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.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
april 20 from corbarieu near montaubon (near moissac)
unfortunately i am once again using a french computer with french keyboard configuration. so please continue to overlook spelling and other errors.
we have been enjoying a week at marie-helene's house at corbarieu near montaubon. it is all fairly close to moissac from whence we will begin walking again on monday. on saturday we will go back to being pilgrims. marie-helene will drop us off in moissac and we will go back to hostel living. we will also be able to attend the easter service at the beautiful cathedral there.
if all goes well chris and gitte will join me until st jean pied de port which is on the french side of the border with spain. we are planning on it taking us three weeks to get there. this will give me over a month to get to santiago de campostela.
marie-helene has been treating us like royalty. she puts together the most amazing meals with simple ingredients. i takes photos of almost every meal and gitte is scribbling down recipes. i suppose it helps that so much produce is readily accessible here. a couple of days ago m-h and i walked to a local farmer and got fresh lettuce, oinions and radishes. on the walk there we were picking the fresh shoots of viney plants. yesterday the first course of our dinner consisted of a soup puree of the green tops of the fresh onions and the radish greens. who knew you could eat those things? the greens we picked on the way to the farm featured in the second course. so simple and so delicious.
i will end for now but hope to continue the update before we head to moissac.
we have been enjoying a week at marie-helene's house at corbarieu near montaubon. it is all fairly close to moissac from whence we will begin walking again on monday. on saturday we will go back to being pilgrims. marie-helene will drop us off in moissac and we will go back to hostel living. we will also be able to attend the easter service at the beautiful cathedral there.
if all goes well chris and gitte will join me until st jean pied de port which is on the french side of the border with spain. we are planning on it taking us three weeks to get there. this will give me over a month to get to santiago de campostela.
marie-helene has been treating us like royalty. she puts together the most amazing meals with simple ingredients. i takes photos of almost every meal and gitte is scribbling down recipes. i suppose it helps that so much produce is readily accessible here. a couple of days ago m-h and i walked to a local farmer and got fresh lettuce, oinions and radishes. on the walk there we were picking the fresh shoots of viney plants. yesterday the first course of our dinner consisted of a soup puree of the green tops of the fresh onions and the radish greens. who knew you could eat those things? the greens we picked on the way to the farm featured in the second course. so simple and so delicious.
i will end for now but hope to continue the update before we head to moissac.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
April 16 Still in Conques but heading to Marie-Helene's for a week
It's not that I completely wimped out about walking on my own. In fact, yesterday I walked ahead for 8.5 km and then back and felt much more confident. However, after talking with Chris and Gitte I decided to accompany them to Marie-Helene's place for the week. We are waiting for a taxi that will take us to the next town with train access and travel by train to Moissac (205 km from Conques on foot). Marie-Helene will pick us up and drop us back off in Moissac next Saturday. If Chris and Gitte are ready to start walking again great. If not, I will continue on my own. I have mixed feelings about not staying true to the trail - missing 200 km of it. But, I will be happy to come back and complete it another time with anyone else interested in walking with me!
Meanwhile, I have the opportunity to see another part of France for a week. I might even be able to figure out how to upload some photos.
Meanwhile, I have the opportunity to see another part of France for a week. I might even be able to figure out how to upload some photos.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
April 14, 2011 from Conques
We have now made it 203 km. My three companions have been Chris and Gitte Mackay from Scotland - friends I met five years ago on my last Camino - and Marie-Helene their friend from an earlier walk in France. Marie-Helene is French but unfortunately she left us yesterday. Gitte has tendon problems that probably necessitate Chris and Gitte staying in Conques for another day or two. I would stay for another day (we arrived in Conques yesterday and today is our first rest day) but they might not be ready to leave in two days.
So, this might be me heading off 547 km across rural France by myself. Yikes! At least I now know how to say "I do not know how to speak French" in French.
So, quick update. We have been walking mostly along what is known as the GR 65. The French have a wonderful trail system all across their country and this is the big/great trail 65. It mostly tracks the Camino (Chemin in French) but takes some scenic liberties. France also has a wonderful network of hostels (called gites). Most towns we have walked through have a municipal gite. All the municipal gites have kitchens so you can travel fairly economically.
The countryside is beautiful. It is also much tougher than what I remember of walking in Spain. There were sections in Spain that were tough but virtually every day has been tough going.
Weather continues to be exceptional. We have had only two days of drizzle. Another day looked like it might rain but never did. All the rest of the days have been sunny and even hot.
I confess that as I have been walking along I have been taking a mental inventory of what is in my pack that I can get rid of. I had decided that if I could find a silk sleeping liner I would mail my sleeping bag back to the US since most nights I was sleeping more outside than inside my sleeping bag. Last night convinced me to keep my sleeping bag because it was quite chilly.
I might be able to update this later today. Otherwise I'll update again when I find another computer. Please pardon my spelling mistakes but this is a French computer and when I hit spell check every word is highlighted!
So, this might be me heading off 547 km across rural France by myself. Yikes! At least I now know how to say "I do not know how to speak French" in French.
So, quick update. We have been walking mostly along what is known as the GR 65. The French have a wonderful trail system all across their country and this is the big/great trail 65. It mostly tracks the Camino (Chemin in French) but takes some scenic liberties. France also has a wonderful network of hostels (called gites). Most towns we have walked through have a municipal gite. All the municipal gites have kitchens so you can travel fairly economically.
The countryside is beautiful. It is also much tougher than what I remember of walking in Spain. There were sections in Spain that were tough but virtually every day has been tough going.
Weather continues to be exceptional. We have had only two days of drizzle. Another day looked like it might rain but never did. All the rest of the days have been sunny and even hot.
I confess that as I have been walking along I have been taking a mental inventory of what is in my pack that I can get rid of. I had decided that if I could find a silk sleeping liner I would mail my sleeping bag back to the US since most nights I was sleeping more outside than inside my sleeping bag. Last night convinced me to keep my sleeping bag because it was quite chilly.
I might be able to update this later today. Otherwise I'll update again when I find another computer. Please pardon my spelling mistakes but this is a French computer and when I hit spell check every word is highlighted!
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
april 5 from st. alban
this is my first internet access since leaving the US. I am using a French keyboard which is very different from the English one. On top of that I just found a button that switched the letters so that I can type on the French keys and the English letters appear. Pardon any typos.
We are in St. Alban. I do not have my guidebook to tell how far we have come but it is less than 100 km. All is well. Going is slow because of terrain and my fellow pilgrims' health issues. Slow start is good for me too. Not much in the way of blisters!
I arrived in Paris, made my train connections and arrived in Le Puy on March 30 as anticipated. Chris and Gitte arrived at the hostel about two hours after me. March 31 we explored and then Marie-Helen joined us that evening so our group was now complete.
April 1st we went to the 7 a.m. pilgrims' mass. I was surprised to see that there were about 40 of us there. The vast majority of the pilgrims were French and were older. Turns out the bishop did the service. If I were Catholic I would have know that because of the color of his robe and hat. The local priest did the benediction after the service and as one of the few non-French there I got called on to read the benediction in English!
April 1st we made it to Montbonnet which was 16 km away. April 2nd we walked 14.4 km to Monistrol-d'Allier. April 3 we walked 12.1 km to Saugues. Yesterday we walked 15 km to Chanaleilles. All this was in the Haute-Loire region of France. We have now moved into the another region whose name escapes me right now.
Weather has been very good for walking. Yesterday was our only day with rain and it was only sprinkles. The countryside is stunningly beautiful. The people have been very friendly.
Well, there is someone else waiting to use the computer so I'll close for now.
We are in St. Alban. I do not have my guidebook to tell how far we have come but it is less than 100 km. All is well. Going is slow because of terrain and my fellow pilgrims' health issues. Slow start is good for me too. Not much in the way of blisters!
I arrived in Paris, made my train connections and arrived in Le Puy on March 30 as anticipated. Chris and Gitte arrived at the hostel about two hours after me. March 31 we explored and then Marie-Helen joined us that evening so our group was now complete.
April 1st we went to the 7 a.m. pilgrims' mass. I was surprised to see that there were about 40 of us there. The vast majority of the pilgrims were French and were older. Turns out the bishop did the service. If I were Catholic I would have know that because of the color of his robe and hat. The local priest did the benediction after the service and as one of the few non-French there I got called on to read the benediction in English!
April 1st we made it to Montbonnet which was 16 km away. April 2nd we walked 14.4 km to Monistrol-d'Allier. April 3 we walked 12.1 km to Saugues. Yesterday we walked 15 km to Chanaleilles. All this was in the Haute-Loire region of France. We have now moved into the another region whose name escapes me right now.
Weather has been very good for walking. Yesterday was our only day with rain and it was only sprinkles. The countryside is stunningly beautiful. The people have been very friendly.
Well, there is someone else waiting to use the computer so I'll close for now.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Karen is heading to France!
More specifically I left Sitka on schedule on Sunday, March 27. After a Seattle overnight I arrived in DC this afternoon (March 28). Tomorrow afternoon (March 29) I depart for JFK and then on to Paris arriving 6:45 am Wednesday the 30th.
I had great plans to post photos of trails I hiked near Sitka as part of my training. I was going to post general photos of Sitka for anyone who has never been there. I was going to post photos of the apartment that I will be renting upon my return in July. I have photos on my camera of two fellow Sitka pilgrims wishing me Buon Camino Sunday morning and another shot of me getting ready to go through security at the Sitka airport that I could have posted.
Instead I am typing this post late at night on my iPhone from Brother Bruce's house in Virginia!
I have no idea what Internet access will be like in France but will try to keep you updated even if it is just a couple of paragraphs like tonight.
Anyone reading this is either a friend or family. Thanks for all your support and encouragement - from going on walks with me to technical and logistical support to simple expressions of "I wish I could go with you."
I had great plans to post photos of trails I hiked near Sitka as part of my training. I was going to post general photos of Sitka for anyone who has never been there. I was going to post photos of the apartment that I will be renting upon my return in July. I have photos on my camera of two fellow Sitka pilgrims wishing me Buon Camino Sunday morning and another shot of me getting ready to go through security at the Sitka airport that I could have posted.
Instead I am typing this post late at night on my iPhone from Brother Bruce's house in Virginia!
I have no idea what Internet access will be like in France but will try to keep you updated even if it is just a couple of paragraphs like tonight.
Anyone reading this is either a friend or family. Thanks for all your support and encouragement - from going on walks with me to technical and logistical support to simple expressions of "I wish I could go with you."
Monday, February 28, 2011
February/ March Update
Just a quick update to let you know where I have been and where I will be soon.
I flew out of Barrow on February 2nd instead of the 1st because the earlier flight was canceled. This then pushed my flights to Mexico back by a day and I arrived in Guadalajara early on March 4th - Mom's 88th birthday.
Suddenly, here it is, the day before my departure. The time has flown by. I've put in many km of "training" for the Camino walking all over between Chapala and Ajijic. I've climbed up and down hills with light and heavier packs. I've even been taking some Pilates classes.
Mom and I went to Manzanillo on the Pacific coast for five days.
Cousin Denise was here for eight days. She was a good sport and went on all my training walks with me although she refused to come to the Pilates classes.
Denise and I took a three day trip to Patzcuaro in the state of Michoacan.
I leave Guadalajara early on March 2nd and return to Anchorage.
I'll be in Anchorage until March 8 when I fly to Sitka.
I'll depart Sitka on March 27 for Washington, DC.
March 28 I depart DC and arrive in Paris, France the morning of March 29. The plan is to catch trains that will get me to Le Puy the evening of March 29. The plan is to meet up with Chris and Gitte McKay - my walking companions - who will be arriving from Scotland on March 29 as well.
April 1 the plan is to attend the Pilgims' Mass at 7 a.m. and then begin the 1500 km walk to the cathedral at Santiago de Campostela.
I'll try to be better about updating this blog in the future.
Karen
I flew out of Barrow on February 2nd instead of the 1st because the earlier flight was canceled. This then pushed my flights to Mexico back by a day and I arrived in Guadalajara early on March 4th - Mom's 88th birthday.
Suddenly, here it is, the day before my departure. The time has flown by. I've put in many km of "training" for the Camino walking all over between Chapala and Ajijic. I've climbed up and down hills with light and heavier packs. I've even been taking some Pilates classes.
Mom and I went to Manzanillo on the Pacific coast for five days.
Cousin Denise was here for eight days. She was a good sport and went on all my training walks with me although she refused to come to the Pilates classes.
Denise and I took a three day trip to Patzcuaro in the state of Michoacan.
I leave Guadalajara early on March 2nd and return to Anchorage.
I'll be in Anchorage until March 8 when I fly to Sitka.
I'll depart Sitka on March 27 for Washington, DC.
March 28 I depart DC and arrive in Paris, France the morning of March 29. The plan is to catch trains that will get me to Le Puy the evening of March 29. The plan is to meet up with Chris and Gitte McKay - my walking companions - who will be arriving from Scotland on March 29 as well.
April 1 the plan is to attend the Pilgims' Mass at 7 a.m. and then begin the 1500 km walk to the cathedral at Santiago de Campostela.
I'll try to be better about updating this blog in the future.
Karen
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