“There are no beds.” “There are too many people.” The rumors flew up the Way faster than I could walk, carried by Radio Camino. They were shared over pilgrim menus and café con leche, baguettes and French cheese plates. Even when I’m home, if I see them ripple out across the Facebook groups and discussionContinue reading “Beating the Camino Bed Race”
Tag Archives: Chemin du Puy
The Day I Almost Quit the Camino (#CaminoTuesday)
“The hilltop hour would not be half so wonderful if there were no dark valleys to traverse.” – Hellen Keller Walking through L’Aubrac was like walking through the legends and stories Eric read as a kid. Five days after leaving Le Puy, we reached the true highlands of the Massif Central, irregular rolling hills of open,Continue reading “The Day I Almost Quit the Camino (#CaminoTuesday)”
The Importance of Rest Days
When we first set out to walk the Way of St James from Le Puy, France, all the way to Santiago and then on to Finisterre, I knew in theory we would need rest days along the way. I understood that a person can’t—well, shouldn’t—walk a thousand miles without stopping to re-fuel now and then.Continue reading “The Importance of Rest Days”
Making Reservations on the Chemin du Puy (the Le Puy Camino)
I started to suspect that I’d been misinformed before we even started walking. At the Pilgrim’s Welcome Gathering in Le Puy-en-Velay, Eric and I struck up a conversation with a friendly French woman who asked how far we would walk the next day. I told her the name of the town where we thought weContinue reading “Making Reservations on the Chemin du Puy (the Le Puy Camino)”
A Day on the Chemin du Puy: Saint-Côme d’Olt
What is it like to walk the Via Podiensis, the Le Puy Camino? I’m starting to gather my thoughts and my notes for a talk I’ll give at the American Pilgrims on the Camino Gathering of Pilgrims next month in Asheville, and I keep coming back to the story of this day, which happened onContinue reading “A Day on the Chemin du Puy: Saint-Côme d’Olt”
Book Cover Reveal!
Three years ago today, Eric and I woke before dawn, pulled on backpacks and hiking clothes that still felt awkward, and walked out of Le Puy, France, on what would be a 79-day, life-changing trip. And so it’s particularly fitting that today is the day I get to introduce you to the face of Walking toContinue reading “Book Cover Reveal!”
To Saunter in the Mountains
“People ought to saunter in the mountains – not hike! Do you know the origin of that word ‘saunter?’ It’s a beautiful word. Away back in the Middle Ages people used to go on pilgrimages to the Holy Land, and when people in the villages through which they passed asked where they were going, theyContinue reading “To Saunter in the Mountains”
Scuba Diving the Lot River?
About a week after leaving Le Puy, it starts to feel almost routine. You follow the red and white stripes of the Chemin de Saint Jacques (the Way of Saint James) along shaded paths, crumbling castles towering above. You enter a village, another one of France’s most beautiful. In this case, you’ve come to Espalion. YouContinue reading “Scuba Diving the Lot River?”
How You Spend This Afternoon (An Almost Wordless Wednesday)
From Annie Dillard’s Pilgrim at Tinker Creek: “Thomas Merton wrote, ‘there is always a temptation to diddle around in the contemplative life, making itsy-bitsy statues.’ There is always an enormous temptation in all of life to diddle around making itsy-bitsy friends and meals and journeys for itsy-bitsy years on end. It is so self-conscious,Continue reading “How You Spend This Afternoon (An Almost Wordless Wednesday)”
3 Camino Mantras for 2017, Part 3: Choose Your Focus
The walk from Castet to Romieu was 30 kilometers (18 miles), a distance we’d walked before, but longer than I ever wanted to do in a day. We’d looked at the maps, though, and talked to our friends on the trail, and decided that a longer walk day while the weather was good was theContinue reading “3 Camino Mantras for 2017, Part 3: Choose Your Focus”
camino times two 