We started the day with a walk around Cucugnan, showing Ruth the old Mill and the boulangerie that uses the milled grain to make their bread. Unfortunately, the cafe at the boulangerie was not open till later that morning, so we returned to Auberge de Cucugnan and had coffee and croissants for breakfast (the obligatory first breakfast after arriving in France). While there, we admired the metal signs hanging outside many of the shops (and I accidentally captured a picture of a bird, which we were soon to learn was a passion of Ruth’s).

After breakfast we reluctantly dragged ourselves away from Cucugnan, since there was so much more to see, and crossed the valley to begin the drive up to Chateau Queribus. Queribus is even more impressive up close, and on the walk up the path from the carpark, Ruth stopped to photograph birds several times. Luckily she has a DSLR camera with a good zoom, and while it makes her look like a tourist, it also means that she can get some good close-ups (just a little bit better than my iPhone!).

We have been to Queribus several times now, but each visit continues to reveal something new. The quality of the workmanship, given that it was built in the 14th century, is outstanding. As an engineer, I am impressed that so much of it has withstood the test of time (unlike so many modern buildings which will be demolished within 50-100 years - I am thinking of the sports stadiums in Sydney, now planned for demolition and rebuilding just 30 years after they opened!).

As we stood on the roof terrace and looked across the valleys, we could see several other Chateau perched high atop other ridges. We can easily imagine the communications that must have occurred between these Chateau in times gone by, especially when the Cathar people were under such threat from the Catholic church.

As we looked across the valley, we also saw a natural rock formation that could have been the inspiration for the logo of our Murrindindi Shire back home.

After a good look around Queribus, and taking a few bird pictures on the walk back down, we headed down the south side of the mountain, and made a right turn at the town of Maury to head west towards Quillan. However, in the town of Saint-Paul, I took a wrong turn at a newly installed roundabout (our Renault SatNav needs an upgrade because it is missing lots of roads and roundabouts built in the past 5 years). However, before we realised we were on the wrong road, we saw a sign for a tourist railway (Le Train Rouge) and so, given Pans on Fire band-member Jerry’s interest in historic railways, we thought we’d go take a look. We saw the engine and carriages in the yard...

but to get a better feel for what it would look like in operation, I took a photo of one of their publicity boards as well.

As we were standing at the rail station wondering how to get back onto the intended road, we saw a signpost for “Gorge de Galamus”. Rita and I looked at each other, and a quick chat confirmed that we both recognised the name from 20 years ago, on our first trip through this region. We had then approached on the road from the north, but now we had accidentally discovered the road from the south. Since we were in such close proximity, we figured it was too good an opportunity to let slip, especially on Ruth’s first full day in France. So we followed the signs, and soon found that our memories were correct, as we wound our way into the Gorge. The rocky terrain, high cliffs and steep ravines are sights to behold, but not when driving on this narrow road!

So after going through a tunnel after passing the first (full) carpark, we arrived at the pathway to Ermitage Saint-Antoine. We parked in a recently vacated space, and while the girls got themselves ready, I took advantage of the plentiful supply of jagged stones to start creating a balancing-stone masterpiece.

We then walked down the path to the Ermitage, a former monastery built into the wall of the cliffs in the 15th century by Franciscan monks. The buildings which cling to the side of the cliffs are impressive...

but not quite as impressive as the chapel built in a natural cave within the cliffs. As often happens with such places, Rita was quick to bring out her flute, wait for the chapel to be empty, and then start playing some classical music. The sound was glorious, and the looks on people’s faces when they entered the chapel was priceless.

Much as we would have liked to linger, and perhaps walk down to the stream and the pools at the bottom of the gorge, we knew that this would take a few hours - hours that we didn’t have available this time. So we continued north, and this video clip of the drive gives a better idea of the ruggedness of the Gorge than a static photo can convey.

Eventually, we left the Gorge and went past the camping area on the left at the northern entrance to the Gorge, and continued north until we reached a T-intersection at route D14. It was here that we experienced our second deja vu moment for the day, when we saw a signpost to Rennes le Bains. We hadn’t meant to take Ruth here, where Pans on Fire spent their first night in France in 2014, but fate obviously had other ideas. So we followed the signs, and before long we were standing on the bridge over the stream next to Hotel Rennes le Bains, where Pans on Fire slept.

Since it was lunchtime, we decided to fully complete the circle by having lunch in the same place as Pans on Fire had breakfast in 2014.

Since we had hit two out of the three places that Pans on Fire went during the first days of the 2014 tour, we thought we’d try for the hat-trick by taking Ruth to Carcassonne on our way to Moissac. We knew that we wouldn’t have time to stop and explore, but at least we thought we could show La Cité to Ruth from the motorway rest area that has a good view of the castle. However, while we took her through suburban Carcassonne, the road we took brought us back to the motorway beyond the rest area, and hence she missed the view of La Cité. Maybe next time.

From Carcassonne, we stayed on the motorway for a quick trip home to Moissac, where Ruth started to settle into the cool at Irene’s. While Ruth was settling in, Rita and I went to La Maison to get pan stands from the basement for Ruth. It was good to see the polypipe pan stands from 2014 getting another usage. While we were at La Maison, Ginger appeared and made himself at home in what we gather is now his favourite resting place.

Since it was the first Monday of the month, we took Ruth down to Le Sunbeam for Fish’n’Chips Night, to let her see what Moissac does once a month. She seemed to enjoy herself and quickly struck up conversations with a range of people. After Fish’n’Chips, Rita and I returned to the barge and I sat on a breezy rear deck, while I thought about my brother Bernie who would have been 71 today.