It was the walking club’s last walk of the year on Sunday and we went out in style, visiting la Ronde des Creches at the other end of the Gers. Several villages all build Christmas cribs which are open to visitors 24 hours a day from mid-December to mid-January. Each year has a different theme, this year’s being the books of Jules Verne, so each village chose a book and decorated their crib accordingly. They must take months to build, mostly made of papier maché, but some with water features and moving parts, they’re really creative. The cribs themselves seemed to be incidental to the whole thing, mostly being stuck in a corner of the creations, though this doesn’t seem to bother the 25000 or so people who come to visit each year. There are stands selling hot drinks, honey and other local produce in most of the villages, giving the event something of a festival atmosphere.

It was barely light and very frosty when we climbed onto the bus for the two hour drive to the canton (a collection of villages) of Miradoux. The scenery en route was  breathtaking , the early morning mist beginning to burn off the fields, the rivers and the forests as the sun rose in a clear blue sky and the temperature started to rise. It’s a lovely area, rolling hills and valleys, with most of the villages being perched on the tops of the hills, a throw back to the wars of religion in the 14th century, when they were all fortified to keep out the enemy. We visited the first creche then did our walk, visiting another two creches in villages en route, followed by lunch, then back onto the bus to visit the rest. The sun was setting by the time we left the last one and headed back to Nogaro, having had a very pleasant day.