After twenty some years of reading about the Cathars and the occult mysteries surrounding Rennes-le-Chateau and the Jesus conspiracies, I finally got to go to the heart of it all; The Occitane. We went to the small town of Esperaza in the Aude valley. From our B and B we could see Rennes-le-Chateau on a not too distant peak. All around were castle ruin after castle ruin that almost a thousand years ago were the strongholds of the Cathars. Although most sites were either closed for the season or due to inclement weather I was still able to go on several hikes.
The land is rugged and beautiful and I understand why any group of people might pick this place to set themselves apart both geographically and spiritually. The mysteries of the area go back a lot further than the middle ages. It was at one time a tropical sea and is a treasure trove of dinosaur bones and prehistoric shark teeth.
On my first hike, to Rennes-le-Chateau, I flushed a wild boar from the bush and down my trail. Foothills give way to snowcapped mountains and fish filled streams run through the valleys. From different angles of the same vantage points, several ruins can be seen.
In the end I saw much less of what I had planned and seem to have walked away with much more.
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