Walking the Camino de Santiago
We checked into our gîte by phone. We never even saw the landlord. After the usual pilgrim ablutions, we headed out to see if we could find someplace for dinner. The options in the village were limited, so we ended up going to a local burger-and-pizza joint. I had a pretty tasty burger, although I found it interesting that all the burgers […]
» Read more
While I sat in the cool village church of Sainte-Catherine de Labastide-Murat, Bruno was busy finding a gîte for us. By the time he texted me, I was (mostly) recovered. The church interior is highly decorated in a 19th-century revival of a classic medieval Romanesque look, and I found it mesmerising. Date: 02 September 2023 Place: Labastide-Murat, Lot Département, Region […]
» Read more
I arrived in Labastide-Murat after an exhausting 30 kilometers. The last little bit to the village was uphill, and I’m pretty sure an arthritic three-legged dachshund could’ve beat me. I was barely functioning when I arrived in the village church at 10 minutes before 3 o’clock. Fortunately, the door was open, and so I stumbled in seeking solace and rest. […]
» Read more
Out of the forest, the Camino quite suddenly approached the village of Labastide-Murat through a lovely park beside a pond. Suddenly, out of nowhere, there was a manicured lawn, benches, and picnic tables. It reminded me of Wright Park back home in Tacoma, where Francine and I have logged countless training kilometers over the years. I thought that surely this […]
» Read more
About 1:30 PM, I passed through the outskirts of the village of Montfaucon. I seriously considered calling it a day here, but I realized that tomorrow me would not be very happy with that decision. And then I saw the bizarre sculptures in the gardens of several of the houses here and figured that, with just 5.5 km to go, […]
» Read more
After the highway tunnel, I began wondering when I would see my old friend Bruno again. Part of my brain was taking bets with another part of my brain on whether he would catch up to me before I reached the day’s final destination. Just after 1 PM, there was a short, treacherous, rocky decline, and it was here that […]
» Read more
The Camino is not all glamourous medieval villages, soaring Gothic Cathedrals, and beautiful scenery. Sometimes you have to go through a damp, smelly concrete tunnel under a highway. That’s just how it goes. There’s an important lesson there, I think. And eventually you get to the end of the tunnel back into the light. Date: 02 September 2023 Place: between […]
» Read more
The forest was warm and muggy, and the infrequent breezes gave delightful relief. The whole place seemed a little Entish, with trees that seemed to speak or leaned over the road with grasping arms. One even warned of something being guarded; what it was, I’ve no idea. I did not dawdle to find out. Date: 02 September 2023 Place: between Rocamadour […]
» Read more
I probably spent far too much time on that little bench. As I was packing up to go, Bruno caught up with me and sat down for a little rest. I moved on, confident he would catch up with me again. Soon, I was roadwalking, before coming to a little gate and entering a path through the woods again. I […]
» Read more
The Camino wound its way through farm and field. Just after 11:30 I came upon a small wooden shelter and a nearby picnic table with a view of the pasture, so I figured this was a good time to pull out my packed lunch. There were numerous days on the Via Podiensis where I had to carry food, as the […]
» Read more