Author: Thom

Before leaving the village of Golinhac, I wanted to take a photo of the exterior of the church. This involved a little backtracking to find a decent view. Just after I took this photo, the church bells began chiming noon. They sounded mournful in the overcast and gloomy weather. In addition to the church, you can see the little café […]

When visiting any church on Camino, it’s always worthwhile to look up. This little cupola in the church of Saint Martin de Golinhac is, weirdly, above the main entrance. Normally, you see these sorts of things above the crossing or even above the apse of older churches. Perhaps somewhere in the past centuries, the church was turned around. I love […]

This is the altar in the little village church of Saint Martin de Golinhac. It’s clearly old. Does it date back to days when this was a priory church in the High Middle Ages? Or is it older still, perhaps dating to the foundation of the church in the 10th century? The pedestal was obviously replaced at some point, as […]

After grabbing a quick lunch at the local bar – a hearty and delicious ham and cheese sandwich with the local beer – I stopped by the village church. Although it’s clearly been restored and renovated many times over the centuries, at its core is a simple 10th-century Romanesque beauty. It became a priory church no later than the 12th […]

Although not as common in France as in Spain (I blame the Revolution), these roadside crosses were ubiquitous in the Medieval and early Modern eras. They were used as everything from boundary markers to meeting places to places of judicial summons to roadside shrines. This particular example is a 21st century copy of the 15th century original, which is now […]

Shortly after taking my leave of the unexpected horse, I passed by this wall of birdhouses on my way to the village center. Not just a birdhouse, a bird housing community! A bird village! Bird apartments! Anyway, I think it’s a lovely idea. For the record, I don’t remember seeing any actual birds here, but perhaps they were all out […]

I did not expect the Camino path to run through somebody’s backyard, but that’s exactly what happened as I approached the village of Golinhac. This horse was just hanging out there, and he didn’t seem particularly surprised to see me. Just after stopping to say hello and take a couple of photos, I continued through the backyard, past the garage, […]

The Camino winds its way all through Europe, with a myriad of routes eventually coming together into the four great branches in France from Paris, Vézelay, Le Puy, and Arles, as well as the routes throughout the Iberian Peninsula. Whatever route you walk, the kind of path you’re on constantly changes. One minute, it’s an asphalt road; the next, it’s […]

The tiny village of Fonteilles came and went without a café. In fact, the route actually bypassed the village entirely! I only saw two pilgrims this morning, and one of them was walking in the other direction, towards Estaing. On the other hand, I did see a fair number of cattle. Meanwhile, the Camino had gone from a constant climb […]