Walking the Camino de Santiago
Pilgrim reports from the Camino.
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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It was so cold in our little country gîte last night that my shoes did not fully dry out from yesterday. There’s nothing worse on a Camino than slipping your feet into vaguely damp shoes. It was a slow morning. We didn’t actually leave until 8:30, which might be a new record for me. But again, today was supposed to […]
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The only other pilgrim at the chambres d’hôte I stayed last night was Laurent, who began from his home near Paris back in March. I first met him on the day I walked into Périgueux. He’s doing a long day today – at least 36 km – so I doubt I will see him again, unless we overlap at Saint-Jean, […]
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When I started packing my bag this morning, it was clear that the rains had returned in force. It was storming. According to the weather app, the rain would continue all day. By the time Herve and I left about 7:30, I could see a little sliver of blue on the horizon, but it was certainly pouring as we set […]
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