Month: May 2014

05.14 Friday
After dinner salad nicoise sort of, we finish the 5l cubi of Herault rouge ( not bad really 7people 2nights) and wander round LePuy in occassional drizzle and crawl off to bed. The forcast for tomorrow is not great but we set off in lowish cloud without rain. Up out of LePuy , soon we are above the level of the puys and out on very well signed footpaths. There are a good number of information boards in English as well as French, the GR65 here may well be the most walked in France by many nationalities and even on a Friday in May there are a good number of people on the route. We are traversing the largest basaltic plateau in France and the soil after the rocks are removed supports fields of green lentils with their own AOC status. Most of the rocks are in the walls and a few make shepperd huts called chibouts. Unfortunately none of these are large enough for 7 people and lunch is in intermittant rain in the doubtfull shelter of a tumble down wall. In more clement conditions the views over the plateau would be great. In worse it could well become a nightmare. Along the route are many stone crosses and shortly before our destination in Montbonnet we come across a great little chapel dedicated to St Roque our saint for the journey patron of pilgrims and plague victims.
The intermittent rain continues borne on a cold north wind but by 1400 we arive at our Gite for the night at the Bar St Jaques. This is a stunning barn converstion which at 32euro for evening meal breakfast and bed is a pretty good bargain, tomorrow we shall be in tents again.

Safe arrival here yesterday evening after a relatively uneventful journey (only a couple of near misses of trains and buses!). The rain that was forecast has held off so far and we have spent a restful day admiring the very picturesque town. The serious walking starts tomorrow.

1.04.14 Thursday.
Today is a day to regroup and collect ourselves and to visit Le Puy. Not forgeting to obtain our credentiale or Pilgrim Passport and a stamp from the cathedral. As a major centre on the Camino, Le Puy has embedded scallop shells in brass in the streets showing the way out of town. We go round the cathedral and climb up the Puy Still Micheal as well as lunch involving the green lentils of Le Puy. A lot of buildings in Le zPuy sre old and built with volcanic stone of one sort or another and streets are cobbled with large eroded rocks of different shades of grey. The rain forcast all week fails to happen except fpr a few drops now and again and we lounge on the campsite in the afternoon discussing who is carrying what.
Tomorrow we start our Camino proper.

30.04.14 Wednesday Tim.
Many thanks to Jane’ sister Phillipa and Andy her husband for a comfortable nights lodging and a lift to Ebbsfleet International station in the morning. This was not out of the way for Andy, he is a HS1 train driver and recenty moved job to Ebbsfleet.
We check through security, similar but less restrictive than airport and have breakfast before boarding the 8am Eurostar for Paris. The chunnel is not very exciting, but the train is fairly full and gets us to Gare de Nord with plenty of time for the metro across Paris and a beer and shopping for lunch. The TGV hurtles across the French countryside and smoothly deposites us in St Etienne. On the way we meet up with Ray, Ann and Geof. The plan is going too smoothly something must go wrong.
Nothing did except for the line from St Etienne to Le Puy being a bus service for 7months while they replace the non standard gauge line. The camp site was open and very pleasant under the Puys with there lit up statues. And we managed enough shopping to cope with tomorrow May Holiday.
And so to bed