Author: Thom

As Ávila, Appolina, and I walked through a landscape of meadow and forest, we could hear the lowing of cattle and the clanking of their distinctive bells. But up to this point, we hadn’t seen them in any of the meadows we walked past. We assumed that they were in a meadow beyond the woods to our right, but the […]

For centuries the universally recognized symbol of the pilgrim on their way to Santiago has been the shell. While not every pilgrim carries one on their pack or person, many still do. There are countless places where you can purchase one, but here, several kilometers past Saugues, we see a small stand giving them away – though a donation is […]

The next morning, I left Saugues with a couple of French pilgrims, Ávila and Appolina. We met at the boulangerie before dawn to take on provisions, and then we set out out of town just as the sun was poking up over the hills. Mist filled the valleys, and the view back towards Saugues was incomparable. Date: 20 August 2023 […]

Although I didn’t realize it when I took this photo, virtually every village In France big enough to have a central plaza had a statue like this in the middle of it. They were originally erected in memory of those killed in the First World War. As the wars accumulated, additional plaques with names were often added – here we […]

Well, a keep at any rate. Known as Tour des Anglais (the English Tower) because of its allegiance during the Hundred Years’ War, it is the only remains of what was once an extensive set of walls and fortifications throughout the town. The darker machicolations at the top are black basalt. These days, the tower is used primarily for exhibitions […]

From the folks and signs in the chapel, I learned that the various orders of penitents carry items in their processions. Sometimes these are crosses, sometimes banners, sometimes candles, and sometimes, as here in Saugues, they are… whatever these things are. Date: 19 August 2023 Place: Saugues, Haute-Loire Département, Region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France Maps!

After I visited the church and the museum, I headed over to the other church in Saugues, the Chapel of the White Penitents. While it’s not much on the outside, the inside is another thing entirely. The order of penitents here holds annual processions, most particularly in Holy Week, and they store all of the objects used for these in […]

The legend of the Beast of Gévaudan is a fascinating story, which in this museum is told through the use of creepy and delightfully kitschy animatronic scenes. Between 1764 and 1767, a previously unknown beast terrorized the locals in this remote and rural region of France. More than a hundred people were killed, and dozens injured. Many of those killed […]

The legend of the Beast of Gévaudan casts a long shadow throughout the region, but nowhere moreso than the village of Saugues. Follow the footsteps of the beast through the village, if you dare, to find the local museum dedicated to it. Tomorrow: the legend! Date: 19 August 2023 Place: Saugues, Haute-Loire Département, Region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France Maps!

Within the Église Saint-Médard de Saugues lies the shrine and relics of a local saint, Saint Benildus (1805-1862). He was a teacher with the De La Salle Brothers, and early in his career he taught in schools throughout the region. In 1841, he started the school in Saugues and remained there for twenty years until his death. The locals revered […]