Under way

Some 80 km done and only another 1500+ to do! It is good to be on the move, having started with a Mass celebrated by the Bishop of Le Puy on 25 August. There were some 20 pilgrims that morning of which only one other is going to Santiago. At the end of the Mass the Bishop invited us all to introduce ourselves - useful for when one meets people along the way later. An interesting touch was to ask each of us to carry with us a "prayer" for a family member who had suffered and to take this to Santiago (if going that far).

I am now in Aubrac Aumont staying in a gite in a room with 13 Frenchmen and women who walk but have their effects moved by wagon. They are pigrims going to do this over several years, 2 weeks at a time.

Scenery is magnificent, architecture in churches very interesting, people one meets pleasant. Morale is good and physical shape OK; weather fine for the most part though 3 hrs walking in the rain yesterday not so good!

Now slipping into a routine: leave around 7am and walk for 4-8+hrs depending on distance to cover, rest and recuperate and look over the town / village in which I am staying, supper in either the gite or at another resto nearby, 8-9 hrs sleep.

On the Way one is very conscious of being on a pilgrims' route because there are frequent signs, prayers, St Jaques shells all along the route. The Way is well signed: a map is scarcely necessary though I do carry one in case of a problem. Guide book has been a great help.

Ready at D-2

I am looking forward to setting off on Thursday. Move to Le Puy from home tomorrow: takes about 5 hours to get there by car, and about 11 days to walk back to Figeac which is almost due south of where I live! The plan is to walk for 7 days or so, then rest for a day or do a very reduced distance and fit in some sightseeing as there will be many places to look at closely. There will be one or 2 "social" stops to look forward to involving 2 or 3 days rest.

I have just received another very useful book for the Camino Frances from the Spanish Embassy in London: "Pilgrim’s Guide. The Road to Santiago Spain" by JMA Jaén (translated into English). It has useful maps, including towns, description of the route and places of interest / some history of each stage.

J’ai reçu plusieurs messages de "bonne route / bien camino" pour m’encourager: formidable! Les 2 premières réservations de gîte sont faites mais je n’attends pas rencontrer beaucoup de marcheurs du Puy à part les randonneurs locales en vacances.

Je me suis décidé d’aller à la Cathédrale du Puy pour assister à la messe de jeudi avant de partir sur le chemin. Donc, je partirai en bonne forme physique et de l'esprit.

Photo: Cathedral at Le Puy

The Camino Frances

The Camino Frances or French Way runs across northern Spain and can be seen at:

http://perso.wanadoo.fr/cheminsdecompostelle/Leschemins/Camino%20frances%20carto.html

Where is the Via Podiensis?

The Via Podiensis or Le Puy Way follows Grande Randonnee 65. Visit

http://www.chemindecompostelle.com/ServicesGR65/CarteFrance.html

to see the route in France.

I will be staying in some of the places shown as I follow the GR.

Via Podiensis - D-7

Pélerin: personne qui voyage, ou bien personne qui voyage à une destination sacrée pour des raisons réligieuses. Moi, je suis plutôt du premier type, mais je vais à une destination sacrée. Jusqu’à présent, je n’ai pas décidé si je vais assister à la messe de 07h00 le matin de mon départ du Puy. Le guide de la “créanciale” propose une bénédiction avant de partir vu du fait que l’on entre “dans le peuple des vagabonds, des démunis, des déracinés”! Mais aussi il constate que “Le pélerin d’aujourd’hui met les pieds dans les pas des pélerins qui l’ont précédé…”, donc à l’ombre des pélerins précédents. Et quelle précédence! Jusqu’à Godescalc en 950AD!

On dit que c’est “une grande aventure spirituelle qui n’a jamais cessé”. Alors, mon exploit ne commence pas pour des raisons religieuses, c’est parce que la route des pélerins est là: je veux voir de quoi il s’agit, avoir la bonne fortune de rencontrer les gens qui le font pour des raisons spirituelles et autre. L’idée m’est venue en contemplant un autre endroit de pélerinage pas trop loin de chez moi, Rocamadour, où viennent les gens toute l’année, surtout à Pâques. La ville de Rocamadour se trouve sur le chemin (variante) du Puy à Santiago. Pour ma part j’ai l’intention de suivre le GR65, dite La Via Podiensis.

Une commentaire d’un lecteur m’a ammené à son “blog”, donc journal, avec photographies. Très intéressant, et bonne idée, des photos. Lorsque j’ai appris le système des blogs j’essayerai de mettre des photos dans ce journal. La plupart seront pour la fin du voyage.

At home - D-9

Depart Le Puy-en-Velay on 25 August, arriving Santiago around 11 November – if all goes well. Training walks and runs have been done but none emulates the accumulated effect of walking for many days in succession. Average distances to be covered will be some 20-25 km/day with a rest day every week or so. Rucksack weight to be no more than 12 kg but this is on the heavy side. How to get it down when it appears that everything I have selected is essential? While I intend to cover the whole Camino in one trip many people do sections of the route, return home and resume at a later date from where they left off.

I will occasionally update this "chronicle" but it will depend on availability of computers along the way and how enthusiastic I feel about sitting down to write! Some say that they get into the walk and may maintain a manuscript account but do not wish to spend time in front of a keyboard. However, having looked at several sites in French and English I believe there is quite an interest amongst previous "camineros" and potential ones about what is experienced on the Camino.
Background reading has included a very good French diary about a couple who walked from Le Puy to Santiago in 2001 : "Carnets de Saint-Jacques de Compostelle" by Francois Dermaut. His illustrations are all painted and sketched and include caricatures of people encountered on the way. It is useful to have at least one opinion on some of the accommodation I am going to stay in.

For other camineros useful books (which I shall take) include “Le Chemin du Puy vers St Jacques de Compostelle” by J-P Siréjol and L Laborde-Balen, “Le Chemin de St Jacques en Espagne de St Jean Pied de Port à Compostelle” by J-Y Grégoire and L Laborde-Balen, “miam-miam-dodo” by L Clouteau and J Cloteau for the route in France, and by C Champion for the Camino Francés in Spain.

Introduction

Habitant en France pas trop loin de Figeac je veux prendre le chemin du Puy-en-Velay à St Jacques. Je partirai le 25 août. Je crois que le trajet ne sera pas facile car il faut marcher pendant 70-80 jours à la suite pour une distance de quelques 1600 km.

Néanmoins, j’attends avec plaisir la possibilité de rencontrer d’autres pélerins, de faire le voyage, et de voir la France et l’Espagne à pied. Mon expérience récente en faisant de longues marches n’est pas grande mais j’ai eu le grand plaisir de grimper dans les Himalayas (1998) et jusqu’au sommet du mont Kilimanjaro (2003).