Pilgrims on the Way

After passing through a small village (or possibly a large farmstead), I arrived at the little church of Trédou just as the bell rang out noon. Marten, one of my roommates last night, and Nina were eating their lunch on a picnic table outside. Two Bavarians had found each other! It turns out their hometowns are only about an hour’s drive […]

The Camino turned onto a rough dirt and stone road through open pasture land before eventually dwindling as usual to a narrow dirt path through trees and brush. This path, which soon acquired ruined stone walls to either side, trended increasingly downwards. There’s something of the romance of færie in these places. Date: 25 August 2023 Place: between Le Briffoul […]

After roadwalking along the ridge, I passed through the little village of Le Briffoul, which I described in my journal at the time as “a charming little village with beautiful old stone houses and one extremely ugly concrete cinderblock barn.” Fortunately, you can’t see the barn in this photo. Sadly, no café. Date: 25 August 2023 Place: Le Briffoul, Aveyron […]

After Bessuéjouls, the Camino was a lovely stone and wood chip path that climbed steeply into the woods, a hill every bit as challenging as the one earlier this morning. In parts, there were stairs. And in other parts, there should have been. It was definitely warmer now, and the humid air was stifling. In occasional clearings, I could see […]

I stopped in the only café in the village of Bessuéjouls for a quick pick-me-up. It was about 10:30 in the morning, and the temperature outside was already oppressive. In these days of walking through the French heatwave, Orangina came to my rescue again and again. As I was relaxing in the café just after I snapped this photo, Nina […]

Just beyond the Église Saint-Pierre de Bessuéjouls, I came upon this ragged pilgrim. There are any number of statues and pieces of art along the various Camino routes. Many depict a pilgrim in traditional medieval pilgrim garb. Of course, this is identical to how Saint James is often depicted, so there is inevitably some confusion. This particular pilgrim is made of […]

Each of the pillars in the hidden chapel are different, particularly their capitals. The designs range from Biblical or angelic figures to knotwork to plant life to grotesque creatures. They very much brought to mind Hannah’s Canticle from the first Book of Samuel, from which Ken Follett took the title of his famous book. I took many photos here, which […]

I passed through a narrow little door – so narrow that I scraped a hole in my backpack’s rain cover – and climbed up a winding and impossibly steep set of stairs. Finally, I came to the treasure of the Église Saint-Pierre de Bessuéjouls. This purely Romanesque chapel is located halfway up the church bell tower. It’s an amazing place. […]

The cramped sanctuary of the Église Saint-Pierre de Bessuéjouls features a 17th-18th century altar and retablos. It is, perhaps, not high art, but it is workmanlike and beautiful in its own way. Certainly the little church is well cared for, and clearly still in service, with clean linens and the Eucharist reserved in the tabernacle. But there is a hidden […]

Bessuéjouis is a tiny village. When walking the Camino, the first real sight of it is this church, the Église Saint-Pierre de Bessuéjouls, which lies somewhat outside of the village proper. Although this church has been restored several times, the core of the building seems to date to as early as the 10th century. While the approaching view is pretty […]