Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela

[Jintray]

We are just back from walking Le Puy to Conques and thought it might be useful to give a summary of what we found out, which might be valuable for those planning this route. I got a lot of help from people during my planning, so here are some details that might be of interest.

Up front, the highlights of the walk were the people we met on the way : almost universally friendly and interesting. And the French countryside.

How far to walk per day ? It depends on your fitness of course, but we found the French GR paths more difficult than the Spanish ones. We walked 200 km in 10 days, cutting our plan by 50 km. We are fairly competent walkers, but found 25 km days a bit tiring. I was carrying too much stuff (maybe 12-13 kg) which didn't help. There are lots of bag-carrying services around, however (about 8 euros per day - quite expensive, I thought).

Boots or walking shoes ? I had walking shoes and they were fine. The paths are French GR standard,do liable to be stony and rough as well as muddy if there's been rain. No complaint about that since you go through quite remote and beautiful places.

Accomodation ? Quite easy to find in September using Mia Mia Do Do and a mobile phone. The hotels, if you need to use them,are much better value than in Britain. The gites are sociable and good fun, but you're laible to come across snorers. The first night in Pe Puy one guy was rattling the windows. I would recommend Gite a la Ferme in Sauges, but got bad service in Hotel le Floret in Estaing. You might come across some French beaurocracy at The Abbey in Conques - they make you queue for ages while they process groups for registration one at a time.

Travel ? We arrived in Lyons and got the airport bus; the woman selling us tickets at the desk tried to short-change me of 20 euros; this is increasingly common in my town - Edinburgh - but it's disappointing to come across it in France. Then train to Le Puy. Watch for big queues to buy tickets - it can take more that half an hour. On the way back we got a bus from Conques to Rodez; I was originally told the wrong time; make sure you confirm with the local Tourisme office. We flew back from Rodez. There's no public transport from Rodez to the airport except taxi (about 18 euros) - a fiddle for the local taxi drivers no doubt. You can book a taxi or wait at the main square for one to pass.

Hygiene : watch for fleas. We caught a bite or 30 in Domaine du Savage.

Overall, a fantastic trip. The people we met were just great.

John

[KiwiNomad06]

Glad to hear you had a great trip Jintray. Many of the places were 'remote and beautiful' I agree: walking from Le Puy to Conques is an experience I will always treasure.
Margaret

[Jintray]

Margaret

Of course we're now thinking of the next trip. Have you done any other sections in France ? We did Via de la Plata in Spain and that was great as well.

John

[KiwiNomad06]

Yes, I actually walked all the way from Le Puy to Santiago. You have walked the most dramatic bit landscape-wise until you reach the mountains of the Pyrenees. But there are some very beautiful villages and towns on the rest of the Le Puy route, many with obvious signs of their medieval origin. Moissac is especially interesting. The landscape gets a bit flatter as you get further south, and less dramatic, but there is still plenty to enjoy. I agree with you: I met many friendly people in France - there was a great sense of community amongst the walkers- perhaps partly because the route was less crowded.
Margaret

[jl]

Hi, I have done the same path as Margaret, and also from Toulouse to Santiago via Somport. When I walk in France my thoughts are always - "I must return to walk here again". The problem is that when I get into Spain I think the same thing - hence my reason for walking longer distances. That is, I walk about the same distance in France as in Spain. The friendship and camaraderie of fellow pilgrims is the same in both France and Spain, but there is a gentleness and green beauty about the countryside in France. This compares with a more austere and drier landscape in Spain (except, of course, in Galicia). However, despite that - there is a vibrancy about Spain and its people that is wonderfully appealing. I have found that the local people in both countries are wonderfully helpful (especially to a non French / Spanish speaking Australian).

One friend who walked from Le Puy to St Jean came home full of enthusiasm and palnned to walk a year later from St Jean to Santiago. She was a couple of weeks behind me in Spain and I happened to bump into her in Leon on my way home. Her response to my questions about how she was going was that for the first week she was "grieving for France". I think that sums it up well. If I only walked in one of these countries I would miss terribly the other - so I do both. One of the very special things about the le Puy route is that so many of the churches were open when I went through, many more than in Spain, and also that there were about a quarter of the people walking compared to the Camino Frances.

(Coming up the Valley from Oloron St Marie - on the Arles route - is very beautiful too.)

Cheers, Janet

[KiwiNomad06]

Janet... I sense another phone call to Oz coming on here!!! I bought the Gitlitz and Davidson guide from CSJ when I returned home, and the Aragonese route began to sing in my mind, as they described the route from Somport, through Jaca.... Then I found a thread on the forum about the route http://www.pilgrimage-to-santiago.com/board/camino-aragones/topic3393.html
and have since been reading a blog http://anna-en-route.livejournal.com/ by a young Kiwi who has just been walking it.....
I didn't realise you had walked it. The idea of spending a few days in Lourdes and then starting somewhere not too far from there is appealing. But I don't anticipate doing it until 2012 or so.
Margaret

[jl]

Hi Margaret, The CSJ guide book from Toulouse was a little innacurate when I did it in 2005. There were comments like "take the right hand path up hill" the only problem was that it was the LH one that went up hill. One was then faced with the dilemma of whether to take the ipmortant word as "uphill" or "RH" - in this instance I was wrong, and took the RH! However, it didn't matter as the road at the bottom of the hill led into the village anyway. There were a number of instances where this kind of thing occurred. Nonetheless, a beautiful Chemin - apart from the exit from Toulouse. As on the Le Puy Chemin the locals were very friendly and helpful. Holidays start today and so am home until Wed. Will call sometime. Cheers, Janet

[vjpulver]

Ginn: regarding combat boots. The boots were originally specced for a combat infantryman's load (100 lbs or more), young man's strength, and military circumstances (comfort at the bottom of the list). I'm retired Navy, myself. Why not take advantage of the enormous improvements in boot engineering that are available now? Lightweight and comfortable, and you're carrying a much lighter load. Unless, of course, you're really into foot pain ...

I love my combat boots - they are my most comfortable footware. I was never a young man nor in the infantry, but I toted heavy tool boxes and test equipment during my many years on the flightline and went through many pairs of combat boots. I also have a thousand miles of offroad dogwalking (in both desert terrain and the foothills of South Carolina) on a couple pairs I own. They are very comfortable and I am familiar with their proper care and feeding. These boots are my old friends!

Why not take advantage of new technology? I am trying to "shop at home first" as I prepare for this pilgrimage. I want to simply use what I have. I like to live simply. I consider purchases carefully. For both spiritual reasons and other reasons.

Life is good...

"Ginn"
In Sunny Santa Fe