Day 1 31 May. Le Puy en Velay to
Montbonnet.Got up at 6 am, having not had much sleep anyway and started to pack. Jan had left a note under my door telling me to tap on her door in the morning. I did and she came down to breakfast in the big dining room downstairs.After a quik breakfast of the usual bread butter and jam with hot chocolate and some yohurt I had bought the day before, I headed off to the pilgrim mass in the catedral almost next door. We had also been the previous day when the Bishop had been present. He had spoken english and chatted with every one but this seeme more formal although there was a plump nun dressed in grey who translated a few things. Again I was the only NZer but later heard that there had been 2 on the previous Sunday. There were also 2 aussies but days later have still not really caught up with them. Rained pretty continuously but mostly lightly all day
Had hoped to take a photo at the same place ad the one f Margaret s that inspired me but rain prevented it. Arrived at Montbonnet 2 hours too early and had to find some shelter under and overhanging shed
Very cold
Day 2 June 1 Montbonnet to Sauges. Very long day but hadn,t been able to get a closer booking because of Ascension day weekend walkers. Also lots of retired people walking the first stretch es from le puy.Steep climbs in and out of Monistrl especially. Mareike a german girl had been worried about doing the steep bitd without a stick as it was so wet and slippery so I lent her one of mine. When I finally arrived m fingers were so cold and stiff I had to ask someone to undo my hood. My boots held up well until the last couple of hours but were just too lowcut to keep the water out in the end. Les Margarides is enormous but a bit soulless.like a giant youth hostel.I kept gettong lost. Nice german boy at dinner asked if
we spoke dutch in nz. Some heating in room but turned off overnight so boots and socks still wet the next morning.
Day 3. June 2. Sauges to Le Falzet. Very short 10 k walk as hadn't been able to find further. Still cold but not so wet. Le Falzet very cute little gite.lovely people. Spent afternoon lying around...surprised how tired I was. In evening we were offered a tour of the fromagerie downstairs.
Gwen who had worked in Dublin offered to translate for me. The cheesemaker told us how she had been a city girl until she fell in love with the farmer. People said that she would only last 3 months on the country but she is now passionate about cheese. Because of quotas they were penalised for producing too much milk so she began to make cheese for the family. Later after some training and spending 80,000 euro to meet eec regulations she now produces commercially and sells by mail order.
At this point I began to feel unwell (I always have stomach problems about my
4th or 5th day in a new country..it wasnt your cooking Tom!) so sat down for a minute and was just working out how to say that when I fainted.I came to a few minutes later to find that they had laid me down and raised my legsand were just about to feed me sugar cubes. Later we had a wonderful dinner followed by cheese and tiny pots of home made yogurt ..all delicious but sadly I couldn't eat very much.
Day 4: 3 June Le Falzet to St Alban
St Alban gite was on top of a hotel..a tiny room filled with a dozen or so bunks and a tiny kitchen and shower.It even had a partly covered balcony where I could have dried some clothes if I had been organized enough. Felt a bit like the seven dwarves home...just me and 6 french men but after 4 days on the road I certainly didn't feel like Snow White. Dinner was downstairs in a old fashioned dining room filled with dark panneling and artificial flowers. They were very kind to me and made a real effort to include me in the conversation even to the point of talking about rugby but soon found that I spoke even less rugby than I did french! They roared with laughter when I showed them my tiny page of French phrases. Very yummy fresh croissant for breakfast and back on the road again.
Day 5 June 4
St Albin to Lasbros
Weather much improved...only a few showers
Heard a cuckoo in the woods. Lots of beautiful wild flowers along the way.One toe a bit sore so have put hikers wool around it.Saw almost no women today..the road seems a lot quieter with just half a dozen or so men.Arrived at Lasbros About 2.30 or so and spent a quiet afternoon enjoying the bathrom in the gite and reading.
Nice young couple also eating supermarket food told me their can of pate was "for the cat".
Day 6 June 5: Lasbros to Nasbinal..left in rain without breakfast but after a couple of hours it cleared up. Climbed up to a high plateau strewn with massive boulders. Kept stopping to take photos of beautiful wild flowers but couldn't catch the tiny multi coloured butterflys. Passed very few people..where is everyone?
Lots of Taranaki gates to kep the stock in.At one point realised that they were bulls but they seemed pretty docile. For the first time hadn't booked ahead as office fe tourisme said that holiday weekend would be over and it wouldn't be such a problem.Arrived in Nasbinals about 1.30 and stopped at first gite where I met Paddy from Ireland but it didn't open for another 2 hours, same with next gite.Then found a third gite.the very large Nada and had picnic on their lawn until they opened.Am sharing 6 bed dorm with 2 young french girls. One helpd me to find and ring tomorrow,s gite where apparently I must ring when I get to St Chely and be picked up. Difficult to find nice meals for 1 person at supermarche..am eating lots of bread, cheese and yoghurt along with cereal bars.
Day 7 June 6: Nasbinals to StChely. Very little rain today..just as well as foot rot is setting in. Lots of up and down has been very hard on my toenails and am looking forward to getting out of my boots. Another beautiful day's walk across the Aubrac plateau and steeply down to St Chely. Last night at gite a relief profile on the wall showed Nasbinals as being at the highest point on the Chemin but today there was more climbing. Lots of walking through fields with horned cows and a few bulls. Am sitting at bar beside the Maire because they advertised wifi. Gave me a verylong password on the back of an envelope but it didn't work. Have tried ringing woman I m booked to stay with tonight but we could't understand eavh other so will wait for the tourist officeto open and see if the can help in a hour or so. A few hours later am installed at gite with several others. Have done some washing and am waiting to microwave another supermarket delight. We are supposed to be only 3 k from town but it certainly feels further. Lots of flies everywhere ..have to keep all the windows closed. I have a room with a double bed to myself.
Later.. have just been talking to a young dutch couple in the kitchen. He has been walking from Holland (from a special place about 8 k from his house that has some relaionship to the camino. and she has just joined him to walk a week. I told him that I knew some people who had walked from Holland. He looked at his wife and said "the Meyers" . he told me that he had seen their names in a book and that although he didn't know them they knew of them and knew an old woman from the same family (Greet?) who still lived in the same area..another "its a small world" moment. They still buy their milk and cheese from the "reformed shop" (organic?) of the same family
He had also been caught out by the holiday weekend snd had to walk 46 k in one day...wow. Inspird by that I went and booked tomorrow at Espalion..only about 20 k away!
Montbonnet.Got up at 6 am, having not had much sleep anyway and started to pack. Jan had left a note under my door telling me to tap on her door in the morning. I did and she came down to breakfast in the big dining room downstairs.After a quik breakfast of the usual bread butter and jam with hot chocolate and some yohurt I had bought the day before, I headed off to the pilgrim mass in the catedral almost next door. We had also been the previous day when the Bishop had been present. He had spoken english and chatted with every one but this seeme more formal although there was a plump nun dressed in grey who translated a few things. Again I was the only NZer but later heard that there had been 2 on the previous Sunday. There were also 2 aussies but days later have still not really caught up with them. Rained pretty continuously but mostly lightly all day
Had hoped to take a photo at the same place ad the one f Margaret s that inspired me but rain prevented it. Arrived at Montbonnet 2 hours too early and had to find some shelter under and overhanging shed
Very cold
Day 2 June 1 Montbonnet to Sauges. Very long day but hadn,t been able to get a closer booking because of Ascension day weekend walkers. Also lots of retired people walking the first stretch es from le puy.Steep climbs in and out of Monistrl especially. Mareike a german girl had been worried about doing the steep bitd without a stick as it was so wet and slippery so I lent her one of mine. When I finally arrived m fingers were so cold and stiff I had to ask someone to undo my hood. My boots held up well until the last couple of hours but were just too lowcut to keep the water out in the end. Les Margarides is enormous but a bit soulless.like a giant youth hostel.I kept gettong lost. Nice german boy at dinner asked if
we spoke dutch in nz. Some heating in room but turned off overnight so boots and socks still wet the next morning.
Day 3. June 2. Sauges to Le Falzet. Very short 10 k walk as hadn't been able to find further. Still cold but not so wet. Le Falzet very cute little gite.lovely people. Spent afternoon lying around...surprised how tired I was. In evening we were offered a tour of the fromagerie downstairs.
Gwen who had worked in Dublin offered to translate for me. The cheesemaker told us how she had been a city girl until she fell in love with the farmer. People said that she would only last 3 months on the country but she is now passionate about cheese. Because of quotas they were penalised for producing too much milk so she began to make cheese for the family. Later after some training and spending 80,000 euro to meet eec regulations she now produces commercially and sells by mail order.
At this point I began to feel unwell (I always have stomach problems about my
4th or 5th day in a new country..it wasnt your cooking Tom!) so sat down for a minute and was just working out how to say that when I fainted.I came to a few minutes later to find that they had laid me down and raised my legsand were just about to feed me sugar cubes. Later we had a wonderful dinner followed by cheese and tiny pots of home made yogurt ..all delicious but sadly I couldn't eat very much.
Day 4: 3 June Le Falzet to St Alban
St Alban gite was on top of a hotel..a tiny room filled with a dozen or so bunks and a tiny kitchen and shower.It even had a partly covered balcony where I could have dried some clothes if I had been organized enough. Felt a bit like the seven dwarves home...just me and 6 french men but after 4 days on the road I certainly didn't feel like Snow White. Dinner was downstairs in a old fashioned dining room filled with dark panneling and artificial flowers. They were very kind to me and made a real effort to include me in the conversation even to the point of talking about rugby but soon found that I spoke even less rugby than I did french! They roared with laughter when I showed them my tiny page of French phrases. Very yummy fresh croissant for breakfast and back on the road again.
Day 5 June 4
St Albin to Lasbros
Weather much improved...only a few showers
Heard a cuckoo in the woods. Lots of beautiful wild flowers along the way.One toe a bit sore so have put hikers wool around it.Saw almost no women today..the road seems a lot quieter with just half a dozen or so men.Arrived at Lasbros About 2.30 or so and spent a quiet afternoon enjoying the bathrom in the gite and reading.
Nice young couple also eating supermarket food told me their can of pate was "for the cat".
Day 6 June 5: Lasbros to Nasbinal..left in rain without breakfast but after a couple of hours it cleared up. Climbed up to a high plateau strewn with massive boulders. Kept stopping to take photos of beautiful wild flowers but couldn't catch the tiny multi coloured butterflys. Passed very few people..where is everyone?
Lots of Taranaki gates to kep the stock in.At one point realised that they were bulls but they seemed pretty docile. For the first time hadn't booked ahead as office fe tourisme said that holiday weekend would be over and it wouldn't be such a problem.Arrived in Nasbinals about 1.30 and stopped at first gite where I met Paddy from Ireland but it didn't open for another 2 hours, same with next gite.Then found a third gite.the very large Nada and had picnic on their lawn until they opened.Am sharing 6 bed dorm with 2 young french girls. One helpd me to find and ring tomorrow,s gite where apparently I must ring when I get to St Chely and be picked up. Difficult to find nice meals for 1 person at supermarche..am eating lots of bread, cheese and yoghurt along with cereal bars.
Day 7 June 6: Nasbinals to StChely. Very little rain today..just as well as foot rot is setting in. Lots of up and down has been very hard on my toenails and am looking forward to getting out of my boots. Another beautiful day's walk across the Aubrac plateau and steeply down to St Chely. Last night at gite a relief profile on the wall showed Nasbinals as being at the highest point on the Chemin but today there was more climbing. Lots of walking through fields with horned cows and a few bulls. Am sitting at bar beside the Maire because they advertised wifi. Gave me a verylong password on the back of an envelope but it didn't work. Have tried ringing woman I m booked to stay with tonight but we could't understand eavh other so will wait for the tourist officeto open and see if the can help in a hour or so. A few hours later am installed at gite with several others. Have done some washing and am waiting to microwave another supermarket delight. We are supposed to be only 3 k from town but it certainly feels further. Lots of flies everywhere ..have to keep all the windows closed. I have a room with a double bed to myself.
Later.. have just been talking to a young dutch couple in the kitchen. He has been walking from Holland (from a special place about 8 k from his house that has some relaionship to the camino. and she has just joined him to walk a week. I told him that I knew some people who had walked from Holland. He looked at his wife and said "the Meyers" . he told me that he had seen their names in a book and that although he didn't know them they knew of them and knew an old woman from the same family (Greet?) who still lived in the same area..another "its a small world" moment. They still buy their milk and cheese from the "reformed shop" (organic?) of the same family
He had also been caught out by the holiday weekend snd had to walk 46 k in one day...wow. Inspird by that I went and booked tomorrow at Espalion..only about 20 k away!
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