Only a few minutes on the computer so this will be a quick update. Walked 23 km yesterday and 28 km today. I am 22.5 km from Burgos and 522 km from Santiago. My flight departs Madrid early on the 25th so I need to reach Santiago no later than the 23rd of June. That way I can attend the pilgrim mass on the 24th - where the announce the starting points and nationalities of all the pilgrims who arrived the previous day - and then catch a train to Madrid.
Today is Memorial Day and I knew I would be walking past a memorial for the spanish civil war. So, at the town before I got a diet-coke to carry with me. I remembered the memorial from last time but I think new plaques have been added. they explain that the memorial is to honor the 300 republicans who were killed there by franco´s supporters in the early months of the spanish civil war in 1936. I drank my diet coke and had some minutes of silent reflection about those 300 who had been shot dead on the spot because of their political believes. I also thought of my own family members and friends who have served in the US military in WWII and subsequent actions.
So I hope everyone had a chance to spend some time in refelction today. And I hope that all of you are well.
I wish you could be here to enjoy this experience with me. Every day is full of adventures and decisions to be made. Last time I had insisted that Julien and Kim and I stay at the monastery at San Juan de Ortega because it would be a true pilgrim experience. It was also the coldest, dampest and most miserable night of the 2006 Camino! This time we passed by San Juan de Ortega although we did confirm that the beds still sagged and that everything was still damp in the albergue in the monastery. Five years ago we couldn´t wait to get to the next village four km away the next morning where we consumed the best and warmest cafe con leche and tortilla (spanish not mexican) you can imagine. That town was Ages where I am staying tonight.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Friday, May 27, 2011
May 27 in Najera, La Rioja, Spain
Made it to Najera yesterday and today is a rest day - my first in three weeks and only my second since leaving Moissac the day after Easter. I am in a hotel room with two German friends that I first met at the gite at Hunto (5 km out of St Jean Pied de Port).
This morning I bought new socks and Capri pants. I also visited the Najera Museum. I made it to the post office before they closed for the day (at 230 pm) and mailed my long pants, rain chaps, gators and a few other items back to the US. Unfortunately it only removed a kilo from my pack.
Later this afternoon I will visit the Monasterio de Santa Maria de Real when it reopens after siesta.
It took me less than four hours to walk the 17 km from Navarrete to Najera yesterday. Yesterday afternoon my friends and I took the bus to San Millan de Cogolla to visit the monasteries at Susa (from the Latin word for upper) and Yusa (from the Latin word for lower). San Millam lived in the 6th and 7th centuries in caves that were the foundation for the much older monastery at Susa. Codexes from Susa are the source of the earliest known writings in the Spanish and Basque languages dating back to the 900s.
Tomorrow it is back to walking for me. It had been unbearably hot up until Wednesday night when it finally rained. Yesterday was overcast and cool and today is the same.
In Estella an older pilgrim from Nebraska shared a story and a benediction that I want to share with you.
First the story. Before leaving for the Camino family and friends had written messages for her to read on the Way. The message from her son was particularly meaningful and she kept it in her pocket. Unfortunately somewhere along the Way it fell out of her pocket. Days later a young man from Canada approached her and asked if she had a son named Collin. Yes! How did you know? He explained that he had found a paper with a message from Collin to his mother. He thought it was so beautiful that he wanted to return it. So, he had been asking all the English speaking women if they had a son named Collin.
The benediction.
1. Blessed are you pilgrim, if you discover that the "Camino" opens your eyes to what is not seen.
2. Blessed are you pilgrim, if what concerns you most is not to arrive, as to arrive with others.
3. Blessed are you pilgrim, when you contemplate the "Camino" and discover it is full of names and dawn.
4. Blessed are you pilgrim, because you have discovered that the authentic "Camino" begins when it is completed.
5. Blessed are you pilgrim, if your knapsack is empty of things and your heart does not know where to hang up so many feelings and emotions.
6. Blessed are you pilgrim, if you discover that one step back to help another is more valuable than a hundred forward without seeing what is at your side.
7. Blessed are you pilgrim, when you don't have words to give thanks for everything that surprises you at every twist and turn on the way.
8. Blessed are you pilgrim, if you search for the truth and make the "Camino" a life and of your life a "way" in search of the one who is the Way, the Truth and the Life.
9. Blessed are you pilgrim, if on the way you meet yourself and you gift yourself with time, without rushing, so as not to disregard the image in your heart.
10. Blessed are you pilgrim, if you discover that the "Camino" holds a lot of silence; and the silence of prayer; and the prayer of meeting with the Father who is waiting for you.
This morning I bought new socks and Capri pants. I also visited the Najera Museum. I made it to the post office before they closed for the day (at 230 pm) and mailed my long pants, rain chaps, gators and a few other items back to the US. Unfortunately it only removed a kilo from my pack.
Later this afternoon I will visit the Monasterio de Santa Maria de Real when it reopens after siesta.
It took me less than four hours to walk the 17 km from Navarrete to Najera yesterday. Yesterday afternoon my friends and I took the bus to San Millan de Cogolla to visit the monasteries at Susa (from the Latin word for upper) and Yusa (from the Latin word for lower). San Millam lived in the 6th and 7th centuries in caves that were the foundation for the much older monastery at Susa. Codexes from Susa are the source of the earliest known writings in the Spanish and Basque languages dating back to the 900s.
Tomorrow it is back to walking for me. It had been unbearably hot up until Wednesday night when it finally rained. Yesterday was overcast and cool and today is the same.
In Estella an older pilgrim from Nebraska shared a story and a benediction that I want to share with you.
First the story. Before leaving for the Camino family and friends had written messages for her to read on the Way. The message from her son was particularly meaningful and she kept it in her pocket. Unfortunately somewhere along the Way it fell out of her pocket. Days later a young man from Canada approached her and asked if she had a son named Collin. Yes! How did you know? He explained that he had found a paper with a message from Collin to his mother. He thought it was so beautiful that he wanted to return it. So, he had been asking all the English speaking women if they had a son named Collin.
The benediction.
1. Blessed are you pilgrim, if you discover that the "Camino" opens your eyes to what is not seen.
2. Blessed are you pilgrim, if what concerns you most is not to arrive, as to arrive with others.
3. Blessed are you pilgrim, when you contemplate the "Camino" and discover it is full of names and dawn.
4. Blessed are you pilgrim, because you have discovered that the authentic "Camino" begins when it is completed.
5. Blessed are you pilgrim, if your knapsack is empty of things and your heart does not know where to hang up so many feelings and emotions.
6. Blessed are you pilgrim, if you discover that one step back to help another is more valuable than a hundred forward without seeing what is at your side.
7. Blessed are you pilgrim, when you don't have words to give thanks for everything that surprises you at every twist and turn on the way.
8. Blessed are you pilgrim, if you search for the truth and make the "Camino" a life and of your life a "way" in search of the one who is the Way, the Truth and the Life.
9. Blessed are you pilgrim, if on the way you meet yourself and you gift yourself with time, without rushing, so as not to disregard the image in your heart.
10. Blessed are you pilgrim, if you discover that the "Camino" holds a lot of silence; and the silence of prayer; and the prayer of meeting with the Father who is waiting for you.
Friday, May 20, 2011
may 20 from uterga in navarra (basque country)
i only have a few minutes of time so this will be quick. i continue to have a wonderful time. i am slowly adjusting to the masses of people and am embracing the new experience. dinner at the albergue (hostel) tonight was wonderful. not only was the food great but the company was great. there were five germans, two koreans and me at my table.
last night i was in pamplona. a friend and i decided to forego the 100 plus person albergue Jesus y Maria and went with a recommended pension. we had to laugh. it was better in the sense that there were just two of us in the room instead of 100 but it was pretty dodgy. we went out to try the famous tapas. the first bar we went to we didn´t know what to do. we were sitting next to two spanish men who were obviously pilgrims by the way they were dressed. i asked (in my best spanish) if they could please help us and they were wonderful. i held my own in spanish with them although one of the men was very fluent in english. they explained that all the tapas in all the bars will be excellent and you just go up to the counter and look in the cases to see what looks good. he did recommend a particular tapa from a particular bar so we went there and it was good.
tomorrow i am not sure how far i will walk. i thought i would make puente la reina today but we had a late start this morning and called it a day at uterga. for anyone else interested in walking this stretch i would highly recommend the albergue camino del perdon. the dorm isn´t great but at least there are only 16 of us. the dinner was wonderful though.
one other thing before i run out of time - i have run into two groups of american university students. it has been wonderful to watch these ´kids´on their amazing camino adventure.
all for now!
last night i was in pamplona. a friend and i decided to forego the 100 plus person albergue Jesus y Maria and went with a recommended pension. we had to laugh. it was better in the sense that there were just two of us in the room instead of 100 but it was pretty dodgy. we went out to try the famous tapas. the first bar we went to we didn´t know what to do. we were sitting next to two spanish men who were obviously pilgrims by the way they were dressed. i asked (in my best spanish) if they could please help us and they were wonderful. i held my own in spanish with them although one of the men was very fluent in english. they explained that all the tapas in all the bars will be excellent and you just go up to the counter and look in the cases to see what looks good. he did recommend a particular tapa from a particular bar so we went there and it was good.
tomorrow i am not sure how far i will walk. i thought i would make puente la reina today but we had a late start this morning and called it a day at uterga. for anyone else interested in walking this stretch i would highly recommend the albergue camino del perdon. the dorm isn´t great but at least there are only 16 of us. the dinner was wonderful though.
one other thing before i run out of time - i have run into two groups of american university students. it has been wonderful to watch these ´kids´on their amazing camino adventure.
all for now!
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
May 18 from Zubiri in Spain
Walked 22 km from Roncesvalles to Zubiri. The time went by quickly because it was generally a gentle downhill walk and I spent much of the time chatting with a German woman from the gite in Hunto.
I am having to adjust to the Camino with its rush of people vs the intimacy of the Chemin/GR 65 in France. If I got a good night's sleep it would help. Last night was my third bad night in a row. The snoring wasn't too bad. Rather, my bunk was right by the men's toilet. There were 70 people on our floor. Everytime someone went in or out of the men's bathroom they let the door slam. Lights went out at 10 pm but there were still men talking loudly in the bathroom past that time. No doubt they chose to have their conversations there because it wouldn't bother anyone. Then starting at 4:30am people were up and slamming the bathroom door in preparation for an early start in the day.
There were 210 pilgrims in our hostel/albergue. Latecomers went into overflow in the old albergue. A German woman from Hunto (different fro the one I walked and chatted with today) said there were about 100 people in the overflow albergue.
All these people are now heading towards Santiago. The day before there were probably another 300 and tomorrow there will be another 300.
My albergue in Zubiri only has room for 24 and the municipal albergue in Zubiri has room for 52.
So there could be times when it is difficult to find a place to stay and you will then have to continue to the next town which might already be full.
I don't mean to be negative. I am just explaining the complications you face on the Camino Francea which we did not have to worry about (too much) in France.
I am having to adjust to the Camino with its rush of people vs the intimacy of the Chemin/GR 65 in France. If I got a good night's sleep it would help. Last night was my third bad night in a row. The snoring wasn't too bad. Rather, my bunk was right by the men's toilet. There were 70 people on our floor. Everytime someone went in or out of the men's bathroom they let the door slam. Lights went out at 10 pm but there were still men talking loudly in the bathroom past that time. No doubt they chose to have their conversations there because it wouldn't bother anyone. Then starting at 4:30am people were up and slamming the bathroom door in preparation for an early start in the day.
There were 210 pilgrims in our hostel/albergue. Latecomers went into overflow in the old albergue. A German woman from Hunto (different fro the one I walked and chatted with today) said there were about 100 people in the overflow albergue.
All these people are now heading towards Santiago. The day before there were probably another 300 and tomorrow there will be another 300.
My albergue in Zubiri only has room for 24 and the municipal albergue in Zubiri has room for 52.
So there could be times when it is difficult to find a place to stay and you will then have to continue to the next town which might already be full.
I don't mean to be negative. I am just explaining the complications you face on the Camino Francea which we did not have to worry about (too much) in France.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
may 17 from roncesvalles - in spain at last!!!!!
I am dealing with a Spanish keyboard now but I think I was able to switch the keys to English. There still won´t be any spell check but at least I can punctuate.
So here I am in Spain. It was a gorgeous day for the walk across the Pyrenees. I arrived in St. Jean Pied de Port on Sunday in the rain. I wanted to stop in St. Jean because I thought there would be a pilgrim´s mass - which there wasn´t. I also wanted to mail some things back to the USA and had to wait until Monday morning to do this. So, instead of starting bright and early Monday morning for Spain I ran errands in St. Jean and then hiked 5 km (the steepest 5 km) up to the gite-hostel at Hunto. That gave me a 5 km head start for today. Instead of 27 km up and over I only had to walk 22 km.
The hostel at the abbey at Roncesvalles is massive. I´m not sure how it works but there are two sections. One is for pilgrims only and it houses 100 people. The other section is the youth hostel (bicyclists can stay here) and it houses 60 people.
So the last two nights I had very little sleep because of the snoring going on around me. Last night there were six of us in the room: three men and three women. It was so bad it was almost funny. It was like a chorus except they weren´t quite on the same beat. I had my cell phone on for the alarm so I finally recorded some of the snoring as a voice memo.
I have no idea what tonight will be like. If it is another bad night of snoring I may stay in a hotel tomorrow night just so I can get some sleep. A Belgian woman that I met at the gite lÉscargot in Uhart-Mixe and who has ended up in the same gites for the past four nights got a private room last night because the snoring was so bad in St. Jean.
There are so many stories to tell about the gites where I have stayed and the people I have met I don´t even know where to begin. And, I only have 16 minutes left on the computer.
So I´ll just start with my plans for this evening. Some of you may know that today is my birthday and I can think of no better way to celebrate than to have walked from France to Spain on the Camino on this gorgeous day. Nevertheless there is still the matter of dinner. You can eat dinner at a local restaurant at either 7 or 9. The hostel (albergue in Spain) closes-locks up-lights out at 10 pm. There is a pilgrim mass at 8 pm. So, I am going to dinner at 7 pm. The pilgrim mass here is supposed to be pretty cool. They call you up by country of origin. I´ll let you know if it is as impressive as I have heard.
Weeks ago I sent my sleeping bag home because I was too hot. All the gites in France (except one) had blankets. Here at the abbey in Roncesvalles they do not have blankets. I will now see if my grand idea of using my poncho as a blanket (that´s a plastic rain poncho not a wool Mexican poncho) was such a good idea or not.
I haven´t decided where I will stop tomorrow. The number of pilgrims massed in one spot is a bit daunting and I´m not sure what it will mean for a place to stay tomorrow. Oh well. I have my poncho so I will be fine.
The Chemin-GR65 in France had an international element but it was predominantly French. All of a sudden there are people from all over the world including a number of Americans. The young woman sitting next to me in the internet room at the hostel-albergue is a student at U. of Michigan. In St. Jean I ran inot a group of college students from PA who were walking the Camino for school.
Well, time is up so I will end for now.
Thursday, May 12, 2011
may 12 from maison bellevue near aroue in the pyrenees-atlantiques
so, this is me on my own now! and once again writing on a french keyboard. gitte's tendinitis in one foot and arthritis in the other made it impossible for her to continue walking even after a few more days of rest. i set off on my own from navarrenx this morning. chris and gitte headed to st jean pied de port by taxi with the idea of spending a few days there and then bussing to bilbao for a ferry back to england. turns out they could only catch a bus to bilbao today so they quickly checked out of their gite/hostel and ran/hobbled to the bus.
and so one adventure comes to a close and another begins.
i should also note that five years ago tomorrow kim, mathias, annick and i all reached santiago. kim and i had started together and mathias and annick were friends from germany and quebec we met along the way.
chris and gitte were people that kim and i kept running into last time too. thanks to their encouragement to start from le puy and their linguistic support and simply general friendship i have had an amazing 1 1/2 months in france.
on my own. yikes. i was pretty nervous realizing how much better more than one pair of eyes is when it comes to spotting the trail markers. suddenly it was all down to me!
i am happy to report that i did not get lost once. i covered 17 km in five hours and ten minutes. i was going to stop for lunch about three km before my gite but the "bridge with seats" mentioned in the guidebook that would have made a nice resting spot never appeared and suddenly i was at the turn off for the gite.
to get to maison bellevue you walk 500 meters down a lovely shaded path until you reach a big farm gate. there were two pages of instructions but they were all in french. i gathered that i should go through the gate and make sure it was closed again. i could see what could be the gite off to the left. the cows were to the right. the sign said something about droit which i think means right. putting it all together i followed the edge of the field heading left towards the house and then cutting across to the right as i got close to the house. this may have been what the two pages said to do because the house was the right place.
i am now approximately 44 km from st jean pied de port. due to the spacing of available gites i will arrive in st jean on sunday the 15th of may. if weather is good i will take the route napolean across the pyrenees to spain. if it is not good i will take the lower route.
rain was predicted for today. thankfully the mqssive thunderstorm hit around midnight last night. while it was overcast and (welcomingly) cool today there was no rain.
lunch for me consisted of bread i had brought from navarrenx and half a tin of basque style pork pate that i picked up from the producer himself. the way passes right by the business and the owner has put up a nice pilgrim shelter with picnic tables and there is some product for sale. when i approached the shelter a man came out of the warehouse and asked if i needed any water. he made change for me and i bought a couple of pork pate tins.
dinner will be interesting. the gite owners are taking some of us to a nearby restaurant.
tomorrow i head to uhart-mixe where i will stay at the gite d'etape l'escargot. (it comes highly recommended by portuguese jose - a portuguese character walking from santiago to rome - who we met a few days back in arthez-de-bearn. but that story will have to wait for another time)
and so the adventure continues!
and so one adventure comes to a close and another begins.
i should also note that five years ago tomorrow kim, mathias, annick and i all reached santiago. kim and i had started together and mathias and annick were friends from germany and quebec we met along the way.
chris and gitte were people that kim and i kept running into last time too. thanks to their encouragement to start from le puy and their linguistic support and simply general friendship i have had an amazing 1 1/2 months in france.
on my own. yikes. i was pretty nervous realizing how much better more than one pair of eyes is when it comes to spotting the trail markers. suddenly it was all down to me!
i am happy to report that i did not get lost once. i covered 17 km in five hours and ten minutes. i was going to stop for lunch about three km before my gite but the "bridge with seats" mentioned in the guidebook that would have made a nice resting spot never appeared and suddenly i was at the turn off for the gite.
to get to maison bellevue you walk 500 meters down a lovely shaded path until you reach a big farm gate. there were two pages of instructions but they were all in french. i gathered that i should go through the gate and make sure it was closed again. i could see what could be the gite off to the left. the cows were to the right. the sign said something about droit which i think means right. putting it all together i followed the edge of the field heading left towards the house and then cutting across to the right as i got close to the house. this may have been what the two pages said to do because the house was the right place.
i am now approximately 44 km from st jean pied de port. due to the spacing of available gites i will arrive in st jean on sunday the 15th of may. if weather is good i will take the route napolean across the pyrenees to spain. if it is not good i will take the lower route.
rain was predicted for today. thankfully the mqssive thunderstorm hit around midnight last night. while it was overcast and (welcomingly) cool today there was no rain.
lunch for me consisted of bread i had brought from navarrenx and half a tin of basque style pork pate that i picked up from the producer himself. the way passes right by the business and the owner has put up a nice pilgrim shelter with picnic tables and there is some product for sale. when i approached the shelter a man came out of the warehouse and asked if i needed any water. he made change for me and i bought a couple of pork pate tins.
dinner will be interesting. the gite owners are taking some of us to a nearby restaurant.
tomorrow i head to uhart-mixe where i will stay at the gite d'etape l'escargot. (it comes highly recommended by portuguese jose - a portuguese character walking from santiago to rome - who we met a few days back in arthez-de-bearn. but that story will have to wait for another time)
and so the adventure continues!
Thursday, May 5, 2011
may 5 from aire-sur-l'adour
i am using a french keyboard again so will be typing in lower case and will probably have a number of typos. such is the life of a 21st century pilgrim. this is our second day in aire-sur-l'adour which is in the department of landes so we are no longer in gers. we are staying in a very interesting hotel which has an eight bed dorm for pilgrims at 13 euros a night including breakfast. even if i could post photos they would not convey what a funky place this is. our dorm is on the second floor. the two toilets are on the half landings below and above our floor. the stairs slope badly but then so do the landings so once again a photo would not be able to convey the feeling. somehow it all works.
yesterday a young canadian couple was once again in the dorm with us. they have gone on ahead but i will probably catch up with them again. we first met them in conques.
a french mother and middle aged daughter were also with us but they headed back to their respective homes this morning. one of the things i have enjoyed seeing is the number of parents and child/ren walkers we have encountered. even the younger children seem to be genuinely enjoying themselves.
well, yesterday i mailed my down sleeping bag back to the u.s. about a week ago i had purchased a cotton bag liner and that, in combination with the blankets in the hostels, has been enough to keep me warm. the liner was quite narrow so today i bought some cotton material and took it to a seamstress who sewed me a new liner.
i do not think i have mentioned previously the problem of bedbugs that has swept along the camino (chemin in france). so far we have not encountered any but we have a spray that is supposed to keep them away. at each new hostel/gite we spray the beds, the blankets and the floor around our beds. weekly we spray our liners and packs. this is another reason i am glad to be sending my down sleeping bag home.
well, my half hour on the hotel's computer is up so i will end for now. thanks to all who are commenting (robin i do not have your email address so can you give it to me?). feel free to email and text me with any news or stories. i can receive text messages for free but sending texts costs money. and sooner or later i will find another computer or a free wifi spot so i can check emails and post another update.
yesterday a young canadian couple was once again in the dorm with us. they have gone on ahead but i will probably catch up with them again. we first met them in conques.
a french mother and middle aged daughter were also with us but they headed back to their respective homes this morning. one of the things i have enjoyed seeing is the number of parents and child/ren walkers we have encountered. even the younger children seem to be genuinely enjoying themselves.
well, yesterday i mailed my down sleeping bag back to the u.s. about a week ago i had purchased a cotton bag liner and that, in combination with the blankets in the hostels, has been enough to keep me warm. the liner was quite narrow so today i bought some cotton material and took it to a seamstress who sewed me a new liner.
i do not think i have mentioned previously the problem of bedbugs that has swept along the camino (chemin in france). so far we have not encountered any but we have a spray that is supposed to keep them away. at each new hostel/gite we spray the beds, the blankets and the floor around our beds. weekly we spray our liners and packs. this is another reason i am glad to be sending my down sleeping bag home.
well, my half hour on the hotel's computer is up so i will end for now. thanks to all who are commenting (robin i do not have your email address so can you give it to me?). feel free to email and text me with any news or stories. i can receive text messages for free but sending texts costs money. and sooner or later i will find another computer or a free wifi spot so i can check emails and post another update.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
May 1, 2011 from Eauze
I have found a free wifi spot in the square near the church so am sending this quick update via my cell phone. As always please pardon any typos. We are in Eauze in the department of Gers. It was the Roman capital of the local province so the history of this town can be dated back at least 2000 years. It looks like there is a nice museum but unfortunately it is closed today. Most of the town is closed. You might excuse it because today is May 1st and it is a Sunday (May 1st is a big holiday in France and Spain.) I think it is because there is a huge bingo (lotto) game being held at the convention center a couple of blocks from the big church. I looked in and the place was packed.
The weather continues to be warm and mostly sunny. Today we thankfully walked through lots of wooded area so we were fairly well shaded. I realized that I was hearing the constant buzzing of bees overhead. There are some trees Chris believes are ash that are in full bloom with wonderfully fragrant white flowers that are attracting the bees. Other flowers are in bloom. Towns today and yesterday had lots of blooming irises. A few days ago we were in towns that were all ablaze with roses. We are also starting to walk through more and more vineyards.
My new favorite town is La Romieu which was indeed ablaze in roses. From La Romieu we walked to Condom (not a typo) and last night we were in Montreal du Gers.
All these towns are at least medieval with Romanesque churches and/or cathedrals.
We have stayed in some interesting hostels (gites) and have met some interesting people. Many people are planning to walk all the way to Santiago. Others are walking for one or two weeks a year. Most people are French. Others are Swiss, Belgian, and German. There have also been a few Canadians. Right Now I cannot remember meeting any other Americans.
Well it is dinner time so I will end for now.
The weather continues to be warm and mostly sunny. Today we thankfully walked through lots of wooded area so we were fairly well shaded. I realized that I was hearing the constant buzzing of bees overhead. There are some trees Chris believes are ash that are in full bloom with wonderfully fragrant white flowers that are attracting the bees. Other flowers are in bloom. Towns today and yesterday had lots of blooming irises. A few days ago we were in towns that were all ablaze with roses. We are also starting to walk through more and more vineyards.
My new favorite town is La Romieu which was indeed ablaze in roses. From La Romieu we walked to Condom (not a typo) and last night we were in Montreal du Gers.
All these towns are at least medieval with Romanesque churches and/or cathedrals.
We have stayed in some interesting hostels (gites) and have met some interesting people. Many people are planning to walk all the way to Santiago. Others are walking for one or two weeks a year. Most people are French. Others are Swiss, Belgian, and German. There have also been a few Canadians. Right Now I cannot remember meeting any other Americans.
Well it is dinner time so I will end for now.
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