Quillan--A Foothills Crossroads

Aude  Quillan looking upriver

Quillan from the Chateau

This past Friday I went with my friend Shelley and her school days chum, Wendy, to the little town on Quillan, almost due south of Carcassonne.  Quillan lies at the foothills of the Pyrenees and gives visitors a glimpse of the mountain range to come if you continue on a southern trajectory. 

Shelley and Wendy on arrival

Magnificent arbor--grape and wisteria and something else I can't identify

We took the 1 Euro bus.  It used to be the 1 Euro train, but after much controversy, SNCF has done away with the train service and now puts passengers into autocars--big red buses that run from Limoux to Quillan.  The route winds through several other hamlets--Alet-les-Bains, Couiza, Esperaza before coming to its final destination in Quillan.  It's odd to think of Quillan as a crossroads, but it kind of is--from there, you can get a 1 Euro bus to Perpignan.  I gather that this used to be the main route between Carcassonne and Perpignan, until newer and faster roads via Narbonne made it obsolete.  One day in the near future, I am going to take that bus from Quillan to Perpignan, just to see where it goes.  There is some SPECTCULAR scenery along that way, I am sure.

Aude bridge and Chateau from the main square

Quillan has been a strategic point for a long time, even if it's importance these days is marginal. It used to be THE place--and I read or heard somewhere, THE ONLY place where Formica was made!  One might think that the remnants of the factory would be somewhere in evidence, but I have not yet found them.  Of more interest to me is the role that Quillan played in the Resistance during WWII.  It's hard to get much information, because NOBODY talks about those times, but Quillan was a gateway to the Pyrenees escape route for people fleeing the Germans, especially downed airmen or escaped soldiers trying to make their way into Spanish safety.  There was a lot of Maquis activity around here in the early 1940's.   I know that there are some markers to note activity, but I have a feeling I need a car to find them.  I will keep looking.

Our lunch spot

Sundial?  Go to sleep?

Quillan was also the source of logs--rafters would tie them together, and they'd float from Quillan down to Carcassonne, where the logs would be processed or hauled overland to places like Toulouse.  These radeliers, rafters, used gaffs to poke and prod the logs into submission.  (Boaters still use them to pick up mooring lines) There's a street in the Trivalle district named in honor of these rafters--Rue de la Gaffe.  They'd use this street as a shortcut, their gaffs on their shoulders, as they made their way from the river to the Chapeau Rouge on Rue Trivalle for some R & R after a hard and probably quite dangerous trip down the river.

Aude--notice the rafting marker poles?

Aude looking downriver toward Carcassonne

At this time, there seems to be some ex-pat money here, and tourism, especially rafting and hiking provide some money into the local coffers. 

Up to the chateau

After the first hairpin turn---imagine a front door covered in honeysuckle!!!

Our day was a little muggy, and it in fact rained on our arrival.  Funny, no weather forecast had predicted THAT, and of course not one of us had an umbrella.  No matter--the train station is not far from the Place de la Republique, the main square where most of the restaurants are located.  I think every small town in France has a Place de le Republique (as well as a spot named after DeGaulle).  This town square borders the Aude River--yes the same Aude River as in Carcassonne--only here, it's full of rapids, and loud!  

New marker of ancient grain silo

Quillan has been a coveted spot for thousands of years

We headed for shelter and lunch.  We ate on the square, inside at the Cafe du Fleuve.  For 13 euros each, we had lunch and a glass of Cremat de Limous, the local bubbly.  I ordered one of the plats du jour--specials of the day--daube de taureau--bull stew.  Delicious!!  shelley and Wendy had backed goat cheese salad and lasagna, respectively.  I tasted the lasagna; it was wonderful.  You can't always tell what the food is going to taste like based on the way the restaurant is decked out.  \This one was plain--noth9ng at all fancy, and the prices were extremely reasonable.  The food was superb.  

Shelley stops for a quick sketch

It stopped raining while we were having lunch, so after finishing up, we decided to climb up to the ruins of the chateau.  It s a short, steep little climb.  The last time I did this was in the winter of 2013-14.  How different it looked with all the lush greenery and numerous flowers in bloom.  Maybe because of the rain we've had, the poppies this year are spectacular.  I wish I knew the names of all the plants and flowers that I saw.  Mostly I wish someone could invent a device that not only could capture photos and sound, but could capture and record aroma as well.....there was one little white wild rose that stopped me in my tracks,  The hillsides are covered with what looks from a distance to be broom, but I am not positive.  It has a lovely scent, and certainly the color is full of promise.

Thsse are growing out of the stones of the bridge

Poppies and other wildflowers

This is the fragrant wild white rose that stopped me in my tracks

Roses red and white top a fence on the way up the hill

This fragrant yellow flowered bush is everywhere

Up close

Poppies against the grey stones

We poked around inside the ruins--very little has been done to restore it aside from some shoring up of potentially dangerous places.  I think of this as being someone's home.  Was it dark?  Was it cold?  What were all the rooms used for?  How did people keep warm in the winter--they get SNOW up here?  

Hiking path the Quillan's balcony--next trip

Or for longer jaunts

We came back down to the river and walked along the chateau side up to the next bridge.  I fell under the spell of narrow townhouses. barely one window wide.  Some of their back yards end at the river bank.  It's probably not the safest arrangement for young children, and I suppose the threat of flooding is never far from your mind, but oh what a great spot!  I wonder all the time about these homes built right along the river banks and I guess people just get used to being flooded out every 250 years.  It seems like an odd place to site a town, but rivers were the way one got around, so maybe it does make sense.

Wendy

Shelley coming through the iron gate

Shelley pointed out the poles in the flow of the rapids, used to mark the path for kayaks or other boats trying to get through this fast water.  These markers,  either green and white or red and white, hang suspended from wires strung across the river and can be moved sideways to show those coming through where the safest course is.  I suspect it's something like "Red Right Returning"--the way channel markers show boaters the channels in and out of harbors.  It would be interesting to see people navigating these little bits of white water.  Fun and refreshing on a hot summer's day, no doubt.

Guide poles in the river

Love these narrow houses, especially along the river

We poked around town for a bit, and I always marvel at how deserted these towns seem to be.  Do people live there year round, I wonder?  Most of the places are shuttered and buttoned up.  Where are all the people?  There were many places for sale in the town's center and new housing developments shine in the outskirts.   

I guess it's not THAT remote after all.

Graceful old stone bridge parallels the river

The Chemin de Saint Jacques de Compostelle is NOT this way....First time I have ever seen this blaze