Footsteps across France

During our many weeks of walking through France, we ate some of the best food ever.  Check out our photos of meals.

As we walked through the countryside, we would come across relics of old buildings.  Some were grand, others humble; all were abandoned.  I often thought about the stories they could tell.

Always the considerate pilgrim, Mary removes debris from the path after a storm

We trudged in the heat up the long steep road to to our final destination in France, Saint Jean Pied de Port.

We left home with a little plastic bottle of travel soap, like the general purpose kind they sell at REI.

Late one morning we came across an unusual farm stand just outside a pate processing plant,

Introduction For centuries religious pilgrims walked west from all over Europe to Santiago Spain - the place to go in medieval times.

After a few weeks of walking the contents of Mary's backpack started to get restless.

Walking down-wind of a freshly manured field

Ever since we left the Albrac, walking along the Lot river valley, through the grapevines and wheat fields of Gascony, our down jackets hats and gloves have remained buried in the bottom of our packs unused and, except for their considerable weight, forgotten.

Somewhere between Sorhapuru and Uhart-Mixe on the way to Ostabat-Asme

We have walked through over 100 villages, and each one has a church. We almost always go in and pause for a moment of reflection. Many have stained glass windows whose images represent the patron saint (or saints) of the church.

Eight days after we were tantalized with the Pyrenees in Lectoure: there they were, across a newly planted cornfield in the distance.

One of the most enjoyable things I've heard during our long walks is birdsongs of every type. The most memorable song is, "C uckoo!"

Cherry trees are bursting with fruit

They use the metric system in France, so distances are measured in kilometers.  Up until now, there has been a pretty straightforward conversion between their kilometers and our miles.  But I've noticed something odd in the Pyrenees, where we have spent two very long days.

We just finished walking 23-1/2 miles today with 3000' elevation and lots of rain, so we're a bit grumpy.

 Almost every village we walked through has a public restroom.

Remember the song, America the Beautiful?

Well, the grandkids weren't using it They stayed at the same place we did.

Many of the villages we pass through have stores of some sort at which to buy provisions (e.g. lunch).  Since weight matters, its wise to buy food as needed to avoid carrying excess weight.

We woke up early this morning.  We couldn't help it. The other pilgrims we were sharing our dormitory with had set their alarm to go off smartly at 5 a.m.

More than 75% of France's electricity comes from nuclear power.  For the past four days we have seen, from the distance,  the condensate  plumes

We have walked through many villages along the way, and each one has a church.  We always enter, leaving our poles at the entrance, and pause for a moment of reflection: perhaps because that's what pilgrims have done for centuries, or simply because they are a change of pace from the constant steps that make up our day.  We've come to appreciate these little interludes.  We are usually the only ones there, and in a strange way we always feel welcome.

Is this what they mean when they talk about bringing pack dogs on the way?

After spending a week crossing, climbing up from​, climbing down to, and walking along, it's time to bid the Lot river adeau. Cahors provided a fitting send-off: crossing France's most beautiful bridge followed by acending a cliff, stairs carved out of the limestone and off South to new adventures. We've walked almost 52 miles in the past 3 days, in lots of weather, while struggling to book accommodations over (yet another) holiday weekend.  So we're a bit behind.

When we got to France, Mary got a French SIM card and local number for her phone.  We bought lots of Internet data, assuming we would be using the web and email to find and book lodging along the way.  When Mary ran out of data, we could "top her up" on the Orange (nee France Telecom) website.  However, with data service limited and most places expecting phone calls (remember those?), she ran out of minutes, which we couldn't buy more of via the website.

We enjoyed a day keeping our boots off and exploring Cahors. 

Like others before us we've been blown away by the fields of flowers along the paths we've been walking.

Our second Convent stay was a bit more austere than the first. The toilet and shower were both hung on the wall over a bare floor. With no place to hang a shower curtain, we needed the floor squeegee to corral the water into the drain.

Every night dinner is served with an a abundance of pilgrims and wine.  Each region of France we've walked through is fiercely proud of it's local wine (except for the Aubrac, which is fiercely proud of it's cows).

For the last three nights we have shared our dinner meal with a group of other travelers along the path staying in the same Gite, Chambre d'Hôte or Convent with us. The majority are from France, and are on holiday for a week or two to walk along the GR65. In all 3 cases, we were the only Americans at the table.

We have noticed the following for every  French village we have entered along the Chemin de Compostela.

As we've walked along the country lanes of the Quercy region, there have been a number of squat round buildings, too small to provide shelter from the rain for even a single person.  We finally passed near enough to one for a closer inspection.

20-3/4 miles and 3000' of elevation, with the last 3-1/2 hours in a cold driving rain. Since we left LePuy, we've walked, combined, appoximately 1,045,394 steps

The rhythm of our daily journey begins with walking out of the town on the Lot river where we spent the night and climbing a rather steep hill. About halfway up the hill we stop at a vista point to look back on the town we have just left.  From there we continue walking through the rolling hills, farmland and small villages, stopping to visit the church and see the sights. If there is a patisserie we almost always stop for a treat. We try to rest our feet every 5-6 miles. 

As we decended into Figeac, on a footpath flanked by ancient piles of rocks, we came across this curious stucture in a field, seemingly unafiliated with the farmhouses and barns we've been passing as of late.

We were walking in the zone, in a line of pilgrims stretching for 100s of miles all the way to Santiago, when in a little nondescript village we spied a little sign, and thought: why not, it's only 3 miles out of the way (or would that be off the way?) When we arrived and rang the bell, the farmer came by and gave us a private tour.

Having walked for a long time in a long line line of pilgrims, it was time to leave the flock, and go our own way.

There was much discussion among the pilgrims about the long steep climb leaving Conques. Being afraid of heights and tired from the previous day's walk, I was worried! The collage shows a little bit of Conques and the wonderful B&B we stayed at. Yes, it was built into the mountain wall. Now about our day. We crossed an ancient bridge across the Lot river and walked to the start of the steep path.  Where we started the climb. Within minutes I realized that there was nothing to worry about. The path was steep, but my feet felt sure.  Within a short time we arrived at a small chapel built into the side of the mountain. Each pilgrim rang the bell to let the ones below know they made it safely.     The rest of the day flew by, walking through farmland with beautiful vistas and talking  with other pilgrims. Our second breakfast included a great view, fresh squeezed orange juice, cafe au laite, a sandwich and pastries.  ...

Perfect weather for our walk.  This was the first day when we didn't feel like we were walking alone, we saw and sometimes walked with other pilgrims the entire way. Although most pilgrims carry all of their supplies with them on their backs, we've seen other means of luggage transport including pack dogs, donkeys, bicycles and "wheelies" -one wheeled pull-behind trailers.  At the top of one particularly grueling climb, there was a van waiting with backpacks, to be donned for the flat portion of the journey.

We have been told that there are many types of mud on "The Way". Today we experienced many of them.  Left convent in an overcast morning.  Climbed the hills for a spectacular view Took shelter in a Romanesque church from a bout of rain, thunder and lightning.  In Espalian, crossed the Lot River, bought  cheese and other treats at farmers market  Struggled with mud covered trails.  I'm not kidding! Our shoes, socks and pants were caked with mud, we slid all over the steep trails, and leaned heavily on our poles. 

The storm was scheduled to arrive in all its force around 1. We timed our arrival to see the beautiful town and then take a late lunch and stay out of the rain. As you can see from all the backpacks, other pilgrims had the same idea. I really wanted to spend one night in a Convent.  The Couvent Malet provided a welcoming and wonderful respite. We finally got to run a load of laundry. We attended vespers and a lovely communal dinner. Shoes were left downstairs and backpacks were stored in special bins in case of bed bugs. 

Except for the "La Savage" region, just about everywhere has had cell service, just no data service, which is only available on a occasional basis in the big towns.  Most of the aberges and hotels have "wee-fee", but it's over subscribed.  We have a little Internet access when we first arrive, but it craps out by dinner.  We can usually get access at 6am until the other guests get up. Typing prose is tough on a phone, which is why we've mostly posted photos.  The blogging apps don't help either as they are prone to loosing all the content one has entered when the upload fails (which is frequently)

Today's route had us walking in a serpentine path along the Lot river gorge, up one side of the gorge on steep muddy trails, along the ridge with fierce rain and winds with views to match, back down again on trails lined by stones dragged from fields over many centuries,  over ancient stone bridges, up to the ridge on the other side,  past medieval buildings hunkered down against the imminent storm.  Do you think Friday's weather forecast is any better. We can't wait.

Leaving La Rose de l'Aubrac to walk across the Aubrac plateau. Notice the bag of water hanging inside the doorway. Apparently it scares flies away, because they think a fish will catch them. The owners hung these all through the house. Because of an impending storm, the winds were fierce. After walking in the heavy winds for 4 hours, we found a small shack that had room for three of us to be sheltered long enough to eat some lunch.  Entering Aubrac.  We have seen Spring flowers everywhere. Here are just a few.  We are expecting 2 very stormy days. Because of that we finished an extra steep section today. To do that we walked 17.75 miles and are both a little tired. 

Leaving the Le Gévaudan gîte  Today we walked almost 17 miles, from Les Estrets to Finieyrols over the high volcanic and granite  Aubrac  plateau with a day filled with sunshine and blue skies.

Leaving Le Sauvage on a cold, windy, grey morning.  Chapelle de Saint Roche Looking back at Saint-Alban sur-Limagnol.  View from the top We walked 14.5 miles from Le Sauvage to Les Estrets and now are ready for a hot shower, dinner and a good night sleep.