Author: Thom

The old center of Saint-Côme-d’Olt is a maze of medieval streets and alleys. They provided much-needed shade as I explored the village. I had several hours to do this, as my gîte wasn’t scheduled to open until 3 PM. My plan was to explore, find a bar and grab some substantive lunch, and then head back to the church. These […]

Despite drinking at least two liters of water – and several Oranginas – I was suffering from heat exhaustion. I spent quite a while in the coolness of the Église Saint-Côme-et-Saint-Damien. In addition to a relief from the outside temperatures, there was just something about the quality of light in the church that was mesmerizing. Normally I’m not a fan […]

After stopping for a bite to eat, Loïc, Irene, and I visited the Église Saint-Côme-et-Saint-Damien – the church with the twisty steeple. There we cooled down – outside it was more than 90° F (32° C) – and prayed. This Gothic church was initially built as a castle chapel in the 14th century, becoming became a parish church about a […]

Let’s take a moment to examine this Camino sign in the village of Saint-Côme-d’Olt. The symbols in the upper corners are the traditional drinking gourd of the pilgrim and the snail with its shell, perhaps a symbol of the pilgrims themselves with their slow pace and backpack. The shell is of course a symbol of Saint James and of the […]

Having outpaced Luca and Selene (and their dog Lili), I caught up with their daughter Maria, who was walking with a couple who had been my roommates the previous night. Loïc and Irene are from Spain. Loïc owns a bar in Valencia, and Irene is an engineer. Together we walked into most beautiful village in France. More about that twisty […]

The Italians and I walked steadily over a variety of road surfaces and generally downwards towards today’s destination: the pretty little village of Saint-Côme-d’Olt. At one point we inexplicably had to climb uphill. The land transitioned into scattered woodland and pasture and finally full forest again as we resumed our descent into the valley of the Lot River. When we […]

As the Camino wound its way down into the valley of the Lot River, I walked with the Italian family I’d had dinner with last night. Luca is a cardiac surgeon, and his wife Selene speaks English with a Midwest accent. Their college-aged daughter Maria is studying hospitality and has nearly perfect English. They are walking with their little white […]

For today’s feast of Saint James, our photo is a shelter in the tiny village of Lestrade. With three walls and a roof, it contains some coffee and juice and snacks for pilgrims, as well as a stamp for the pilgrim passport. It was a lovely spot to stop and rest a moment. I ran into an Italian family from […]

The Via Podiensis follows a French hiking route designated GR-65. It’s (usually) well-marked with a red and white blaze. It often follows other local routes resulting in a series of blazes. Here’s an example. The yellow blaze is commonly used to indicate a local route, so you see those everywhere. I’m not sure what route the green blaze indicates. In […]

After climbing a seemingly everlasting rocky incline, the Camino turned onto a little one lane blacktop. Although the air temperature was still relatively cool in the early morning, the asphalt seemed to be radiating heat from the day before. Soon I was walking through pastureland, and pastures mean cows! This was a particularly handsome example. I took a LOT of […]