Walking the Camino de Santiago
Domaine du Sauvage sits in the middle of Gévaudan, a remote region only sparsely inhabited until the 19th century. I left there about 5:45 in the morning in the dark, with the full panoply of the Milky Way visible overhead. Even today it seems isolated, and I can well imagine the terror that the beast would have inflicted amongst the […]
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Today was a story of unexpected grace and of seizing opportunities. Last night I had dinner with several French pilgrims, and we discussed the logistics of today’s walk. Specifically, we talked about how to best beat the heat while also dealing with the fact that there is very little in the way of support today. We learned that one of […]
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Woke up early, much to my surprise, but it meant that I was packed and ready to go in plenty of time to pray lauds before breakfast began at 6:45. Had my first communal breakfast at a gîte and learned some things. In France (or, perhaps, in this region of France) at breakfast coffee comes in bowls. I heartily approve […]
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Last night’s dinner in the seminary refectory was my first real chance to sit down and talk with French pilgrims. Well, I say “talk” but we probably only had fifty words in common between two languages and the six of us. None of them are going to be on the trail for more than two weeks, and some for considerably […]
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I slept like a rock. After a breakfast of black coffee and fresh bread in the refectory, my first stop was the cathedral. There I gave thanks for having safely arrived in Le Puy, prayed lauds, and then the morning Mass. It was celebrated simply but beautifully, and since we sang the Latin Mass parts I could sing along. The […]
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Today the Lord saw fit to begin my pilgrimage with an exercise in humility, patience, and trust. As I write this I am on an air-conditioned train racing the sunset to Le Puy. I flew standby from Heathrow to Lyon, arriving approximately six hours after I had intended. It was a near thing: I didn’t know I was going to […]
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Yesterday I received the traditional pilgrim blessing at my parish of Saint Patrick from our pastor Rev. David Mulholland on the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This was the first time I received this blessing from the same person twice, which probably says quite a lot about the number of parish transitions we’ve been through over […]
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Tomorrow I leave for France to begin my “long Camino”. This time, I am walking the route known as the Via Podiensis from Le Puy-en-Velay all the way to Santiago de Compostela, a distance of nearly a thousand miles. In a few weeks, Francine will fly to Spain with our friend Becky to begin serving as an hospitalera for two […]
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Kit for the Via Podiensis We’ve come to that part of the pre-Camino countdown where for every two or three items I’m checking off my list, I seem to be adding one more. Today my very last piece of kit arrived – a new windbreaker/rain shell to replace my old one. The new one is about a third the weight […]
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It is said that no plan survives contact with the enemy. To this I would add that no plan survives contact with the Camino. Nevertheless, and with some sense of trepidation, I offer here my plan for my “long Camino”. This is a total of 65 days walking (plus a scheduled Zero day in Burgos). Some days are short/half days. […]
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