Author: Thom

The fans of Asterix and Obelix will immediately recognize the name on these stables, though it does puzzle me that this name is featured so prominently on an ostensibly Christian pilgrimage route. For the record, Bélénos is a Celtic god associated with both medicine and the fine arts. Date: 18 August 2023 Place: between Montbonnet and Saint-Privat-d’Allier, Haute-Loire Département, Region […]

After a final uphill slog, I arrived in the village of Montbonnet. There were plenty of gîtes here, so I can see why many of the guides suggest staying here. However, with just 7-ish kilometers to Saint-Privat, it made more sense to me to have the longer first day. Also, day two was looking to be a doozy, so even […]

Just before the village of Montbonnet, I spent some time in the little Chapelle Saint Roche. This was both to recover from the heat of the day and also to pray for the intentions of my Camino. Although it’s been restored countless times over the centuries, the basic structure of the chapel dates to the late 12th century. It was […]

Just before the village of Montbonnet – which many people choose as the stop of their first stage – we come to a lovely little chapel. Dedicated to Saint Roche, this place was a shady oasis on a blisteringly hot day. There were a lovely group of third order Dominicans ministering to the pilgrims here and re-supplying them with water. […]

After second breakfast in Saint-Christophe-sur-Dolaison, I walked on through several little villages with similar names but extremely different personalities. The Way was still trending uphill, and it was, if anything, steeper. Some of these villages consisted of no more than three to five buildings, all of which appeared to be residences. At some point just before Liac, there was a […]

This altar to the Immaculate Heart of Mary may be found in the charming village church of Saint-Christophe-sur-Dolaison. I’m not entirely sure why folks have brought other Marian statues and laid them upon the gradines of the altar, but I found it touching. Date: 18 August 2023 Place: Saint-Christophe-sur-Dolaison, Haute-Loire Département, Region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France Maps!

I found these beautiful processional crosses in the first church I stopped to pray in – the village church of Saint-Christophe-sur-Dolaison. It seems appropriate that the first stop on this Camino is to visit the church of Saint Christopher, the patron saint of travelers. It’s a cozy little church, so I may post one or two other photos of it […]

Sometimes people ask me what the biggest differences are between walking a pilgrimage in France versus walking a pilgrimage in Spain. This is certainly one of the biggest differences. Along the Le Puy route – at least for the first few weeks – you will often find public rest rooms. This is most certainly not the case in Spain, where […]

About an hour into my pilgrimage walk, I found this little lady. She was face down in the gravel road. There were no human habitations nearby, and I had no idea who might have dropped her or when. I picked her up, and she stayed in my fanny pack (that’s bum bag to the rest of the world) for the […]

The road from Le Puy was mostly gravel, and – though you can’t see it in this photo – there were quite a few pilgrims walking the Way. It was quite steep coming out of town, but it did eventually flatten out. The terrain to each side featured scrubby farms and pasture land. Although I didn’t see any cows at […]