Regroup Day

Well today is a day that I spent regrouping for Portugal. Spent day washing clothes. That was a challenge in itself trying to figure out soap, washing, drying at a French laundromat. Then bought ticket to Bordeaux at the train station where no one spoke English. Hope that I end up in Bordeaux. Also booked room for 2 nights in Bordeaux because flights to Porto are only on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Obviously will fly to Porto Tuesday afternoon. Then will plan my walk from Porto to Santiago, Spain, which will take 12-14 days. May take trip to Fatima before starting but will leave that planning after I get to Porto.

First week on Chemin Le Puy

First of all, I apologize for the lack of updates. Finding wifi to make timely posts has been impossible. I'm sure that if I were more skilled I could have written offline, saved and posted later. The countryside along the Chemin, which is the same as Camino in Spanish or The Way in English, is incredibly beautiful. Unfortunately the rain, temperatures in the low 30's, muddy trails that are under water in many places, detracts from an otherwise great experience. It has been almost impossible to get clothes washed and dried because of the weather and lack of facilities, so some days you just have to wear your muddy clothes. Most of the walkers are French day packers, on holiday,
having their packs transported to their next destination. Have met a few Quebec Canadiens, couple of
Aussies, one German and the rest French, all very nice people. The total miles per day have been much less than on the Camino in Spain last year, but because you are trying to dodge deep mud and avoid slipping and busting your butt, especially when it is steep, it feels like you are walking three times as far. I was remarking on the first couple of days how well the trails were marked, contrary to warnings from others, but then I ran in to several cases where I had to guess. Only got lost a couple of times for a short period. Didn't realize there was a big festival this weekend to celebrate the cows going uo to the high Aubrac plateau for the summer. . Everything was booked for a year in advance, and they are expecting over 30,000 people, which is unmanageable for the French restaurants and hotels. As a result of this and the forecast for snow, I skipped a couple of stages ( a first for me) and found transport to a spot down the trail. After a couple of days fighting the cold and rain and muddy trails, I decided that I had accomplished what I had intended, to get a feel for the French route and move on to Portugal a little earlier.  I'm in Figeac now and will be making train and flight plans to make that happen. Will try to post a few pics if  I can sort out the glitches ( ie my blogging incompetency) .

Paris- May 16/17

Had two great days in Paris, my most favorite city. Enjoyed seeing my favorite spots... Pont Alexander, Musee Rodin, walking through the Tuilleries to people watch and finally eating dinner at my favorite restaurant for 25 years, Au Claire de la Lune. It has not changed at all fortunately.
Have pics to share, but I'm in a learning process and having difficulty getting wifi. After two days in Le Puy, will start walking tomorrow.

Prepared- Maybe

It's less than 12 hours before I head to the airport to begin a six week journey that will take me across Southern France, the coast of Portugal and the coast of Spain, in total about 500 miles. Once again, as I always do before embarking on an adventure, I ask myself "am I prepared". This time, my answer would probably be "maybe". This trek is different from the Camino Frances that I completed last year. I know that I can deal with the worse case, I kind of know what to expect....wake up, walk about 15-20 miles, wash clothes, eat, go to bed and then do it all over again every day for about five weeks. Trust me, it's much more exciting than it sounds. With the Camino Frances, I had a guide book that provided direction, elevation, points of interest, etc from point A in St Jean Pied de Port, France to point B, Santiago de Compostela, Spain. This time I'm combining parts of three routes, the first being the Chemin de Le Puy, starting in Le Puy en Velay, France and I will be walking for about 16 days and don't really know where I will end up. My guide book is in French. Wherever I end up on my 16th day, I will need to find a way through train and plane to get to the second part of the journey, starting in Porto, Portugal. I will then walk up the coast of Portugal for 12-14 days to the city of Santiago de Compostela, Spain. The third and final part of the journey will be to the coast of Spain to the towns of Finisterre and Muxia, Spain. Have practiced my French, trained a little bit, done my share of research and think that maybe I'm prepared enough. The pack below will be my suitcase, closet or whatever for six weeks. It's much lighter than last year; I did learn something. Will try to keep you posted on a timely basis, but I'm an amateur, so no guarantees.

2013 Camino Prep

Less than a week before heading to Paris and then on to Le Puy en Velay, France to start this year's trek across France, Portugal and finally Spain. Didn't get enough training in, so it looks like I'll have to walk myself into shape on the trail. Just read a post on a Camino Forum that you should not start the Le Puy route on a Sunday or Monday because shops and stores are closed and food, etc may not be available. Great planning, I start on Monday, May 20th. This is my first attempt at blogging in case you haven't already noticed, but will do my best to make timely entries, even though wifi is not as readily available on this trail as it was on the Camino Frances in Spain last year. The pic below was taken following my arrival at the endpoint in Santiago, Spain. The backpack you see has been tucked away in my closet for the past year. Will start packing it tomorrow and hope to at least try it on for size before I depart on May 15th.