatima. True, we were visiting in the off season, but we were in the off season for Fatima, too, and the vibe was different. There were a lot more accommodations for the blind, the handicapped, and other disabled people, and pictures of painted tiles with the "Our Father" in 62 different languages.

We brought bottles and filled them with holy water from the spring in the grotto where Bernadette once stood. Dian was reminded of the book "Red Shoes For Nancy" that her grandmother (Gammy) let her read. It was a true story about the faith of a catholic mother and her physically challenged daughter and their journey to Lourdes.

Pilgrims who bring a cross with them on their journey may place the cross in this section. We were happy to see
there was one from the homeland!

Braille and raised representations of art pieces were below every
station.

This is what the raised square represents

Note the nun at the bottom carrying a cross

One of many "Our Fathers" in different languages

The grotto

Departing from Lourdes, we drove by d'Bastard  hotel by way of Condom. We drove until evening and stopped finally, as per Dian's desire to sleep near the river in Bergerac, gazing right at the Dordogne river. Charles befriended a Frenchman who had totally designed the inside of his campervan to be run off of solar energy. We chatted with a few other free-campers from Belgium then had risotto and broccoli for dinner.
 

Our sleeping spot. Not a bad place for free!