Via Podiensis: Into the Wild Aubrac

Last night’s dinner included a regional specialty called aligot. I can’t decide whether this is cheesy mashed potatoes or potato-y cheese. The consistency is really odd, but it’s awfully good.

Met a couple of new pilgrims including Alex from Sweden who is also walking all the way to Santiago. I also met an Anglican priest from Connecticut named Merrick. He said there were reports of “two preachers walking the Camino today”. It could only have been Steve and me, as Steve is not shy about giving his testimony to anyone who looks vaguely interested.

Normally on this Camino I’ve been identified as “that guy with the umbrella”, so this was new.

This morning I left the gîte a little after 5:30 AM, and then proceeded to get completely lost in the town. The markings for leaving Aumont-Aubrac are not very good, and it was almost half an hour before I was out of town and walking the Camino. Not an auspicious start.

I ran into Alex from Sweden and together we found the Way. It didn’t stop us from walking a dozen or so meters past a turn off and having to backtrack. Next, we went up a short sharp hill, down an alley, and suddenly back on suburban streets.

Eventually, we were on a wide relatively smooth gravel road that ducked under a freeway and then headed out into the countryside

At first it was a mix of woody areas and broad pasture land, with mist clinging to the valleys. And plenty of cows! But this landscape was definitely different from the past few days: fewer trees and more broad open areas

We walked into our first village, La Chaze-de-Peyre, at about 6:50 and I encountered my second locked church on the Camino so far.

And then back to roadwalking. somewhere in the way out of the village, I lost Alex and continued by myself. Just about a kilometer further on as I approached Chapelle de Bastide, I finally saw the sun peeking up over the distant hills. The chapel itself is a charming little building with a statue of our Lady of Salette above the altar.

And now I was walking a narrow gravel path next to a two lane Highway. It wasn’t particularly busy, but the cars when they did come were moving at ridiculous rates of speed. Not fun.

Arrived in Lasbros about 7:25 AM. This appears to be a fairly dispersed village with no discernible center or church. Very much a farming town, the crow of roosters was constant. At this point I was seriously looking for some place to grab breakfast, but the town’s only café wasn’t open yet, so I continued down the highway and then soon turned off onto a country road of asphalt, thickly coated in cow patties.

According to my map, the next village was about an hour away, but it wasn’t clear weather the Camino actually went through the town or not. Spoiler alert: it did not.

The route I was walking got rougher and hillier, with the cow patties becoming fewer and fewer. Eventually the road just sort of disintegrated into gravel, and then dirt. I don’t mind. I find it much more comfortable to walk on dirt roads than paved surfaces.

The Way wended its way through farm, pasture, and woodland, going up and down hills but generally tending upwards.

At some point, the way became a narrow dirt path through scrubland. So narrow, in fact, it wasn’t even possible to use my hiking poles without snagging them on something.

And then, suddenly, the landscape opened up into wide fields and gently rolling hills, covered in grass. Welcome to the Aubrac plateau! It wasn’t even 9 o’clock yet, and here I was getting out the the umbrella and the rest of the sun protection gear.

The tracker claimed I was 14.6 km into the day, so already more than halfway. Since the promised cafés had failed to materialize, for the first time on this trip I dipped into my emergency granola supplies.

Reached Finieyrols about 9:40. Absolutely nothing here except for residences and a couple of gîtes – and one very dodgy public restroom. Supposedly, there’s a café here, but if so, they’ve done a very good job of hiding it.

I very much regret my decision this morning to leave before the boulangerie opened. I looked at the guidebook, and there were plenty of cafés listed along the Way, but I didn’t reckon that none of them would be open. I won’t make that mistake again.

But now, there was nothing for it but to push on to my destination and eat a particularly large lunch.

I had resigned myself to this fate, when much to my surprise I found a little outdoor café right at the entrance to the village of Rieutort-d’Aubrac. 

I fortified myself with bread, cheese, and Orangina and had a brief reunion with Alex before he pushed on. Also ran into Delphiné from Brittany, who I first met several days ago. It was just before 11 o’clock, and the temperature was already 81°.

I ended up sitting there for half hour before setting out again. It was just so nice to sit in the shade sipping an Orangina.

But eventually, it was back to walking, this time again next to an asphalt road across some of the wildest looking country I’ve ever seen.

The way alternated between asphalt blacktop and rough gravel roads right up to my destination: the town of Nasbinals. It was almost exactly 1PM and 90°. 

I found my gîte easily enough, but they didn’t open until 3:30. So I walked around the corner to the church of Sainte-Marie. I sat and cooled off in the medieval stone church, my only prayer being a jumbled torrent of thanks – thanks that I’d made it, thanks for cool stone churches, thanks for unexpected snack bars…

I headed back to my gîte, which doubles as a hotel and a restaurant, and ran into Alex. He bought me a beer (because “I find it helpful when people owe me beers”) and we chatted about our past Camino adventures.

I’ve now finally checked into the gîte and laid in some supplies just in case.

The next two days are supposed to be even hotter, but fortunately I had already planned on taking short 17 km days tomorrow and the next. And despite my best efforts, I have a pretty awful looking sunburn on part of my arm near the elbow. Popped into the pharmacy and they gave me some gel for it.

Date: 22 August 2023

Place: Nasbinals 

Today started: Aumont-Aubrac

Today’s Photos!