Day 4- Le SavaugeThe Margueride plateau in the 18th century was a forested area and around 1760, many people lost their lives to the grey dog/wolf creature who attacked over a period of several years.
The threat of the beast was so great that royal hunters were sent to kill the animal. Tremendous mystery surrounds the beast, however, today it is believed the beast was not a singular being, but extremely large wolves acting alone or in packs. The fear of wolves virtually has vanished in western thought today, but historical records indicate they were a source of real danger and justified fear. In Saugues the beast shares pride of place with St James. In fact in the town, the traditional St James shells marking the way on the roads are replaced with images of the beast which has become a figure of fun instead of fear. If you have ever read C.S.Lewis’s “The Screw Tape Letters” you will note our concept of the devil frequently receives the same treatment; much to the delight of the head devil. The weather has started to turn today as we climbed higher with cold winds destroying our belief that springtime was truly established. Rain is forecast for tomorrow. Our progress was slow due to the continued up and down nature of the terrain. We only gained 360 metres overall in altitude but in reality it was a far greater climb. To lighten up the day we appeared at times to be strafed by jets of the French Air Force accompanied by sonic boom. We were forced to walk an extra 2km on an otherwise 20 km journey to visit the only open coffee shop within reach. How is that for addiction to the bean? We are now at an albergue in a most remote location. The location is beautiful and overlooks the grassed plains of the high country. There are no cattle here yet, they will come up when the warmer weather arrives. (The remains of the last snow is found outside the albergue.) The albergue could be nice but the management practices suggest you reached Faulty Towers by mistake. However, there is great spirit amongst the 5 pilgrims in residence despite language differences. Sorry no photos today due to limited internet, double tomorrow.
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Day 4- Le SauvageWe are in Le Sauvage. Unfortunately we don't have internet access. We will update you tomorrow once we get back into civilisation.
Day 3-SauguesUp early and on the road by 8am to climb 400 metres in the first 2 hours out of the river Allier valley. Wonderful views back down over the town of Monistrol. Enormous rock faces with volcanic layers holding together granite rocks like cement. At the top of the mountain a chance to pose in our Vinnies T-shirts. A little later on, a garage seemingly owned by an invalid who makes and sells coffee to the rare pilgrim this early in the season. One son who does mechanical work, another is making walking poles or the pilgrims expected after Easter and who is fascinated with and can play he didgeridoo. No English between them and almost non existent French on our part it didn’t get in the way of a stop work bilateral coffee session.
We have come across so many charming French people out here in the countryside and are gaining much walking fitness over the first three days. The temperature is 20 degrees during the day, however, it gets cold late in the day. Where are all the pilgrims and walkers? Surely these are ideal conditions. This must be exceptional is the only conclusion possible, for we left Australia with the anticipation of walking through snow at these elevations. We had some sad news last night regarding David Day, son of John and Margaret in our parish. New cancers have been found so we will keep him and his young family in our prayers and ask those of faith to join with us. Today we lit our first candle as a symbol of prayer for David and his family. Day 2 Monistrol d'Allier and also lostThis is the second day of our pilgrimage, if you were to ask us what motivated Enda and I to undertake this journey across France on the Chemins Saint Jacques the answers would be numerous and over the course of the next 30 something days some of our reasons will become apparent.
But today we would say that this Camino is one of thanksgiving for the benefits and blessings we received from completing last year’s Camino Frances. Like so many others we found it a truly life changing experience, one that enabled us to stand back from our ordinary lives and see them in a truer perspective. We believe we are spiritually much richer from our journey. We include a photograph of our lighting a candle as a symbol of thanksgiving in the Cathedral in Le Puy before starting yesterday morning. The candle, not only for ourselves but for the twins Hannah and Ellie who struggled so valiantly through their first year of life and are only now both home from hospital. So many of you have followed their progress since last year (See GOOD NEWS under useful links). After leaving Montbonnet this morning we walked several kilometres through the most beautiful of forests, carefully following the red and white stripes on trees and rocks that define the grand walking tracks of France. The Camino follows the GR65. After several hours we arrived at a destination to find it was not our intended lunch spot, but was about 12 km off the GR65. What had gone wrong? All GR routes have the same markers and at some point we had intersected with the GR40 and followed the wrong GR route. There were no physical indications in the forest to give any hint we were on the wrong path. We ordered coffee in the village shop and that is when the owner informed us we were lost! It seems this happens frequently and the lovely lady found Phillipe a farmer (pictured) who was in the village and asked him to drive us to our correct lunch stop. Phillipe and his dog obliged us and would only accept cups of coffee at either end of the drive. Back on track we descended 7 km down the roughest track we have ever experienced to Monistrol de Allier, exhausted. But very happy and delighted with the beauty, both physical and human that surrounds us. Day 1Le Puy-en-Velay is an ancient town situated in what was once an area of many
active volcanoes. We read and see cases where volcanoes today erupt causing great devastation. However, tragic as the devastation today is, there have been explosions in the past far more powerful. We include a photograph we took in the Le Puy region on a previous visit, which really brings home the huge energy that can be released. The photograph shows two small hills with a huge gap between them. This gap was once a huge volcanic mountain which blew itself apart. We arrived in Le Puy yesterday by train from Paris. The last hour and a half on a slower regional train service passed through breath-taking scenery as the train made its way through valleys with raging streams from the thaw, sheer rock faces, chateaus built on seemingly impossible rocky outcrops finally emerging into beautiful countryside. Todays walk through this volcanic region with churches and statues precariously placed on top of volcanic plugs influenced our thinking. The energy released by the volcano was surely destructive to itself, even if other benefits flowed from the release of volcanic materials. Like the volcano we have all enormous amounts of energy within us, but unlike the volcano we may seek to control its release. Today we walked surrounded by a silence, not normally present in our lives. the Camino provided the time for us to consider how we might avoid those small outbursts of displeasure or selfishness which not only harm those around us but also make us lesser persons. *We had poor internet service today. Hence the lack of pictures, Our accommodation for tomorrow night has wifi access. We are hoping to add more pictures then. Eve of our CaminoHere 6 years ago, Enda and I stood at this door of the Cathedral in Le Puy. We looked down the steps into the town and the route leading eventually to Santiago de Compostela. Le Puy is where several pilgrim routes join from other parts of Europe. A sign announced the time and place where pilgrims receive their blessing after Mass, before starting their 1500km journey. I was instantly called. It was a little later I convinced Enda of her calling. I am so indebted to her support and willingness to walk once more on the Way of St James. In 2016 we walked the Camino Frances, the second half of this camino from Le Puy. The Camino Frances starts in St Jean at the French foot of the Pyrenees mountains, ending in Santiago. This year we start from Le Puy and finish at St Jean, where we started previously.
It is from here tomorrow (Tuesday) morning, after Mass, that we will set out, in trust and hope, excited but with a little apprehension of the cold weather facing us over the first week through the Central Massif. Le PuyOur travellers have now arrived in Le Puy after spending a few nights in Paris. They are hoping to start their walk tomorrow ( 29th Sydney Time). Jerard has advised that internet connection in Le Puy has been 'flaky'. We will keep you updated on how they survived their first day walking!
Thank you to the Vinnies team who kindly sent us a photo and message. "We are wishing you luck on your big journey and all the preparations !!! " The Leader newspaper articleHere is our article from 'The Leader'. Have a read of it when you get a chance. It will also be printed in the newspaper over the coming weeks. Time for One Last Coffee.One last training session at the gym, followed by a coffee with our girls. Back home to finish our packing before flying out of Sydney tonight.
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