The beginning, and Day 1

The walk has begun, but a few comments to start with. I aim for truth and accuracy, but constrained by both available time and having a readable story may lead to variations from that aim.  

 Le Puy is near the headwaters of the Loire River (which heads north from here before curving west and entering the Atlantic where there are more castles and well-known towns) and part of this region can be very wet. It is a little wet now. I started at this time of the year, early in the walking season to avoid the crowds, knowing that the trade off will be colder and wetter days but hopefully only whilst up on the elevated Massif Central for about 130 kms or so. The forecast is a bit erratic, possibly cold for a few days, with the ski fields still busy close to the track ahead.

Did I avoid the crowds? It is a relative answer. On Sunday about 75 pilgrims started walking, and on Monday when I began there were about 50. This is a lot. Normal peak season numbers. So accommodation will need to be booked at least a few days ahead. But this is a Jubilee Year for the Catholic Church which means a much larger than the usual number of pilgrims wanting to achieve something Catholic that I don't understand. As the weather improves it is likely that there will be mayhem with the accommodation as of course accommodation is only built for normal numbers. After attending Mass on Monday I walked 16kms to Montbonnet and stayed at Gite l’Escole. A cold day, somewhat cutting wind, and very enjoyable to be walking in this part of France again. Good conversation over dinner, sufficient English and understandable French.

Amongst the crowd were 2 Eastern German Sorbian women walking from Warsaw (of course in Poland) to Santiago, a greater distance than most. Much greater. They started several years ago and do 4 weeks per year. There is a 12 year old boy walking with his grandmother whilst the grandfather drives the car carrying luggage, keeping warm, and providing general support. And a girl of similar age with her parents doing good distances each day.