Tag Archives: gites

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”

The Chapel in the Middle of Nowhere

Small and weathered, with tiles missing from the roof and patches of stone visible in the thick, unadorned walls, it didn’t look like anyone had visited, let alone worshiped here, for centuries. Yet of course it was unlocked.

5 Unforgettable Gites on France’s Chemin du Puy

A few weeks ago I shared my five favorite albergues on the Camino Frances, the path from Saint Jean Pied de Port to Santiago. But that only covers half of my Camino. Now I want to step back and look at the five most unforgettable gites of the Chemin du Puy, the Camino route fromContinue reading “5 Unforgettable Gites on France’s Chemin du Puy”

Sleeping Through the Snoring

Here’s another question people ask when they hear that we spent almost all of our 79 Camino nights in shared rooms, sometimes with as many as 50 other people. What do you do about the snoring? I could make a joke here about how most of us who are married are used to sleeping aContinue reading “Sleeping Through the Snoring”