Author: Thom

I’m not sure who left this little fellow or why, but his days of pilgrimage seem to be over. For one thing, he’s missing a foot! I’m not even entirely sure what sort of animal this is meant to be. Sheep? Dog? Llama? Alpaca? I often encountered this sort of odd whimsy on the GR-65 route. I myself am not […]

The charming little Bastide chapel might be the tiniest sacred space I prayed in during my 2023 pilgrimage. I found it to be a beautiful and holy place, of the sort that we don’t really have in the United States – just a quiet little chapel to stop in and pray. There’s a visitors’ book on the little stone ambo […]

About 2km past La Chaze-de-Peyre, the Camino passes by this little chapel. Also known as the Pignède chapel, it was founded in 1525 by Father Bastide (hence the name) and formerly dedicated to the Holy Cross. Since 1868, the Virgin of La Salette has been venerated here. It looked positively magical in the early morning light. Date: 22 August 2023 […]

At just after 7 AM, I glanced back at the little village of La Chaze-de-Peyre, with the dawn brightening the sky behind the hills. I paused a moment to take in the view and to snap this photo. I wouldn’t trade these Camino mornings for anything in the world. Date: 22 August 2023 Place: between La Chaze-de-Peyre and Lasbros, Lozère […]

At just before 7 AM, Alex and I walked into the little village of La Chaze-de-Peyre. It was here that I encountered the first village church on the whole of the route that was locked. It was only the second locked church I’d seen in France – the other being the little chapel of Saint-Roch. It was somewhere in this […]

There’s just something about the quality of the early morning light. Although I left the gîte at 5:30 in the morning, I more or less immediately got lost trying to get out of town. I ran into Alex from Sweden (seen here ahead of me), and between the two of us we figured out how to get on the Camino […]

My dinner at the gîte included a regional specialty called aligot. I’d had some at lunch as well, but here I got the full dramatic presentation. It’s made from mashed potatoes, tome fraîche cheese, cream, butter, and garlic. On paper, this is just cheesy mashed potatoes, but as you can see from the photo, it’s a great deal more cheese […]

Statues and images of the Beast of Gévaudan abound in this rural region of southern France. I started seeing them in Saugues about two days prior, and this was the last major image I found, in a plaza in Aumont-Aubrac. It was, as you can probably tell from the photo, a bright and hot afternoon, so I tried to stay indoors […]

The interior of the church of Saint-Etienne is a weird mishmash of medieval and modern elements. The stained glass windows are beautiful, but they definitely reflect the styles and tastes of the mid to late twentieth century. The main altar is modern, but the side altars look to be from the 19th century or slightly earlier. Yet, somehow, it all […]

After a long lunch, I bid farewell to Steve and then went to visit the local church. Saint-Etienne is all that remains of a Benedictine priory founded in 1061. It was extensively remodeled and/or restored several times in its history: in the 12th, 13th, 19th, and 20th centuries. Date: 21 August 2023 Place: Aumont-Aubrac, Lozère Département, Region of Occitanie, France […]