The green heartland
23 km to go – 28,020 steps taken (22 km, including 14 km on the GR 70)
570 m up, 774 m down
Gare de Cassagnas (693 m) – Col de la Pierre Plantée (891) – Saint-Germaine-de-Calberte (480 m)
A gentle walk with three benchmarks
This penultimate stage was short and vigorous, with rather steady climbing. It was a good 15 kilometres today. After already 200+ kilometres on the counter, that is quickly considered a quiet hiking day. Most of it therefore went along comfortable, wide forest paths, with occasional views, through the trees, of the hills of the Cevennes.
Only three times was this pattern broken. The first time this happened by taking a short but obvious diversions. We had calculated this one ourselves. Namely, the path led to a monument to the Camisards, erected in honour of the 100th anniversary of the 1789 edict of religious tolerance.
The persistence of camisards in the face of Catholic repression is the best evidence that suppression of ideas, if unilateral and/or manu militari, only makes for a more persistent embrace of these ideas and an even firmer entanglement with one’s own and collective identity. It says a lot that Robert Louis Stevenson himself viewed Protestant resistance fighters with some admiration.
The second breaking point, slightly smaller and more modest, was the Col de la Pierre Planté, where an ancient monolith stands, at a good 891 metres above sea level. This was the last time we would reach this altitude on this trail.
And the third time that landscape and trail changed was on the descent to Saint-Germaine-de-Calberte itself, which went along a winding, stone-strewn forest path. Stevenson wrote that the village overwhelmed him and I understand him. After a good half-hour of descending and zigzagging, you suddenly see houses and impressive terraces on the hillside.
At the entrance to the village, there was some consternation. A hiker had left his wallet on a bench, somewhere in the forest. In all likelihood, he had discovered this only a few kilometres later, followed by a good dose of despair and quite possibly the sobriety and courage to return. The wallet was deposited in a café somewhere for safekeeping. Whether wallet and owner were reunited I do not know.
Saint-Germaine-de-Calberte
Saint-Germaine-de-Calbert is a small village with a few squares, a cute mairie and a 12th-century church where abbé Chaylee, the man murdered in le Pont-de-Montvert, is buried, although no separate tomb was dedicated to the man. Saint-Germaine may be a Catholic stronghold in the Protestant region, but in the Cevennes the man is a bit what the Duke of Alva is to us.
In our stay, Au Figuier des Cévennes, we were given the l’Adrech room, which is apparently the Occitan word for nimble, handsome or sun-bathed flank. Maybe it means something else too. At least the Stevenson room would have been a bit easier to explain or explain.
After installation and shower, we did the historical walk through the village, which was startlingly interesting. It went from the Catholic church to the Protestant church, the silk factory and the old part of the village. Furthermore, we also learned about how a whole bunch of Jews were saved here during the Second World War and got some more info about Stevenson’s stay. And then there was a walk through the photogenic terraces.
For the second evening in a row, we were able to eat outside. A cosy dinner, initially cheered up by Julie, an attention-hungry cat, and an old labrador who got excited by the smell of our chicken. This was followed by a pleasant conversation with a couple from Dinant who often spend their holidays in the Gard. They told the story of the castle of Calberte, which was bought in the 1960s and spent 50 years taking every summer holiday to rebuild it. The stones were still there, it was a matter of putting them back exactly. Fine, a conversation with our southern compatriots.
The food
Charcuterie de terroir, chicken with fries and an apple pie
The stay
A very spacious room and bathroom, with even a small kitchenette. Just a shame about the single beds!
From the sea to the land beyond 