Walking the Camino de Santiago
Once again, the forecast called for all rain all day. When I left the gîte at past 7:30 AM, it was raining steadily and cold. I was the only pilgrim at the gîte last night. There were also two young ladies from the poetry festival, though I only actually ever saw one of them. They were just starting to set […]
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Today is halfway day. Not in terms of distance – that probably happened several days ago. No, this is the halfway point in days walking on this pilgrimage. It is also an extremely short day – the book says 16.2 km. I’ve done several days with double that length, so this is practically a rest day. Tomorrow, of course, will […]
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Today’s forecast called for cold rain all day. It was well after 8 AM when everyone sort of tumbled out of the gîte. Today was meant to be a short day, so nobody was in any hurry. I left during a break in the rain. The Camino took us through the commercial heart of the city. Since today is the […]
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Breakfast at 7, out the door by 8. At this point, I’ve either reserved or sent reservation requests for every place but one left in France. How very different the Camino in France is from that in Spain! In Spain, the only places I reserve are Roncesvalles (because it’s required) and Santiago, because it’s crowded). In France, you are pretty […]
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Breakfast in Captieux with Louis-Marie and Luc was bittersweet. I’m walking much farther than them today – 14 km farther – so unless we meet up at Saint-Jean on my rest day, I’m not likely to see them again. Anyway, we dawdled even more than usual. We probably didn’t leave town until almost 9 AM. The air was crisp this […]
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Today’s start was very slow. Fortunately, it’s meant to be another relatively short day in preparation for tomorrow’s long haul. The first stop was the Mairie (town hall) to pay for last night and get stamps in our pilgrim credentials. They didn’t open until 8:30, which in part explains our slow morning. And then we had to hunt up some […]
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The challenge this morning was to try to find a Sunday Mass. Often, this is simply impossible on Camino, which is why there are dispensations by the various bishops’ conferences. Nevertheless, one should always try! The abbey I was staying at normally has their Masses at 8 AM, which would have been plausible, except that on Sundays they move it […]
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An amazingly restful night. I left the gîte at 7:30. Michael the Irishman was still waking up when I left. The first order of the morning was finding some breakfast. Today is market day in La Réole, so I was fairly confident in finding something. The Camino route took me past the old abbey church, and I was reminded that […]
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Today was a public holiday in France. On this day in 1945, Germany unconditionally surrendered, ending World War II in Europe. Four years ago today, Francine and I were in Oviedo with our friend Callie, getting ready to begin the Camino Primitivo the next day. It would prove to be the last Camino we walked together. One year ago today, […]
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The rain predicted for the next week suddenly vanished from the forecast this morning. Despite my best efforts, however, my shoes were still not fully dry. Also, weirdly, the straps of my hiking poles were still damp. That’s a new one. When I left at 8 AM, the air was cold and a clammy mist clung to the ground. I […]
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