Cahors to Montcuq

We walked 34 km that's 21.5 miles we also went up 552 m and down 404 m

We left Cahors in damp and overcast conditions. We had hoped to stop for bread at a patisserie we had spotted last night. Unfortunately it was closed. So we plodded on hoping to find another one before we left town. But none were open! We left town by the turreted Pont Valentre, and then we went up steeply to the Croix de Magne, a iron cross over looking the town, where we could see views of where we had come from yesterday and the bridges on which we had entered and left.



Our way took us slowly up hill, passing the gite of St Martin, which had a sign saying that there were no shops in any of the forthcoming villages but said they sold bread, I popped in and was offered a coffee and bread was provided, for a donation in their donation box, an establishment very much in the spirit of the camino.

We left in good spirits on a big dipper of a road through pine forests eventually rising to a ridge which we walked along for the next couple of hours.

We were at last out of the Causse and new vistas were opening up, large rolling down land interspersed with trees and slopes of grapes for the local Cahors wine.

We decided to stop for chocolate and morning prayer and the heavens decided to open, and it chucked it down in bucket loads. We donned cagoules and carried on for the next hour when we spotted a picnic site with a shelter where we stopped for our lunch.

Before leaving we got out over trousers as well and thus suitably equipped set out again. The rain continued and continued, and we carried on, our path took us over chalk uplands, which reminded me a bit of the Somme when we where there last year. As the mud stuck to our boots making them heavier and heavier I thought about those soldiers in the constant mud of the Somme and how awful it must have been. Eventually our path took us to a road, tarmac previously hated was now looked on as a blessing, as it was mud free!!

We eventually made it to our gite in Montcuq which was a welcome sight. It was at the Gite we met our first Englishman, walking the camino. He was from Oxford, and was walking with a Swiss German who is doing the walk prior to National Service. They are walking the route in double quick time having left Le Puy six days after us!

As we were talking to them over a beer, a French lady we had met previously on the trail with her husband and a friend came in and greeted us like long lost friends. The friend had left them in Cahors as he had to go back to work in Paris, an so she and her husband sat down with us and the Englishman and Swiss German man for supper. A great conversation ensued even though two and a half of us could not speak any but our own languages.


On the Camino in France

Poudally to Cahors - Saturday 19th September

Le marquers sur la portes:- we walked 19.5 km or 12.2 miles. Over the day we went up 277 m and down 315 m.

After a wonderful meal we then spent an hour on the Internet, catching up on our mail etc. We then decided to go to bed, our roommates, a couple in their late seventies who we had seen on previous days on the camino,were up reading. (earlier in the evening when fellow guests had asked if they were touring the area they received a most short and offended answer of no we are on the Compostella!). After good nights we turned the lights of and as all was silence and dark I felt there was no need for precautions and so went to bed. at about 2:30 I was awakened by an erupting volcano, it was missure, producing the a series of crescendo snores. The ear plugs went in and I slept like a log until gone 7 am.

After breakfast we bade Poudally a fond farewell and started on our way. The weather wa a bit overcast but soon warmed up, the terrain was still the Causse and after nearly three days we were a bit fed up with and longed for a change of scenery.
About an our into the walk we came across a group of Austrians; with vehicle support whom we had met before, they had just been dropped off and were walking on the wrong side of the road to rest of us, this caused major problems with cars as they swerved to avoid the Austrians and headed straight for us, the problem was more exacerbated when we caught up with five of the six Canadian women (the sixth one having decided to travel with the baggage car on account of her bad feet).

At eleven we stopped for Chocolate and morning prayer and shortly after the heavens opened and we cowered under a tree until the worst was over, we then started walking again gradually going upward all the time and at last leaving the Causse as we emerged onto a ridge, by then the sun had come out and so we were able to shed our rain gear. We then started looking out for Cahors which was suddenly spread out before us, surrounded by the upturned U of the river Lot. Following a steep descent we entered the town crossing the Louis Philepe bridge, the first building we came to was an official welcome for pilgrims with Coffee, biscuits, pilgrim stamps and maps and information about the town, in return for our vital statistics, about where we came from, where we were going, our start and hoped for end etc.


Following the map so helpfully provided we then headed for the town's Youth Hostel, where we were staying, we were shown into a twin room; that also had its own loo, basin and bidet. (not things you would get in your average British youth hostel room!). However, because of its location etc. my hunch is that the hostel in in an old seminary; hence the posh rooms.


After showers and washing, we headed for the town, and after a walk looking at many of the fine buildings an a visit to the Cathedral for evening prayer, we stumbled upon a fantastic indoor market, were there were stalls selling proper veg with soil on it and veg of odd (non-supermarket) shapes and sizes, there were stalls selling Cheeses of all sorts of hues and colours and I would guess ripeness and smelliness! There were purveyors of fine meats both raw and cooked along with pre-made meals (French style of course) and wine including a litre bottle for 260€ I could have spent hours there and if I had had a car to bring it home, spent a fortune. It was in some ways a super Larners food hall.

Seeing all this culinary delight made us hungry and so we went looking for food, we pith agreed a break from French cuisine would be nice and so we plumped for a pizza!

If the spelling etc. is worse than usual its because I am using a French Keyboard which has all the keys in the wrong place.

From the Camino in France

Limogne-en-Query to Poudally (Mas de Vers)

Friday 18th September
Today we walked 23.7 km or 14.7 miles
The GPS says we went up 245 m and down 365m (however, the weather conditions will have affected the altimeter as it works on barometric pressure.)

When our room mates said goodnight to us at about 8 pm last night, our hearts sunk, was this going to be another of those 6:30 wake ups, or was it going to be even earlier?

I didn't have a fantastic nights sleep as I was worried about snoring so kept on waking up to make sure I wasn't! After 1 am I gave up worrying and decided to get some real sleep, regardless of the consequences. I woke up at 6 and looked at my watch, and thought I would get another half hour before the others started to get up, at 7:10 when Lesley's alarm went off and they still didn't stir I wondered are they both alive? All was revealed when they were about to go and told us they had finished their walk for this year.

Looking out of the window we saw that it had rained in the night, but now the sun was shinning brightly, just as we were about to leave the heavens opened and the rain came down in buckets. So as we only had a relatively short distance to go we decided to wait until the deluge had abated. We set out dressed in our rain gear but after we had stopped at the bakery, the sun had come out and we packed our rain gear away.

The walking was very similar to yesterday as we are still walking across the Causse, a couple of times in the morning the rain started, we got out our rain gear, and within five minutes we were sweltering and had to take them off again.

We stopped for lunch in the village of Bach but after we had finished we had to dive into the Church to avoid a three minute shower and lots of rolls of thunder. For the rest of the afternoon, we kept just in front of the storm, only donning our rain gear for the last hour.

On the way we bumped into three of the Canadians one had very painful feet and so was taking in slowly. By the time we got to Poudally the heavens had opened and the storm was raging about us with lightening as well as thunder, autumn has now come to this corner of France with a bang!

After a shower and change of clothes we felt a lot better, Poudally is an old farm that has been renovated by it hardworking young owners, who in the rooms have successfully mixed the old with the new.


We went outside to check our phone for texts to discover my iPod had safely arrived in England and had been revived from the dead, but with the loss of all my data, as it had suffered a major crash, Nick our family techno wiz, is going to reload what he can and then post it back. We therefore had to work out where we would be in a weeks time, to give it time to get here. Hopefully we will be reunited with the iPod in Condom in a weeks time.

Our hosts cooked us a lovely three course meal of soup, duck and pudding, and we and our fellow guests sat around talking over coffee (well they all talked in quick fire French and we tried to pick up as much as we could). The conversation ended with a long discussion about bed bugs, their detection and elimination, they are a particular problem on this route because of the number of pilgrims and walkers. We had already heard of one place that had been closed for 24 hours while a cleaning squad went in. Our host blamed the gites communal, as they weren't in her opinion as thorough in their cleaning as someone like her. I'm sure it psychosomatic but since the conversation I have been itching.

On the Camino in France

An easier day - Cajarc to Limogne-en-Quercy

Totals for today:- We walked 11.8 miles or 18.9 km and over the day we climbed 365 m and dropped down 350 m

After our longer walk yesterday, and also because of where the reasonable priced accommodation lies, we had decided on an easier day to Limogne-de-Query.

Last night when we went to bed at about 10 pm it was to a darkened dorm, all our French (and 1 Belgium) room mates having gone to bed about 9 pm. Again we had a bright emergency light, so out came the eye mask and earplugs.

At about 11:30 the silence was shattered by some crescendo of snoring (it starts quietly and ends in an ear splitting fanfare). After 10 minutes of gentle prodding Lesley managed to wake me up, tell me I was keeping the rest of the dorm awake, and get some sleep herself.

Our roommates got their revenge! At 6:30 an alarm on a phone went off, and for the next half hour or so all we heard was the rustle, rustle of rucksacks being packed. I pretended to be asleep so they didn't know they had won.

We got up at about 7.30, picked up the usual pain au chocolat (or as Lesley loves to call it Choc au pain - to the confusion of the assistants) for breakfast and bread for lunch, and headed for the cafe with free wi-fi access for a cup of coffee and to post yesterday's blog.

We then set off, and for once the trail was kind with the first 2 or 3 km on flat or gently rising ground, walking through fields of sweetcorn and past orchards of Walnut trees. We then gradually began to climb up onto the "causse" a limestone plateau. In fact it was the same sort of terrain that we had walked on yesterday, with the stunted oaks, beginning to show their autumn colours, but now it had a name! The sun came out and we had a great walk.


Before hitting the causse, we had stopped for a comfort break and been overtaken by a group of about 25+ Germans. Not wanting to be stuck behind them on narrow tracks, we power walked past them.

About ten minutes later we heard voices ahead and noticed bright floral hats. I said to Lesley "it's the Canadians" we had met the three Canadian women in Noailhac, and spoken to them more fully in Decazeville when we had an Orangina break. We then seen them again in Figeac when they had shouted to us from a bar. We had expected to see them yesterday but hadn't seen them.

When we saw them today they had multiplied into six as three other friends had joined them, we said we had expected to see them yesterday and they explained how they had got lost and at five pm a friendly native had called them a taxi to get them to Cajarc. We warned them about the large group following us and so they all set off again.

About an hour later we stopped for water and a break, followed closely on our heals by the Germans who we discovered had full vehicle support from a luxury coach, (surely they won't get as many years off from purgatory as us who carry everything? - that is if you believe going on pilgrimage is about gaining brownie points in heaven!) Which does seem a bit like cheating to us.

As we only had a short way to stopped for a leisurely lunch and got into Limogne at about 3:30. As the gite had a well equip ed kitchen we decided to cook and so bought supplies at the local shop and cooked pasta with pesto, finishing the evening with a game of Scrabble.

On the Camino in France

Figeac - Cajac - Wednesday 16th Sept.

Scores on the doors:- 21.6 miles or 34.8 KM we went up 553m and down 639m

Because we had a long way to go today we started out early, (this was because of a dearth of accommodation after Figeac) so we decided to grab breakfast on the way when we picked up bread for lunch. We left about 8am and the morning was cool and misty.

As usual we had to ascend out of town following a tarmac road which soon became a forest track. Out of the mist loomed a gigantic concrete cross, part of a memorial to 145 people deported from Figeac by the Germans on 12th May 1945. A very moving monument (material for a remembrance Sunday perhaps?)

We carried on up the road and perhaps half an hour later, we passed through our first taste of industrial France, walking through an industrial estate. This was soon replaced by open country. Our guide book said we would have wonderful views over the Lot valley, but all we saw was mist!


Again we were moving into different terrain, we were now in sheep and goat country, and we passed two farms selling their own goat and sheep's cheese.

By lunch we had covered over 20 km and had our lunch on the village green at Grealou.

In the afternoon the scenery had changed again we were now getting onto a Limestone plateau covered in small stunted oak trees turning brown with the Autumn. Where the trees had been cleared they were growing grapes, our first of the trip.

Soon our destination was set out before us, down at the bottom a natural bowl.


We descended down into Cajarc and found our accommodation for the night at the local Gite Communal where a bed for the night in a communal dorm cost us €8.20 each (the cheapest night of the trip so far).

As I was hanging out the washing I got into conversation with a couple from Manchester who are staying in their caravan nearby they were the first people from the UK we had spoken to in over two weeks!

We then went in search of food and discovered a free wi-fi access point outside a closed cafe, so were able to post our material so far, and will stop by in the morning to post this.

On the camino in France

Figeac - A Day of Rest.

We decided that after twelve days of walking it was time to have a complete day of rest. So we had booked for two nights here at the Hotel Toulouse, last night half board and tonight bed only.

We had hoped for a decent lie in, but hadn't counted on fellow pilgrims in other rooms starting out early with much banging of doors etc. But in fact we still probably got a good eight or nine hours sleep. After breakfast we headed into town an bought up a chemists, with various pills and potions for our ailments. We then headed for an Internet cafe. We had been given an address by tourist information and it turned out to be the local college, where anyone for a fee could access the Internet. We explained we needed to download photos so they dug out a laptop for us with the necessary slot for our camera's memory card.

Two hours later we had caught up on our E-mails, downloaded our photos and uploaded some to our blogs. So do look back at some of the older postings as they now have pictures and more will be added when wi-fi access permits.

We then went for lunch, bumping onto our two Australian friends, Lesley had an amazing salad and I went for the dish of the day, Pork with Puy Lentils. They were both superb.

Refreshed we set about sorting out the problems of yesterday. Our first port of call an opticians who fixed my glasses for free, and then a call to the GB to our family IT expert. The iPod is now winging it's way back to England to hopefully be fixed and then if successful will come back. We also sent home the first two maps of the path walked so far in a bid to reduce weight even by a little bit.

Chores out of the way we went on a walking tour of the town which cost us 20c for a leaflet, there is much to see in Figeac and we would recommend it to anyone.

My problems of yesterday were put firmly in perspective when we went for a beer in one of the many cafes. At the table next to us were the lady I had sat next to at dinner in Conques and the friend she was walking with, who was on crutches, and in a lot of pain with what looked like a very nasty sprained ankle.

For that lady her Camino was over but her friend was planing to carry on by herself.

This evening we a very pleasant meal in a bar, before packing for a quick getaway tomorrow.

From on the Camino in France

Livinhac-le-Haut - Figeac - good walking:- other things went wrong!

Distance covered 28.2 KM or 17.5 miles - ascent of 590 m and descents of 546 m.

The day started with the local Church bell tolling the hour of seven, five minutes later seven bongs chimed again. This is a feature of this whole region of France that the church bells always ring twice, once on the hour and then at about 5 minutes later, which is a very good feature for those with short memories as we get a second stab at knowing what time it is.

We set out and as usual picked up our lunch and again, as usual, left town via a climb up a hill to the lovely village of Montredon, which marked our transition into the Department of Lot and the Diocese of Cahors. At the church of Saint-Michael under a large welcome notice, was a room where we could rest with juice, tea, coffee and a kettle and cakes to help refresh us, and our fellow pilgrims, on our way. They had also left the Church stamp out for us (attached to the wall by a chain), so that we could add their stamp to our collection in our Pilgrim Passports.

We moved on visiting the chapelle de Guirande some 3 km later, which had some 14th century wall paintings.


We carried on up a hill past an old aerodrome when my left calf went funny, the muscles all went stiff and quite painful. We stopped hoping it would pass, and I rubbed Tiger Balm into it. It died down a bit but was with me for the rest of the day.

We passed through a number of villages and hamlets, as usual passing querky French street art, this time a giant bicycle,


and past a gite with a board all about being a pilgrim.


We were expecting a long walk into into Figeac as the book said that after a certain cross roads, it was 9.5km. However, after a long gentle decent of about 2km, we were in the outskirts,and before we knew it, we were at the river and following the signs for the tourist information centre. At the centre Bernard, a very helpful man, booked our hotel for the next two nights, and gave us a map and told us where to find a cyber cafe. Oppersite the tourist information we also found a laundrette which we visited later.

We got to our hotel and, as you know, I discovered my iPod had died. We then went into town to do the laundry which was slightly confusing as everything was operate by a central control panel, but after some very patient help from the lady in the laundrette, we got the laundry done.

We returned to the hotel for our food and headed back to town to send my post on Lesley's iPod, as we had found a hotspot near the laundrette. By that time I had removed my contact lenses and put on my glasses. To read the ipod screen, I had It's taken them off and carefully placed them on the wall. Whilst showing Lesley an e-mail, I sat down straight onto the glasses bending both arms!

At that point I decided that I better go to bed before further disasters befell me.

On the Camino

Why I hate technology!

I am writing this post on Lesley's iPod as mine seems to have crashed! When we got in tonight I recorded the vital statistics for the day in the usual way. About half an hour later when I switched my iPod back on all I got was a picture of a USB cable and the iTunes symbol, and I just can't get away from them.


To add insult to injury at 7 pm it reminded me of a meeting taking place back home, so my data is still all there but I can't get to it. If any of you iPod experts out there can suggest anything let me know. When I am in a better frame of mind (perhaps after a few glasses of red wine). I will write up today's post and try and recreate yesterday's.

A short day to Conques from Senergues

Rough scores on doors:- 9.5 km or 5.9 miles. We went up 31m and down 276 m hitting a high point of 610 m (N.B. These are only rough figures as I forgot to turn the GPS on for the first hour).

After a very comfortable night we set off, again the walk started uphill, but soon it levelled out, the sweetcorn harvest was in full swing, for the second time just for a moment we thought we were in India or perhaps Nepal as we came face to face with a herd of buffalo in a field, obviously kept for their milk for cheese.


We stopped in a wayside church for morning prayer and then started on a steep downhill path to Conques, dropping a couple of hundred metres in about 1km.


We had arrived, we then headed to the Abbey to see if they had a room no rooms were available but we managed to reserve two beds in one of the dormitories but had to report back at 2 to pay and get checked in.


So after a short walk around town where we bumped into a number of old friends from the trip so far and caught up on their news and where they were going next. We had lunch and them reported in. After showers and a change of clothing we went and explored the town had a beer, at 6:30 we attended vespers in the Abbey lead by the three monks who make up the community, (We also discovered that the reason we did not see any nuns at St Come d'Alt was because only one is in her 50's and the rest are over 80, which is all very sad).



Despite the small numbers of monks the service was still very moving, we then went to dinner in the refectory where I had a great conversation with a lady from Britainy who spoke excellent English, and was planing to walk to Ronsavalles in Spain this year and then walk the Spanish leg next year.

Dinner was followed by Compline where all the pilgrims leaving Conques tomorrow were blessed, and we were given a copy of St John's Gospel and an illuminated pilgrims chant, which we had sung before our dinner in the refectory.

The words to it are Ultreia! Ultreia! Et sus eia! Deus adjuva nos!

If any or our readers can provide a translation please do.

Following on from the blessing there was supposed to be an organ recital at 9pm. We sat in the cathedral waiting for it to start and at 9:30 had just about given up hope, when the door of the cathedral opened and we heard a round of applause, and one of the monks walked in followed by a huge crowd.

This was because so many of us were setting off tomorrow, the monks decided to put on a Mass this evening, which delayed the recital. Because their main Sunday Mass is at 11am which is far to late for most pilgrims to go to, as we need to be on the road by 9 - 9:30 at the latest to get a reasonable distance under our belts, as unlike our Medieval predecessors we have deadlines of parishes and jobs to get back to.

And so at 9:40 the recital began, at 10 we decided we had to go as we were both getting tired and we were told they shut the doors early and we didn't want be locked out.

We are in a dorm of 11 beds it about 10:40 and near by is a snorer, I just hope the ear plugs cut him out, night and God Bless.

On the Camino in France

We Have Arrived in Conques

Just to let you all know we have got to Conques and are staying at the Abbey with the monks tonight. Will be going to services and an organ recital later with another pilgrim blessing. Fuller posts on previous days will be posted soon. Love J & L

On the Camino in France

We meet a Good Samaritan - Fonteills to Senergues

The daily totals:- Distance walked 21 KM or 13.1 miles. total ascent 564m decent 588m high point 680 m

We left Fonteilles just after 9am and headed for Golinhac to pick up lunch at the shop, which had shut 10 minutes before we arrived.

Oh well we thought lets go on to Eysperac where we will get a meal in a cafe. So we plodded on, when we arrived we went to the only bar/hotel only to be told they had no food. We ordered oranginas while we had a think, in the bar was a machine selling nuts, we decided anything was better than nothing so I went to get some. As I was fighting the machine, a voice behind me said you have no food? I have a little bit of bread and some cheese would you like it? It was a very nice German Swiss lady who had heard our discussion and came to our rescue, a pair of French ladies then offered us a huge tomato and with the nuts there was plenty to eat.

As we ate we chatted to this Swiss angel of mercy who was staying at the same Gite as us this evening, and we agreed to see each other then.

We eventually arrived at Senergues and had relaxing evening where for once German was the majority language.




These German speakers are tough cookies as we met an Austrian who had started out from his home and another German Swiss lady who had started from hers.

On the Camino in France

The wall, well not quite:- Saint Come d'Olt- Fonteilles

Daily totals:- we walked 18.8 miles or 30.3 km - total ascent 897 m total decent 707 m highest point 667 m

After a leisurely breakfast we set off with the usual stop to buy the stuff for our lunch. We then had a choice of route to the next town of Espallion, either following the GR 65 and going via the statue of The Vierge Notre-Dame de Vermus which entailed quite a steep climb or walking along the side of the river Lot. As we worked out the total distance for the day was 24km we decided to go via the statue of the Virgin,


yes the climb was steep but the views from the top were absolutely stunning looking back over St Come and forward towards Espalion and beyond.


When after a steep decent we got to Espalion the GPS recorded that we had done 2 more km's than the distance mentioned in our guide book. This is a phenomena which has kept on occurring, the book says one distance and the GPS records a higher figure. This is something we keep on forgetting when setting our goals for the next day and consequently we have covered more miles each day than we planned. Hopefully by the time we hit Spain we will take this into account to shorten our days, otherwise we will get to Santiago far to early with bodies in a state of meltdown.

Anyway back to the day:- On the way down from the Virgin I discovered that one of my pockets on my rucksack had come undone and that the ferrules for my walking poles had fallen out. At that point I should have prayed to I think it's either St Jude or St Anthony (a saint who assists when things are lost, (send us a post if you can let me know which one it is)). Instead I just got cross with myself and stomped into Espallion at high speed. I then noticed an outdoor shop and in my best pidgin got some new ones, as I reached for my wallet to pay and the shop keeper tried to find the price I found my lost ferrels. But how do you explain all this to a French shopkeeper in pidgin? Thankfully Lesley as at hand.

Espallion

We carried on our way stopping at the church of St Pierre-de-Bessuejouls one of the oldest churches on our French leg of the trip.


Where we stopped and said morning prayer. We then stopped at a tap for some water and bumped into Jean-Mark who joked about us needing beer and not water. What came next was one of the most vicious uphill stretches we had encountered so far. At the top again we were rewarded with fine views over the country side before our next decent.

In the afternoon we dropped into an arable area, our first since Le Puy, where they were harvesting sweetcorn using one of the strangest machines I have ever seen.

Before long we were walking alongside the Lot again overlooking the wonderful town of Estaing,


where most of the pilgrims we knew were probably stopping, but we had a different game plan so after a quick Oringina, we headed off again, to our final destination at Fonteillis. What we hadn't done was read the book properly! We had 7km of hard walking uphill all the was with one or two very steep sections most of it on tarmac. The wall was there and I nearly hit it, that point where I could go no further. But round a corner we spied our destination a caravan site and gite at the top of a hill. We were shown to a mobili or small mobile home which we shared with Yohanis the German Swiss chap we met last night.

At 7:30 we went to the gite for our meal, and sat around talking over aperitifs while we waited for two other guests who never turned up. Eventually we started and probably had one of the liveliest conversations over a meal so far, as two of the other guests where a young newly married French couple, who work in Finland and spoke excellent English and were happy to translate for us when needed.

On the Camino

Our First 100 Miles - St Chely-d'Aubrac to St Come d'Alt

The daily totals:- we have walked 19.1km or 11.9 miles
And have reached a high point of 913 m, ascending 407m and descending 686 m

This morning after an early breakfast our taxi picked us up at just after eight and whisked us back to St Chely. After a quick visit to the boulangerie we set off. As usual to get out of town we had to go up hill, first crossing a delightful bridge "the pont d'Peleran" or the pilgrims bridge,


very shortly we entered a delightful beach wood of trees probably less than 100 years old. Very different from Burnham Beaches in the UK.

The wood ended and we were in very different terrain, unlike anything we have at home, with deep gorges and rolling hills. Across the deep valley we could see Salgue where we had spent last night, we then entered a wood of chestnut trees and begun a long decent which continued for many KM. At the bottom was a lovely stream where we stopped to paddle. Leaving the wood after a sharp up hill we were into open terrain again before a final steep decent into St Come d'Alt our goal for the night.

We had decided to have a short day and then stay at a local convent, where our Australian friends had stayed last night. As we were early we, arriving about 2pm we went into town to explore and get a drink, at the cafe we went to we bumped into the German family from Heidelburg again, we caught up on their news, reminisced about the Lake District and wished them well for their last couple of days

We then headed up the hill to the convent where we got the best room we have had so far, an opportunity to wash our clothes in a machine, and an excellent meal with red wine, and a vending machine for beer for 1€ a can.


As we were in a convent we asked about the daily offices and was told that vespers would take place in the Chapel at 6:15, so duly at 6:15 we went to the chapel, but where were the nuns?


Two ladies turned up to lead the office but one of those appeared to be part of the lay community who help with the hospitality. And it was all a bit sad rather than the uplifting experience we were expecting.

However, at evening meal time by chance we ended up with the other non French people staying overnight, two German speaking people, one from Switzerland - Johanis, who had walked all the way from his flat in Switzerland, clocking up nearly 1000 km already which makes out 100 miles look a bit paltry. The other was a very nice Austrian who lives Lichtenstein called Sandra, both have given up their jobs to make this trip which for was very humbling for us to hear when I have a sabbatical on full stipend to make this trip.

We ended the evening sitting in the convent grounds talking about life the universe and everything with Sandra and John Mark (a French chap who is also going all the way,) over a beer, which made a great end to an evening that started so poorly.

It was also great to meet and hear about other pilgrims who are on the trip for the long haul to Santiago and even on to Finistsre as well.

On the Camino in France

Appearances Can be Deceptive

Last night when our taxi dropped us off at the Hotel-restaurant Gasc La Tablee at Salgues our hearts sunk. We were happy that we had a room for the night, but the building had peeling paint and the welcome we received seemed a little suspicious despite us having booked.

We were shown to a room with the bounciest bed in the world a patches of wallpaper touched up with paint. As we were only paying for the room the same as we paid at the gite yesterday plus another 16 € for our evening meal and breakfast, we were prepared to accept our lot. How wrong we were!

After the usual session of showers and laundry we went to the church to say evening prayer (sadly it was locked) so we sat in the sun and said our prayers and watched a lizard climb up the church wall.

We returned to the hotel and had a drink before our meal while we blogged, happily discovering that there was free wi-fi access (a rare commodity so far on our trip) and so were able to post on both blogs.

Our host beckoned us into the dining room where a gastronomic treat ensued.

The meal started with a salad of chick peas with beetroot, tomato & lettuce drenched in a fantastic French dressing. And we ordered a very fine local Rose to wash it down.

Then our host brought in a large slice of quiche for each of us which was even better (by a very, very slim whisker) than my sister-in-law Liz, who I had always thought made the best quiche in the world.

We both commented that with new potatoes and some green beans or salad it would have been a fantastic meal. At that stage we expected the cheese course (not Lesley's favourite).

However, what appeared was half a poulet each in delicious gravy with frits and runner beans. The bird was extremely tender and just fell of the bone. By this stage we were in gastronomic heaven, and dived into our phrase books for more and more words of praise to lavish on our host's wife the chef.

Suddenly his grin got wider and wider and words of English escaped his lips, he was a very happy man indeed!

The cheese board arrived with cheeses that even Lesley found acceptable! (skinner family take note). This was followed rapidly by a lovely chocolate moose.

The meal wad so good that I decided to have an Armagnac, and a coffee. And so I ordered a cafe au lait and an Armagnac, no no said our host you can't have a cafe au lait with an Armagnac it's got to be a cafe noir! I reminded him that I was English and couldn't cope with French cafe noir to much laughter from both of us. the coffee and Armagnac duly arrived and were the icing on the cake of a fantastic meal.

In future particularly were eating is concerned in France I will try to remember that all that glitters is not gold, and that the real pearls beyond price can be hidden behind the most unlikely exterior.

And if you are ever in this part of France do pop onto the Hotel-restaurant Gasc La Tablee at Salgues.


The Village of Salgues from across the valley.

On the Camino in France

Off piste again - Nasbinal to Saint-Chely-d'Aubrac

Today's figures:- total walked 17.9 km or 11.1 miles, total ascent 293 m, total decent 609 m highest point 1369. Travel by taxi 9 km

As we knew we only had a short day today, we did not race to get off but had a leisurely pack and then out to get breakfast of pan de Chocolate, we then decided to book our accommodation for tomorrow night when we will be staying in a Convent.

We then hit the trail again, as usual having to climb out of town and across gorgeous moorland with herds of beautiful Aubrac cattle roaming freely, with many young bulls rather than the bullocks we see at home, again the scenery was very reminiscent of the Dark peak area of Derbyshire.

Just before lunch after visiting the village of Aubrac


we began to descend gently at first

and then more and more steeply down into Saint Chely-d'Aubrac where we arrived just after 3pm. We then popped into the tourist information to get our pilgrim stamps and to get them to arrange a taxi to our Gite, which duly came and delivered us safely and promised to pick us up tomorrow.


On the Camino in France

7th Sept - Aumont-Aubrac to Nasbinals

The scores on the doors:- total walked 27.5km or 17.1 miles. Total ascent 473m total decent 370m highest point 1272m

I woke at 6 and as Lesley was still asleep quietly said morning prayer. Because of the heat of yesterday we had decided to leave earlier than normal to try and get as much distance under our belts before it got hot.

But first it was confession time. Each evening we wash out our socks and smalls and I have been using the tap on the sink to wring things against, unfortunatly last night the tap snaped off. So before we left we confessed to the hotel owner that we had broken the tap, fortunatly for us he just gave a galic shrug and wrote the room number down for his maintenance people. However, I still had visions of being stoped later in the day by the Gendarme on a charge of criminal damage, so my heart beat a little faster when we came into Nasbinal and the first thing I saw was a couple of Gendarme.

We left the hotel and discovered that its Monday and that everything closes rather than on Sunday, but fortunatly there was a small supermarket where we were able to pick up lunch, and also bumped into our French friends and our three Australians friends none of whom we had seen yesterday.

We left Aumont and after crossing railway we came to a motorway where they have built a tunnel which in known localy as the "Saintjacqueduc".

A few km later we passed the tiny chapel Chapelle de Bastide where some French pilgrims were holding an impromptu service and singing "Seak ye first the kingdom of God" in French and we were able to join in with the chorus.

Moving on about a km later an old woman informed us that we were the 32nd pilgrims to pass her that day!

A few km later as we began our ascent up onto the Aubrac plateau the scenery changed again, now it was reminiscent of the white peak area of Derbyshire but on a much larger scale, with vast tracks of moorland seperated by stone walls.

Coming down off the plateau we hit Tarmac again for most of the last 7 km into Nasbinals and so we were very relieved when we got to our gite and were able to kick off our boots and put on our crocs.

After a shower, change and laundry (without broken taps) we visited the Church and said evening prayer, we then headed for the tourist information to discover that all the accomodation at our next destination was fully booked. And tHe next town with accomodation on the trail is 20 km away. After much research and phoning by the man for us he managed to get us a bed in a village 9km off piste.

On meeting the Australians for a beer, we told them the news they decided to skip the stage and get a taxi to the next town, so unfortunatly we might not see them again.

After a meal we headed to bed ready for tommorow.

On the Camino in France

We go to a street party - Sept 6th - Le Faux to Aumont-Aubrac

The statistics:- distance walked 24.6 km or 15.3 miles, total ascent 487m, total decent 554m, highest point 1132m.

We set off just after nine this morning, our first task was to get back onto the GR65 proper (this is the French GR number for the way of St James), as we had gone off piste by about 1km to get to Les Faux.

Because of the altitude the day started off cold with a biting wind an so soon after setting out we were wearing our cagules to keep warm.

Within an hour it was all change as the wind droped and the sun gave off it's full power. Yesterday we had been caught out by the sun and both got mild sunburn, today there wasn't a cloud in the sky and the sun beat down relentlessly. Unfortunatly neither of us has long sleve shirts so we had to improvise sleeve from our Buff neck protectors and our small caribina towels. Which were effective although a bit strange looking.

The countyside today started alpine but changed to being a bit like Northumbria, but still very lovely. We had expected everywhere to be shut as it was Sunday but on entering St Alban found many shops open, perhaps because it was the morning.

Just before lunch we met a German family from Heidelburg who are walking to Cahors a destination for many of our fellow pilgrims. They were taking it easy because they were suffering from "bladders" (blisters), it was nice to have a conversation with someone in somthing more than pidgeon French.

At mid day we popped into one of the many beautiful churches and said the mid day office and it was tempting to stay in the cool interior for the rest of the day.

On our approach to Aumont-Aubrac we heard a accordian being played and turning the corner saw a large gathering of people under large umberellas and Gazebos obviously having a party.

The next we knew they were all becconing us over to join them. They explained that it was their third annual local community party, and that this year they had been blessed with good weather as prevously it had been a bit cold.


They then plied us with slices of cake and I was given a brimming plastic cup of red wine. As it was Mouton Cadet I could hardly refuse, Lesley very sensibly stuck to orange squash. No sooner had I drunk half my wine then it was filled to the brim again. While we were there a half dozen or so other pilgrims went past but no others were invited to the party! The people were very interested in our trip and made us feel very welcome, but after a coffee we made our leave with many goodbyes and wishes of good walking.


On the Camino in France

Stop press 2

If you look below you will find a number of new posts - I have been writing them each day but today is the first time we have had a wi-fi connection to publish them! When we find an Internet cafe we will add some pictures as well, so look out for the next stop press.

On the Camino in France

Stop press

3 great days of walking, have prepared lots of posts but no internet to send hopefully tomorrow. Enjoying it all. Love J and L

On the Camino in France

The natives are friendly, Sept 5th Saugues to Les Faux

The statistics 29.3 km or 18.2 miles. Total ascent 644 m total decent 481 m highest point 1330 m

After a reasonable nights sleep, we got up and headed for breakfast. We followed in a couple we had sat with for our evening meal, who despite the language barrier, had engaged us in conversation and had organised an alternative meal for me as the dish of the day was fish which I am allergic to. This morning this couple, seeing that we would be eating alone, due to a shortage of place settins, moved their plates over to join us, which was a generous gesture to two foreigners with poor French. We wondered if we would have been as generous, and vowed to follow their example in the future.

Following breakfast we packed up treated the first blisters of the trip (suffered by Lesley) put our boots on and headed out of town. As we left Saugues we came across a couple of large pilgrim sculptures, one of a pilgrim with various other pilgrim motifs such as a scallop shell & the other, a life size sculpture of St James.

On approaching the town yesterday, we had passed other sculptures, including one of a local fabled beast. From afar it looked like a crocodile with elephants legs, however, when we saw it up close on a postcard we discovered that it was in fact a wolf like creature.

We left the town, still carrying on our upward ascent. For the first couple of miles we were walking on Tarmac, but then the surface changed to chalk tracks.

The best way to describe the terrain is Alpine, with lots of small meadows where beef cattle and sheep were grazing, and many stacks of split logs are seasoning for the winter fires. Most of the day we travelled uphill except when we encountered a village or hamlet where inevitably there was a steep decent into it before a climb out again.

In many of the villages we saw métier a ferrer les boeufs, which are devices used to hold oxen so they could be shoed prior to working in the fields.

As we were walking nearly 30km we had decided to take a short cut avoiding a loop to a farm called Domaine de Sauvage. However, the route has changed from that described in our guide book, and so we missed our turn. As we settled down to our lunch, our friends from breakfast turned up most concerned that we were where we were, as they knew we planned to take the shorter route. They tried to explain where we were, but our French let us down and we remained in blissful ignorance until they flagged down the passing turbo boys who spoke some English, and a conversation ensued with much arm waving and consulting of guide books. The result was to say that we were better to continue than to go back and anyway the farm at Sauvage was very beautiful and had in fact been recomended to us by friends Sam & Martin. It was quite tempting to stop and ask for a room but Lesley had already booked our bed at Les Faux, and so we carried on.

A mile or so later we came to the rather lovely fountain of St Roch (the patron saint of pilgrims)

and shortly we crossed the border from the department of Haute-Loire into the department of Lozere. We then came to the Chapel of St Roch where an old woman informed us that the chapel was open and that we could get a stamp in our pilgrims pasport. We went into the chapel which was very cool and peaceful, where a small boy, probably the old lady's grandson, was waiting to stamp our passport with the chapel's stamp.

We then carried on our way to Les Faux, where we landed lucky as got our own room in the Gite, in a wing by ourselves with in effect our own bathroom when we were expecting to have to share a room with a number of others. We were eating in the hotel which the Gite was attached and had a fantastic four course meal for only 12€ each.

On the Camino in France

Sept 4th from St Privat to Saugues

The statistics 22.3 km or 13.8 miles. Total ascent 800 m total descent 808 m highest point 1108 m

The alarm went at the slightly more civilised time of 7:15 after a quick shower we headed for the breakfast room and our petit dejeuner, as we ate a leisurely breakfast we watched other pilgrims set out, some like us carrying their packs, while others left their bags for the bag carrying service to pick up (you must decide which are the true pilgrims).

At 9:30 after another detour to the boulangerie we started out straight up hill, today the countryside is very different with alpine pastures and deep gorges. The walking is fantastic with very little tarmac, after about half an hour we reached the lovely church of Rochegude before starting a very steep decent for about 1km into the town of Monistrol d'Allier on the banks of the River Allier.


From Monistrol the guide book rather ominously says it's uphill for the next 32 km and so the uphill started, slowly but surely foot by foot uphill for the rest of the day. It sound awful but intact was really great walking in fantastic scenery with great views, again at 12;30 the tide of human traffic ground to a halt for lunch and a friendly group we had met at the pilgrims meeting in Le Puy enquired if we had lunch or not as they settled down to their repast. We plodded on for another 45 minutes before we stopped for our own picnic.


After lunch the rain started (so much for a sunny September) and it drizzled all the way to Saugues were we arrived at about 3:30, we then found accommodation half board in a gite with our own room which is a bonus.

After a shower and laundry we headed for town and picked up lunch for the next two days in case everything is shut Sunday. We then grabbed a beer and bumped into a trio of Australians two who are traveling to St Jean de Pied Port.

Back then to the gite for supper and bed.


On the Camino in France

Our first day walking

The statistics:- 25.5km or 15.8 miles. Total ascent 576 m total decent 489 m highest point 1215 m

One day late we have started walking, our day started at just after six as we wanted to attend the pilgrims mass at the Cathedral before starting out. I got a good nights sleep but for some reason Lesley did not and it wasn't because our room mates had snored because they didn't! Throughout the mass more and more pilgrims slipped into the cathederal and then as it finished we assembled in front of the statue of St James and recieved the pilgrims blessing, we were then given a pilgrims medal each and had to say our names and where we came from and where we were walking to (which taxed my French to it's limit), it appeared that we were the only English speaking pilgrims on the route, there were many nations represented but all from French speaking nations , Quebeck, Belgium, Switzerland and France. We then went to the sacristy and received our first pilgrims stamp in our credential.


Our trip had now begun in earnest. Down the 200 or so steps from the Cathederal into the town (a quick detour to the boulongerie for our lunch) and then a steep climb out of town.


Our route took us through fields and passing small villages and hamlets, for most of it we were walking on tarmac roads which are not the best surface for the feet. We aimed to pace ourselves And have a stop every hour. As we walked we passes and repassed other pilgrims always greeted with a cheery bonjour and a quick fire blast of French which went streight over our heads.

At 12:30 on the dot the road cleared as the other pilgrims stoped for their dejeuner, a quiet spot was found and the picnics came out. Still being on BST rather than French time we were not ready for lunch so ploughed on streight up hill for another hour. When we stoped the temprature droped and shortly afterward the heavens opened.

We continued on through a small forest and then through a small hamlet where we saw a group of "pilgrims" being given refreshments from their mobile support in a car. We then started downhill on a very steep path into the village of St Privat d'Allier, half way down we were overtaken by a couple of lads we had nicknamed the turbo boys, as previously in the day they had overtaken us at high speed during a rougher section. At last we arived in St Privat at 3pm only to find that the Getes don't open untill 4, the local hotel beconed and we opted for a double room half board at a very reasonable price.

After a shower an a change of clothes, and a laundry session we explored the village, visiting a beautiful church. Where we said evening prayer. We then looked at a photograhic display in the grounds of the church before hunting for a house of the man who held the church's stamp for our credentials. We then headed back to our hotel for a couple of beers as we wrote our blogs in the hope that we would soon find Internet access.

This was followed by a fantastic four course meal and then as Samuel pepys said and so to bed.

On the Camino in France

Day one in France

Because of my accident we had decided to have a rest day in Le Puy before walking, it meant we could stay in a hotel and have a lie in, followed by a leisurely breakfast and then explore the town.

We did just this, packed our bags and headed for the Cathederal which was strait up hill and our bags felt like someone had filled them with bricks in the middle of the night, both of us were sure they hadn't felt as heavy the day before!

We had a walk round and said a prayer and took a photo of the statue of St James, we will be back tommorow to attend the pilgrims mass at 7am and get a blessing. We then headed down hill to the town to organise our lodgings for the night, following a quick visit to the tourist infomation to check our E-mails.

This was to be our first taste of communal sleeping in a Gite d'etape, picked as it was on the route we had to take tommorow, we just hoped the other residents would not snore! So our hearts sunk when the other beds were filled with an elderly German man and an elderly French couple, we expected the worse! But more of that later.

After dumping our bags we headed off to explore, the first place we explored was a Boulangerie, where we picked up our lunch, we then found a park to eat it in. Thus fortified we headed for the church of St Michael d'Aiguilhe a wonderful church perchedoa on a old volcanic plug overlooking the town of Le Puy.

The 280 or so steps up to it were well worth the climb, it's just a pity that you have to pay to visit a house of prayer however unique it is. St Michael's is a special place to visit and the views from the top were spectacular.

After leaving St Michael's we went for a short walk beside the river, before meeting up with the friends of St James in Le Puy who plied with alcohol and despite none of us speaking much of the others language made us welcome. We then had a meal and then to bed, to find out if our room mates would snore.

Lesley says that i am accident prone, which i have always disputed, however, prior to our meal we had decided to take a shower a do some laundery, trying to save time I dived into the shower with my dirty cloths on to give them a good soak before laundering them unfortunatly when I removed my t-shirt I realised I was still wearing my security pouch with my pasport,credit cards & £200 in it, the pouch was soaked but fortunatly the contents were only damp! Perhaps Lesley is right after all.

We have arrived!

As you can see by the headline, we have arived safley in Le Puy en Velay. We had an uneventful flight, as all the best flights are, and landed in Lyon at about 1pm. We then engaged with French bureaucracy at it's best, as the imigration officials slowly, very very slowly checked each and every pasport in minute detail.

Once clear of the airport it was on to a bus for half an hour to the station, where French bureaucracy struck again. We had bought our train tickets on line and being cautious souls we had got tickets for the 4:19 thinking that as in the GB we could get an earlier train. Oh no, we could go on a later one even as late as the 31st October! but never never an earlier one, not even half an hour earlier as we had hoped.

So we had to wait until our train came in - but once it did it ran with an efficiency which would make a clock maker proud. Ariving at each station at exactly the time it said on the time table. Getting into Le Puy at about Ten to Seven. A total of ten hours travel from when we set out this morning.


We then got a room had a quick explore and a bite to eat which of course included Pue lentils! Because of my accident we have decided to delay walking until Thursday to aid recovery. It's just as well as at the moment we are in the middle of a storm with rain sleeting down.

It's great to get some comments so early on into our trip, and to know that friends are Reading our Blogs. Please keep them coming.

Cabin crew prepare for takeoff

We are at Stanstead at the gate and will board shortly.

If we've forgotten anything it's forgotten! Our bags checked in at 7.8 kg each inc walking poles not bad for three months!

I think I can see my bright orange rucksack on the baggage trolley as we look out at our plane.

Disaster

I start this post in the A&E department of Cheltenham district hospital.

Last night returning to our caravan I put my foot in a hole and twisted/wrenched something, I then managed to walk about 1/4 of a mile back to the van. But after a bad night I found it wouldn't take my weight. So we decided a trip to A&E was required to see if anything was broken and if not try and find out what I had don, so here we are waiting to see a Dr.

A couple of minutes after starting this post I was ushered in to see a Triage nurse, then back to the waiting room until a Dr was available. I saw the Dr who was the consultant no less, he poked and prodded my foot about and then decided an X-ray was necessary. The next thing I knew was that the consultant himself was wheeling me to X-ray. The X-ray was duly taken and then back to the consultant and the moment of truth.

Would we be going to the plaster room or would our trip continue? I held my breath, as he gave me the verdict, soft tissue damage, which should clear up in a few days with ice, rest and ibuprofen to bring down the swelling. And crutches to help me get around for the next few days.


I must admit a few tears were shed, tears of relief as much as anything else, and of course grateful thanks to our wonderful NHS who once again have come up trumps when I have damaged myself.

We are on the way - Well nearly

The rucksacks are packed, a trial walk to the Hunny Bell with full gear has been made,

all the cover is in place, the house has been tidied the garden has been spruced up, the last few e-mail's have or need to be sent.

And then the front door wouldn't shut! Some very I'm-vicarly language was heard, a hasty phone call was made, and Tony Tibenham raced out from Norwich to come and mend the door for us. And then my computer crashed, just what I needed!

Despite the setbacks we finaly left home and on our way to Cheltenham and the Greenbelt festival.

Weight (or lack of it) is everything

As I said in my last post we are attempting to keep the weight we have to carry down to the minimum. Along with all the lightweight gear I mentioned before, we have been weighing everything that we intend to take, and then entering it on a spread sheet. As we add to the list I start to panic, it looks like we might need a donkey to carry everything as the total weight gets heavier and heavier.

Years ago I read a packing tip for holidays, which was to put everything you wanted to take on your trip on a bed and then half it, and then half it again. But I have never been particularly good at that, I think it is because for the first 30 years of my life I holidayed in the UK, taking my car, which had a nice big boot and an even bigger back seat, that I could fill with everything I might conceivably have need for my holiday.

So when I started flying it was a chalange to re-educate myself to take just what I needed. Thats all very well with an airline 20kg alowance, but imagaine if you were having to cary that weight on you back for three months.

So radical surgery has been required. With a ruthlessness unusual for me, every unnecessary thing which usually I would take 'just in case' has been dumped. Even so the pile still looks daunting!

Gearing Up

At last most the cover is in place, every Sunday is covered and I am starting to get a list of clergy to cover the other types of service.

All the books and blogs about the Camino, say that you need to keep the weight down to a minimum, especially as you have to carry everything. Some people seemed to have taken this thoroughly to heart, traveling the whole distance on one pair of underpants and one pair of socks, and it appears little else... (Hopefully we won't have to share a refuge with one of them, as we can't afford the weight of cloths pegs for our noses!).

But obviously we need to cut the weight of our gear down as practically as possible. I could bore you with details of the exact make and weight of all our kit, but this would only be relevant if you live in the UK as the products we use might not be available in the States, Australia or the rest of Europe.

What we have got so far is lightweight rucksacks, cagoules and over trousers, lightweight sleeping bags and various other bits of light weight clothing. For the rest of our clothing we are weighing our various walking T Shirts, Trousers etc. to see which are lighter, and will be taking these.

To cut down on chargers, and European conversion plugs etc. we have gone down the route of getting devices that can be charged with a USB lead and then getting a European USB charger.

For books to read and games to amuse us we have gone for an Ipod Touch each with various apps, these should also help us with Blogging and connecting to the Internet, and if we get time, we will scan in various guides, articles and other essential items to cut down on paper and therefore weight. For extra music and data storage, we will also put stuff on our phone memory cards. Anything we have digitised we will also store on our Google or Dropbox accounts so we can access them from Cyber Cafes as well.

Getting fit for the trip

The finding of cover continues slowly but steadily, only four services left to cover!

After working out the practicalities of leaving the parish for three months the next thing to tackle in the way of preparation, is to get our bodies in shape!

Lesley has been a member of our local gym, Pinewood Park Leisure Club at Bodham, since we first moved to Norfolk.

Lesley had been trying to persuade me to start going to the gym as well, but I had always seen it as on a par to having teeth removed without anaesthetic!

About three or four years ago the gym had started to offer Power Walking classes. I decided to give them a try and enjoyed going out into the countryside on a power walk, but was adamant that I would not go into the gym. Sally the instructor then started Nordic Walking classes and I joined these as well.

On starting to read about the Camino, the advice seemed to be, get fit, and keep weight to a minimum, both in your rucksack and on the waistline. So eighteen months ago I thought perhaps its time to try out the dreaded gym and try and loose some of the excess pounds I carry. Sally started me off on a program of lots of cardio activity and then six months later, I was given a new program by Tonya the other Nordic and Power walking instructor and six months later I progressed to my third program.

After 18 months do I like the gym now? Well no, I still think of it a some barbaric form of torture! Have I lost any weight? Again the answer in no, I am still the same weight as I was when I started.

However, on the bright side, I look as though I have lost weight as I have put on muscle and got rid of some of the lard.

I have also been working on strengthening my leg muscles for walking, my shoulders and back for carying a rucksack and my overall level of fitness and stamina. This has been a success and should help me immensely when we start the walk itself. The down side is I now tend to walk a bit to fast which is a problem when leading Brides into Church for a wedding and coffins into Church for a funeral! But my thanks go out to both Sally and Tonya for their support and encouragement in helping me get fit for my Camino.