Walking the Camino de Santiago
The abbey church of Saint-Sauveur has a long and troubled history. The abbey was founded in 838 by King Pepin I of Aquitaine at the request of the Abbey of Sainte-Foy of Conques. The two abbeys were independent but had a common abbot. The monks of Figeac could not stand this authority of the Abbey of Conques, and they were […]
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Figeac is an ancient settlement; that much is clear. Exactly when this area was first settled is a bit of a mystery. Evidence of humans here dates as far back as the Middle Neolithic. The Gauls had settlements in the area, if not exactly on this site. A Roman road crossed the river here, but evidence for permanent habitation is […]
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Nina and I might have had some challenges making our way through the city of Figeac. As you can see by the red and white blaze on the post, we are definitely on the route. The challenge was finding Nina’s gîte, where I hoped to stay as well. In the background on the right, you can see the glorious Church […]
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On our walk in the city of Figeac, we passed this staircase on the side of a house. It was so delightful that I stopped to take a photo. Nina had a bed reserved, but I had not reserved anything. We decided to head to her gîte first to see if there were any openings. Date: 29 August 2023 Place: […]
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It was a beautiful day for a walk, and the kilometers flew by. The terrain and walking surfaces were very similar to the morning, although one bit of downhill roadwalking was steep enough that I questioned its suitability for motor vehicles. At about 2:15, Nina and I caught our first view of today’s destination: the city of Figeac. Date: 29 August […]
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As Nina and I walked on, we were met by these two fuzzy pilgrims, who were apparently walking the Camino backward. Perhaps they were heading home after a long adventure. They said not a word to us as they passed, though I did greet them with a bon chemin. This is probably one of my favourite Camino critter photos of […]
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As Nina and I chatted, the kilometers flew by. Almost before I knew it, we were in the village of Saint-Jean-Mirabel. Here, we found a plinth in the middle of the road with this larger-than-life-sized statue of Saint Joan of Arc. Just around the corner, there was another piece of public art, a giant red bicycle. It looked about the […]
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I first met Nina on the 25th, about four days before we took this selfie after our picnic lunch from the food truck behind the church. We ran into each other several times over those days, and even stayed at the same gîte. I would end up walking with her for most of this afternoon. Nina and I had some […]
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At about noon, I arrived in the village of Saint-Félix. Here in 1944 the Nazis massacred many of the civilians of the town – on one occasion using howitzers – because of a suspected Maquis cell in the village. When I visited the church I discovered that while Saint Felix is depicted, the church is actually dedicated to Sainte-Radegonde. I ran […]
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That morning the Camino passed cornfields, meadows, large irrigation ponds, and some small villages. Sometimes, though, this was my view. It very much reminded me of the walks that Francine and I take through Point Defiance Park in Tacoma. After the steep hills of earlier in the day, this was pleasant and easy. Date: 29 August 2023 Place: between Montredon […]
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