SENTIER DE LACONNEAU 2012
DESTINATIONS
Our pilgrimage starts upon your arrival in Marseille on the afternoon of Monday, October 1 and ends when we deliver you to Toulouse Airport on the afternoon of Wednesday, October 10, 2012. Please note that should you wish to travel earlier or remain later than the dates above, you are free to do so. As some of you may elect to stay on in the Languedoc region for a few days, we have not included the accommodation or dinner for the night of October 10 in our price. We can make recommendations regarding places to stay should you wish to do so.
October 1 - October 3: Arles
You will spend your first three nights in Arles, the first city Mary Magdalene is said to have visited after landing in Gaul. Arles sits on a low hill where the Rhône River branches in two parts to the sea. The town dates back to the 7th century BC, and was a major Gallo-Roman city. The major Roman sites, such as the Arena and the Theater, are unique in that they are integrated into the houses and buildings of the town. The streets of this city are truly medieval in character: narrow and winding between ancient buildings. Automobile traffic is permitted on many of them, but walking is much easier than driving.
October 2: Stes. Maries-de-la-Mer
From Arles we will journey southwest into the heart of the Camargue to Stes.-Maries-de-La-Mer where legend has it that Mary and her party made landfall after their epic journey across the Mediterranean from Egypt. The refugees in the boat were: Mary Jacobe; Mary Salome; Lazarus and his two sisters, Mary Magdalene and Martha; St Maximinus; Cedonius, who was born blind and cured and Sarah, the servant of Mary and Martha. After landing safely, the group built a small oratory in thanksgiving. The disciples wandered off their separate ways. Mary Magdalene went to Ste-Baume, and Martha went to Tarascon. Marie Salome, Marie Jacobe and Sarah remained in the Camargue, and were later buried in the oratory.
October 3: Massif de la Ste.-Baume
   
The next day will be spent treading the very ground where Mary Magdalene herself supposedly lived, and preached. It was to Ste- Baume, a place historically known as a place of pilgrimage for the worship of the Mother Goddess, that she is said to have come, perhaps to find a home among the priestesses who lived and practiced their ancient faith in this remote region. As legend would have it, it was from here that she founded her early Gnostic Church before withdrawing from public life for the final 33 years of her life. Or did she? Is it reasonable to assume that the same strong, single minded woman who survived the ordeals that myth and legend would have us believe, suddenly abandoned her mission to withdraw as a sorrowful and broken hearted penitent for what amounted to a large proportion of her life? On the other hand, is there another story about Mary with an alternative ending? It is in the heart of this region that we will spend the day walking the paths through the forests of the Massif de la Ste.-Baume, visiting and meditating at the places sacred to Mary’s life and memory, as we seek to uncover our own answers to this fascinating riddle.
October 4: Arles to Cucugnan: La Couvertoirade
From Arles, we will journey westward, towards Cucugnan. Time permitting, en route we will visit the ancient fortified hill town of La Couvertoirade before entering the Languedoc. La Couvertoirade provides one of the finest examples of a walled medieval town to be found anywhere in France. During medieval times, a chapter of the Knights Templar was located in La Couvertoirade and played a crucial role in the town's development. Their influence is obvious even today.
October 4 - October 10: Cucugnan
For the remainder of our trip, we will be following the Cathar trail through the beautiful countryside of the Languedoc, hiking to some of the most important Cathar castles in the area. Peyrepertuse, Aguilar and Queribus are but a few of the castles we will visit.
  
On our rest days, there are a number of well known medieval towns we may choose to visit.
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Carcassonne
This magnificent walled city that first rose to power and prestige four hundred years before the Albigensian crusade. The largest intact fortress in Europe, and one of the most perfect examples of a medieval fortified city still in existence today, in 1209, Carcassonne was a Cathar city and under the leadership of the youthful Raimond-Roger Trencavel, Count of Carcassonne. Trencavel offered the protection of the city to the thousands being hunted by the crusader army under the command of the notorious Papal Legate Arnaud-Amaury. The crusaders laid siege to the city on August 1, 1209 and captured it two weeks later after the defenders were forced to surrender due to a lack of water.
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Montsegur
Montsegur was the scene of the last heroic stand of the Cathars against the Papal Crusaders in the 13th century, culminating at the end of a yearlong siege and the mass execution by fire of 207 men and women on the morning of March 16th, 1244. The view of the region from the hilltop fortress is breathtaking.
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Mirepoix
Situated halfway between Carcassonne and Foix, its name is cited for the first time in the 10th century in a charter granted to the inhabitants by the count of Foix, Raymond Roger, and is thought to have Celtic origins. In 1279, the barrier at Puivert ruptured, and caused massive flooding that destroyed the whole village, sparing only the château. In 1289, Guy de Lévis decided to rebuild the town on the left bank of the Hers and it was his son who executed the project. In 1362, the town was attacked by a band of highway robbers who set it alight. After this great fire, which destroyed the southern part of the town, the centre was refortified with a strong encircling wall and four large gates to protect it. Today, all that remains of this fortification is the Porte d'Aval. On the large central square you can still admire the half-timbered houses supported on wood pillars, creating a magnificent covered arcade. The ends of the joists of the richest houses are sculpted, and the most beautiful sculptures are on the house of the Justice du Seigneur, which became in 1500 the Maison des Consuls, showing women's faces, bearded heads, a tortoise and other fantastical images. The little church of St Maurice, built in 1298 by Jean de Lévis and his wife Constance de Foix, was transformed over time into a cathedral.
For more information or to reserve your place, please contact Alex at alexg@laconneau.org.
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