Walking the Camino de Santiago
The Alzou Gorge trail ended in a parking lot, which was something of an anticlimax. And then, as I walked into the field beyond, I caught my first view of Rocamadour. It was like something straight out of Tolkien – something of a theme today. It didn’t look possible: a town carved out of and built into a sheer cliff. […]
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There are not just one, but four ruins in the Alzou Gorge on the way to Rocamadour. All were mills, and each ruin is progressively less impressive than the previous. I think this is the second one. By the time you get to the fourth, you’d completely miss it if there wasn’t a sign. Anyway, it seems a perfect image […]
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Once through the ruins of the Moulin de Tournefeuille, you can see the shape of the Camino canyon route. This is the Alzou Gorge, carved out over long millennia by the river of the same name. The canyon is so narrow and deep that I completely lost my GPS service through most of it. This is one of the most […]
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Dominique and I walked through the ruins of the Moulin de Tournefeuille. This old mill site (and probable defensive work) straddles the narrow canyon to Rocamadour. It’s the first of a series of mills on the canyon river, but it’s by far the most spectacular. It was a strange feeling to be walking down these stone stairs down to the […]
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Despite appearances, this is not the ruins of Helm’s Deep. This is the remains of a mill that once spanned the canyon walls, providing not only flour but also an outer defence for the town of Rocamadour to the north. The Camino path actually goes through the ruins, as there is no way past except through. This is where I […]
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The Camino here goes through woods like this pretty much all the way. Those moss-covered stones on the right are what’s left of a wall possibly dating to medieval times. There would be more spectacular ruins as the morning progressed! The path begins in a relatively wide valley with a broad, if shallow, river to my left. Throughout the day, […]
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On the Camino you see a lot of random art and graffiti, which I often highlight on this blog. There are also many cairns on the route, some for wayfinding, but most often as a personal expression. Sometimes, it’s difficult to tell what’s intentionally art and what isn’t. This horse head is affixed to a stone in the woods, perhaps […]
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As we passed the cemetery, the climb began. We soon walked under this long bridge. I wasn’t sure whether it was for pedestrians or for cars, but it definitely made for a dramatic exit from Gramat. Date: 01 September 2023 Place: leaving Gramat, Lot Département, Region of Occitanie, France Maps! The site I’ve been using for my daily maps, Gronze.com, […]
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I met Dominque on my first day walking, and we stayed in the same gîtes any number of times. I’m usually pretty bad at selfies with friends I meet along the Way, so I had resolved to be better about it on this Camino. This was only marginally successful, I’m afraid. The photo was taken at 8:00 in the morning […]
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For the final photo of the day, we have a small group of pilgrims, including Dominique and Paul, walking down the arcade past the garden of Le Grand Couvent de Gramat to dinner. There’s something jarring, yet somehow comforting, about pilgrims walking in their hiking clothes and Crocs down through this elegant space. The clothes may change from century to […]
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