Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela

[Jintray]

Hi

Can anyone give us advice on the route from Le Puy ? We have previously walked the St Jean - Santiago route and found the paths mostly excelent. But I read that the paths in France are not so good. Are proper walking / moutaineering boots required, or are good walking shoes sufficient ? We would prefer the latter, if possible.

Also, it seems that the route from Le Puy involves a lot of up and down. Are the days pretty tough ? I remember the Spanish route over the Messeta, for instance, where you could get 30 k in per day no problem because it was mosly quite flat - and on good paths.

John

[jl]

Hi John,

I walked from Le Puy last year in the month of August. It was quite often hot in the lower altitudes, but higher up on the plateau it was cooler, making for easier walking. Another forum member sent me a message just before I left to say that I would need a step ladder to get in and out of Conques. Yes, parts of the path are very steep, and depending at what time of the year you are travelling they could potentially be quite hard - eg. summer and early autumn you have the heat to battle, and in the spring you could have snow and rain (like Kiwinomad had). I only had a couple of days of rain but on those days I was very glad of my boots, because I found that one day of showers (couldn't even call it rain) was equal to about 3 days of mud! It made it very difficult to walk (in the mud) and I am full of admiration for people like kiwinomad who battled days of it. Some of the paths are quite rocky too. I am always fearful of turning an ankle and so I would not consider anything but lightweight boots, however another woman I saw regularly on the journey (from Le Puy to Santiago) only wore boots for the three or four days when the mud was at its severest. The rest of the time she walked in sandals, and seemed to suffer no ill effects. The paths on the Le Puy route are much more like what I would call "bushwalking" or New Zealanders call "tramping" paths, and many of the Europeans described as being "in nature". Many of those paths in adverse weather conditions would, I am sure, turn into creek beds, making it difficult to walk up.

Hope this helps, Janet

[KiwiNomad06]

Hi
Can anyone give us advice on the route from Le Puy ? But I read that the paths in France are not so good. Are proper walking / moutaineering boots required, or are good walking shoes sufficient ? We would prefer the latter, if possible. Also, it seems that the route from Le Puy involves a lot of up and down. Are the days pretty tough ?
John

Hi John,
I walked the route from Le Puy and used proper walking shoes, not boots. The route from Le Puy to Conques in particular is more rugged than most of what you meet in Spain, and it does go 'up and down'. But the paths are still in general quite good. It was very wet when I walked mid-April, and good grip on the soles of the shoes was important. It was quite rough underfoot in places as well, so I think good ankle support is a must, but I found my style of Merrell walking shoe gave me that.

I was 50, and of average fitness, slower than most, but I managed the Le Puy route fine. So long as you remember that it does not have to be a race, and that you can adjust how far you walk by how you are feeling, it does not have to be too tiring. I loved the route from Le Puy - the changes in altitude etc gave plenty of variety in landscapes to enjoy.
Margaret

[KiwiNomad06]

Many of those paths in adverse weather conditions would, I am sure, turn into creek beds, making it difficult to walk up.
Janet

They did just that Janet!!!! I spent a rest day in Estaing, recovering from the blisters I received from three days of basically walking up and down "streams" of water on the tracks!! However, the rest day did the trick, I never encountered quite such terribly wet tracks again, and never had another blister.
Margaret

[omar504]

Walking out of Le Puy was pretty hard but waymarking was fine. There are steep sections-amen to the step ladder comment out of Conques! I wore light gore tex boots which were fine but have gravitated to leather boots-heavier yes but this year I had wet feet on the Granada-SDC route and vowed to change to leather.
Le Puy is a good route with some beautiful towns and not overrun like the CF

[Jintray]

Thanks for all the helpful advice on the Le Puy route. It seems to be not as bad as I thought, although the weather plays a part in the conditions. Only 9 days before we leave !

Another point : should we assume that we will need euros. Or do the gites take credit card ? Are there cash machines along the way ? We are walking from Le Puy to Conques or thereabouts.

John

[KiwiNomad06]

You will need Euros, and gites don't usually have credit card facilities, so you do need cash. There are ATM machines in bigger places like Le Puy and Saint Alban sur Ligmanole, but you pass through many smaller villages that don't have one.

One other thing you may or may not know:- in Spain people often skip bits by taking the bus or train, but there is not much in the way of public transport between Le Puy and Conques. You can leave Conques using a bus that connects to a much later train...or else pay for a taxi.

Enjoy yourself! There is some stunning scenery between Le Puy and Conques, and both these towns are very beautiful as well.
Margaret

[KiwiNomad06]

I wore light gore tex boots which were fine but have gravitated to leather boots-heavier yes but this year I had wet feet on the Granada-SDC route and vowed to change to leather.

omar, I am interested that the goretex boots never kept your feet dry. I loved my walking shoes, except when it was very wet! And as my shoes are now looking the worse for wear after 1500km, I am looking at replacing them - not an easy task when I have a big foot for a woman. I was thinking of getting goretex for the extra waterproofness, and I gather the new goretex shoes allow more ventilation than the older styles used to. But if I am still going to get wet feet maybe I need to think again.... When I was suffering with blisters in Estaing after three very wet days on the track, I met some Aussies with leather boots who had kept dry feet and had had no problems....
Margaret

[jl]

Hi Margaret, I have a very large foot (the latest pair of sneakers is size 12 women's!!!), and ended up with Scarpa Gortex boots. The little rain I met along the way caused no problems with my feet - we had one bad day sloshing through water up and down steep paths and there was no ill consequences because of that. Australians do tend to wear leather boots, but then so do New Zealanders for heavy tramping conditions. Of all the paths that I have so far walked on the Camino the path from Le Puy to Moissac was probably closest to those type of conditions (Grampians / Tassie / Arthurs Pass). Depending when one walks, hot feet can also be a problem. I was really glad of my boots on some of those rocky paths around Conques. regards, Janet

By the way John as a middle aged woman I had no trouble on this Chemin walking quite a number of days of 30km plus.

[spursfan]

I've bought, but not yet had to use, a pair of waterproof socks - try asking in outdoor shops if they're any good for what you have in mind as an alternative to leather boots

[omar504]

Margaret
Gore tex is probably ok but the walking shoes I used, a new pair each year, were Columbia trailmeister-very comfortable but stitching always came apart and were not waterproof.This year from granada my feet got wet so many times-some areas it was unavoidable to walk through water-even wet grass meant I had soaking wet feet. Several had leather boots and fared much better. I bought Asolo TPS 520 on the net for $180 + $45 postage (they are $399 in melbourne!). It's a trade off between weight,comfort and whether you anticipate rain-which I now do!

[KiwiNomad06]

Thanks everyone. I am quite keen to get a shoe rather than a boot: the Merrell shoes I had had good 'torsion' ie they didn't twist much, so provided very good support on rough terrain. But they certainly let in the water. I have seen a light Merrell goretex boot, and also a Merrell shoe said to be waterproof. But unfortunately not available in my size. Time is not an issue though, so I will keep visiting the outdoors stores everytime I visit somewhere!! I have seen both Scarpa and Asolo around, so will pay them more attention next time.
Margaret

[Alan Pearce]

This year on my camino I wore Scarpa Trek leather boots, purchased from Paddy Pallin in Canberra in January for $259. It took forever to break them in, mainly because I have different sized feet, and one foot kept getting blisters while the other one didn't hurt once. We walked through some atrocious weather in the early days of our journey [force 8 gales, from the west of course so we were heading straight into it , and rain horizontally into our eyes] and my feet stayed perfectly dry even if nothing else did. The only time they let water in was on the second last day of our 42 day journey, walking from Negriera towards Finistere, when it poured rain for hour after hour on what was one of the less enjoyable days of my time in Spain.
There is only one company in Australia that will re-sole Scarpa boots, and they charge $155 for so doing. Mine have some cracks in the leather uppers so I will not get them re-soled, but having got at least 5000km out of them, I feel they have served me well, and when I do my next camino in 2011, I will be wearing Scarpa leather boots.

Buen Camino

Alan

[jl]

Hi Alan, could you please post the details for Australians wishing to resole Scarpa boots. I am trying to decide whether I will resole or purchase another new pair for my next journey. They are fine at present, but my next Camino will be in the vicinity of 2,000kms and I will need new boots at about the 1,000 mark. Thanks, Janet

[Alan Pearce]

Hi Janet
The details are as follows:
Walkalong Leathers Travel and Shoe Repairs
515 Camberwell Rd., Camberwell, Vic. 3124
Phone 03 98892800, and ask for Michael.
When do you plan to leave on your next trip?
Buen camino
Alan

[Jintray]

Thanks to all for your helpful replies. 5 days to go. Knee playing up.

John

[vjpulver]

Intersting discussion on footwear. I will be interested in replie regarding my decision. I am planning to start my walk in early May 2008 from Pamplona. I am retired Air Force, so accustomed to wearing traditional, hard-leather combat boots. My dear old pair, which I wear daily when I am out trekking with my dog, are dying. So I must decide what kind of walking footwear to buy and break-in. I am inclined to get another pair of combat boots, but of course the wieght is something to consider. Any strong feelings/advise?

Life is good...
"Ginn"

[Jintray]

I'm doing final planning for our walk from Le Puy to Figeac. We have 12 days to do 10 days' walking, which means 2 days off. Can any of you who have walked this route recommend which are the nicest and most interesting places to spend an extra day ? We already have one day in Le Puy. I imagine Conques would be one suggestion.

John

[jl]

Hi John, Yes Conques is very beautiful (try and get to the last office of the day - from memory about 8.00p.m.ish and then stay on for the organ recital or whatever else it might be that night - I had a lovely violin and piano recital one night while there). I also really enjoyed St Come d'Olt. It is only a small town, but absolutley jam packed with history. The church has a "twisted spire". I only stayed overnight but I was wishing that I had set it as one of the rest days. There is a long and very steep descent from the previous village, and quite scenic. Enjoy! Buen Camino (or as the French say - Bon route) Janet

[Jintray]

Thanks, Janet

I think we'll reorganise our itinerary to include stops in St Come and Conques. 3 days to go !

John

[omar504]

Ceratinly Conques. I recommend staying in the convent at st come d'olt-rooms like a motel! But also an atmosphere very much in keeping with the camino.
seems like st come d'olt has a few other recommendations too!

[Jintray]

Thanks for the photo, Omar. We'll look out for it.

We've realised in the last couple of days that what we're attempting is a bit much : 3 days of 28 - 30 km. So we're considering cutting it back and ending our Camino at Conques.

Question : we fly back to the UK from Rodez airport. Is there any public transport between Conques and Rodez, or Rodez airport ?

John

[KiwiNomad06]

There is a thread that deals with this very topic of transport out of Conques, http://www.pilgrimage-to-santiago.com/board/post24855.html#p24855
and someone lists a link to a bus that goes from Conques to Rodez.
Margaret

[Jintray]

Margaret

Thanks you very much. It's really great to have all this help available.

John

[Kitsambler]

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 ...