Pilgrims on the Way

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, […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

This classical statue of Our Lady with the child Jesus stands in the open garden of Le Grand Couvent de Gramat. I thought she had a rather pensive face, as if she was well aware of the sufferings that both she and her son would face. And yet, looked at another way, perhaps she has the knowing smile of a […]