After the excitement of the Chapelle de Saint-Roch, Ávila and I caught a ride to Domaine du Sauvage, our stopping place for the night. This is an impressive place, no less so for being out in the middle of nowhere. It’s one of the few examples of the early medieval hostels that have been restored to their original use after […]
» Read moreCamino Photo of the Day: the View from Domaine du Sauvage
After the excitement of the Chapelle de Saint-Roch, Ávila and I caught a ride to Domaine du Sauvage, our stopping place for the night. This is an impressive place, no less so for being out in the middle of nowhere. It’s one of the few examples of the early medieval hostels that have been restored to their original use after […]
» Read moreCamino Photo of the Day: Fontaine de Saint-Roch
After Mass, Appolina, Ávila, and I visited the fountain, drank, and filled our water bottles, thus fulfilling the conditions of the indulgence at Chapelle de Saint-Roch. Here we see Appolina (left) and Ávila (right) standing in front of the fountain, while other folks fill their bottles. Date: 20 August 2023 Place: Chapelle de Saint-Roch, Lozère Département, Region of Occitanie, France […]
» Read moreCamino Photo of the Day: Chapelle de Saint-Roch
This is the interior of the tiny Chapelle de Saint-Roch. On the day that we were there, it was possible to gain a plenary indulgence by venerating the saint’s relics in the chapel, attending the nearby outdoor Mass, and drinking from the holy fountain. You can barely see the reliquary on the altar in this photo, but here we are […]
» Read moreCamino Photo of the Day: Unexpected Graces
As I mentioned earlier, Ávila and I stopped at a wayside food truck outside Chazeaux, just 5 km from what I expected would be the end of my day. My plan was to get an Orangina and eat a sandwich. We ran into Appolina there and had a small reunion. And then the craziness started. Crazy with grace, I mean. […]
» Read moreCamino Photo of the Day: Fancy Hens
Much of the rest of the morning was through gently hilly open countryside with the occasional wooded area or village. The hens in this particular village have a pretty swish henhouse, built into their owners’ house. There was a food truck up ahead, and my plan was to get a sandwich and an orangina for a sort of second breakfast, […]
» Read moreCamino Photo of the Day: Tour de la Clauze
Ávila and I arrived at La Clauze about 8 AM. At some point we’d lost Appolina, as she was young and speedy and ran ahead of us. The tower is all that remains of a castle known as Château de la Clauze. This octagonal keep dates to the 14th century. The foundations of the remaining parts of the castle are […]
» Read moreCamino Photo of the Day: the Forest Cows
As it turned out, the lowing sounds and the clank of the bells weren’t coming from the meadows at all. Instead, the cows in question were grazing the the forest. There was a whole herd of them, though it was difficult to get a decent photo, because they insisted on hiding behind trees. It was both unexpected and delightful. Date: […]
» Read moreCamino Photo of the Day: the Sound of Distant Cattle
As Ávila, Appolina, and I walked through a landscape of meadow and forest, we could hear the lowing of cattle and the clanking of their distinctive bells. But up to this point, we hadn’t seen them in any of the meadows we walked past. We assumed that they were in a meadow beyond the woods to our right, but the […]
» Read moreCamino Photo of the Day: Take your Shell
For centuries the universally recognized symbol of the pilgrim on their way to Santiago has been the shell. While not every pilgrim carries one on their pack or person, many still do. There are countless places where you can purchase one, but here, several kilometers past Saugues, we see a small stand giving them away – though a donation is […]
» Read moreCamino Photo of the Day: Sunrise over the Misty Valleys
The next morning, I left Saugues with a couple of French pilgrims, Ávila and Appolina. We met at the boulangerie before dawn to take on provisions, and then we set out out of town just as the sun was poking up over the hills. Mist filled the valleys, and the view back towards Saugues was incomparable. Date: 20 August 2023 […]
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