Category: Via Podiensis

After walking through the city of Decazeville, it was up a stupendously steep street and into one last quasi-rural neighborhood. The view from here over the city below was something. I had to pause a moment to catch my breath. Date: 28 August 2023 Place: leaving Decazeville, Aveyron Département, Region of Occitanie, France Maps!

The Camino runs through the edge of the city of Decazeville, and while the guidebooks tend to paint this as a giant urban blight, I disagree. While I wouldn’t exactly call it charming, it has nothing like the awful endless rows of towering apartment blocks you get in cities like Lugo or Burgos. I walked through several neighborhoods, some nicer […]

The descent continued, and I caught what I think was my first view of the outskirts of Decazeville. This industrial city only dates to the 19th century, the product of merging a new factory town with several nearby villages. The presence of coal mines in the area certainly helped. I walked and talked with an Australian pilgrim, an older fellow […]

No, I can’t explain it either. This van, with its southwest US desert motif, was parked along the Way. Date: 28 August 2023 Place: between Noailhac and Decazeville, Aveyron Département, Region of Occitanie, France Maps!

After lunch, I was on my way again. This time wearing a jacket. The temperature dropped noticeably, and the wind had picked up as well. The Camino returned from the woods to the open ridge, and I could see a village in the valley below. I was about to begin the descent into the industrial city of Decazeville. Date: 28 […]

Just about Noon, I arrived at this lovely picnic spot, complete with informational posters, a fountain, and an outhouse. What more could you ask for? I was just past the turnoff to Fonteilles and about 13 km into the day, slightly more than halfway to my destination. I wolfed down that sandwich I picked up in Noailhac. I was soon […]

At the top of the hill, we reach the end of the Way of the Cross at this little chapel dedicated to Saint Roch. This is probably not the best angle to photograph the chapel, but it might give you an idea of the slope of the hill I was climbing. Date: 28 August 2023 Place: between Noailhac and Decazeville, […]

Leaving Noailhac, the Camino proceeds uphill on a dirt and gravel path overshadowed by concrete crosses. Here, the locals have created a Way of the Cross. What these crosses lack in embellishment or decoration, they more than make up for in size. As the path wound its way uphill, I saw that the Way culminates in a little chapel. Date: […]

In Noailhac, I stopped in the little village church of Saint Jean-Baptiste. Although the plaster walls were crumbling in the side chapels, the rest of the church was in good repair and obviously loved. The main sanctuary had a warm glow about it as the light from the stained glass windows illuminated the wooden altar and furnishings. I was hoping […]