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mercredi 14 mai 2008
mardi 13 mai 2008
Accidents on the way!
Well wouldn't you know it! I think I said it one too many times, "I have no problems with my feet, no blisters, no pain." I have been much too cocky! Sunday in the night getting up in my bare feet, I hit the leg of a chair and broke a toe, 4th toe on the left foot! We taxied to Moissac and I sort of hoped that it was just sprained and the pain would dissapear but a trip to the Emergency ward and an x-ray confirmed it. They were very good, took only 30 minutes and I left with my x-ray and prescription for pain pills in hand.
Arlette has continued with friends we have met along the way and i will travel by train and bus to Condom to wait for her. Hopefully I will be able to walk reasonably well by Saturday. Oh well, "le chemin" has all sorts of surprises for us!
Michèle
lundi 12 mai 2008
What do we see in a day?
Since I did give you an idea of what a day in the life of a pilgrim is, maybe you would like to know what we see in a typical day! Let's take yesterday, a Sunday. We left early, about 7:45. Not long after leaving we saw deer, bouncing across the path in the morning light, too quickly to take a picture but a wonderful sight!
It is Sunday so of course the Sunday cyclists were out in force. We crossed quite a large group going out for their weekend ride. In Montcuq it was Market day and we spent a wonderful hour wandering the stalls and enjoying the crowds of local people and other pilgrims. There were stalls of fruit and vegetables, local strawberries, asparagus, lettuce, spices, cheese, artisan bread, a butcher, a fish monger and many selling clothes and even furniture.
We had met a couple days ago in a gîte, a whole family, grandfather, grandmother, father, mother and 10 year old boy who are walking part of the "chemin" with a horse to carry baggage. They even carry the poles necessary to create an enclosure for the horse at night! We saw them walking along in the middle of town with the horse of course!
In the afternoon we walked through farmers' fields and enjoyed beautiful scenery; a wonderful bucolic scenery of green fields with sheep grazing, a pond of blue-green water, with giant yellow iris growing along its shore and puffy white clouds. Can you picture it in your mind?
We also saw while climbing through a forest, tiny pink orchids clinging to the trunk of a tree!
And of course there are wild flowers in huge quantities; buttercups, bluebells, daisies, Queen Anne's Lace, tiny wild pansies of every colour and dozens more that we cannot identify.
Not all days are as euphoric, but you can see why everyday I am anxious to get back on the "chemin".
Michèle
It is Sunday so of course the Sunday cyclists were out in force. We crossed quite a large group going out for their weekend ride. In Montcuq it was Market day and we spent a wonderful hour wandering the stalls and enjoying the crowds of local people and other pilgrims. There were stalls of fruit and vegetables, local strawberries, asparagus, lettuce, spices, cheese, artisan bread, a butcher, a fish monger and many selling clothes and even furniture.
We had met a couple days ago in a gîte, a whole family, grandfather, grandmother, father, mother and 10 year old boy who are walking part of the "chemin" with a horse to carry baggage. They even carry the poles necessary to create an enclosure for the horse at night! We saw them walking along in the middle of town with the horse of course!
In the afternoon we walked through farmers' fields and enjoyed beautiful scenery; a wonderful bucolic scenery of green fields with sheep grazing, a pond of blue-green water, with giant yellow iris growing along its shore and puffy white clouds. Can you picture it in your mind?
We also saw while climbing through a forest, tiny pink orchids clinging to the trunk of a tree!
And of course there are wild flowers in huge quantities; buttercups, bluebells, daisies, Queen Anne's Lace, tiny wild pansies of every colour and dozens more that we cannot identify.Not all days are as euphoric, but you can see why everyday I am anxious to get back on the "chemin".
Michèle
Les bizarreries du chemin
En direct de Moissac
1. Une touffe d'orchidées roses sur un arbre, seul de sa sorte sur des kilomètres de sentier (pour François). Si nous étions rapides nous les aurions manqués.
2. les orteils canadiennes? C'est notre faiblesse: 1) Michèle s'en est tapée une sur une chaise une nuit, en allant fermer les volets. Impact? On a fait Lauzerte-Moissac en taxi ce matin et on profite de la journée en mettant de la glace régulièrement sur son pied - pas question pour elle d'aller perdre des heures à l'urgence française. C'est plus dur sur sa patience que sur son pied. 2) et moi à Cahors, diagnostique: problème d'enveloppe musculaire des orteils aux deux pieds - prescription: massage, encore massage - on voit donc plus de paysage.
3. "la NaNa canadienne " qui nous fait actuellement ombrage: Michaele est en France (l'expression n'est pas de moi mais d'un Parisien, chef d'un groupe de randonneur (pas pélerins pour une miette).
4. L'eau potable en France pour les pélerins? Cherchez les cimetières.
5. Qui veut goûter à la pizza de Lauzerte? Sur le menu bilingue, les petoncles appellés ici noix de St. Jacques, sont devenus "St. Jacque's nuts" - étouffez-vous pas!
la journaliste Arlette (qui s'en va prendre un demi-panaché)
1. Une touffe d'orchidées roses sur un arbre, seul de sa sorte sur des kilomètres de sentier (pour François). Si nous étions rapides nous les aurions manqués.
2. les orteils canadiennes? C'est notre faiblesse: 1) Michèle s'en est tapée une sur une chaise une nuit, en allant fermer les volets. Impact? On a fait Lauzerte-Moissac en taxi ce matin et on profite de la journée en mettant de la glace régulièrement sur son pied - pas question pour elle d'aller perdre des heures à l'urgence française. C'est plus dur sur sa patience que sur son pied. 2) et moi à Cahors, diagnostique: problème d'enveloppe musculaire des orteils aux deux pieds - prescription: massage, encore massage - on voit donc plus de paysage.
3. "la NaNa canadienne " qui nous fait actuellement ombrage: Michaele est en France (l'expression n'est pas de moi mais d'un Parisien, chef d'un groupe de randonneur (pas pélerins pour une miette).
4. L'eau potable en France pour les pélerins? Cherchez les cimetières.
5. Qui veut goûter à la pizza de Lauzerte? Sur le menu bilingue, les petoncles appellés ici noix de St. Jacques, sont devenus "St. Jacque's nuts" - étouffez-vous pas!
la journaliste Arlette (qui s'en va prendre un demi-panaché)
vendredi 9 mai 2008
Des nouvelles
Je me sens un peu avec un petit coeur de journaliste ce matin donc
" Chers lecteurs, chères lectrices, voici un court reportage de Cahors (hé oui, là où le vin est aussi tres bon- faut quand même savoir où s'arrêter!).
En commençant, je dois vous dire que nous voyons des choses belles et ravigottantes, mais j'ai quand même hâte de voir, chez moi, celles que je trouve magnifiques même sans lunettes !!!!
Des histoires de couleuvres et de vipères, de chats et de souris le tout mélangé à des "nanas", on en a entendues des vertes et des pas mûres mais je dois vous dire que le cousin de Gilbert Carrière, Guy Bouladier, il est aussi conteur que Gilbert et il est français en plus!!! Imaginez les 2, ensemble, avec un verre de vin rouge dans le nez.
Mais laissez moi vous parler de quelques rencontres faites sur le Chemin. Il y a tout d'abord eu Christophe (photo au début du voyage) qui semble un peu au dessus de tout mais un petit peu inquiet en même temps et qui a un coeur grand comme la mer. Puis il y a eu Jorge (avec un J car d'origine portugaise)- notre bouffon personnel, qui cachait un coeur si sensible.
Guy et Julia, les cousins français de Noella et Gilbert Carrière, couple super gentil avec sourires et histoires qui vous remontent le moral en peu de temps. Que dire de Jacques (74 ans et qui a vécu a Diego Suarez quelques années avant que j'y passe) et Alice, deux amis a qui on a réajusté les sacs a dos - merci Rob de ISIS- Et Gérard, notre homme-cheval puisqu'il "tirait" son barda.... Comment a-t-il fait dans certains sentiers???
Virginie et Antoine avec ses ampoules sous la plante des pieds et ses belles bretelles (aucun lien) mais dont on se souvient pour leurs beaux sourires. Et que dire de celui de Thérèse! ses yeux et son magnifique visage en sont pleins et tout le temps, que ce soit une journée de soleil ou de pluie.
Quatres jeunes français, en vacances deux semaines et qui en font un bout chaque année, vous donnaient le goût de rester avec eux. Inspirants et beaux comme des coeurs!
Et enfin Marie-Jo et Edmond, couple que nous avons rencontrés le 1er soir au Puy. Le coup de coeur a eu lieu le 2e soir. Ils sont la preuve que les coups de foudre d'amitié, ça existe vraiment. Un cadeau du ciel qui nous a permis de nous adapter à ce nouveau style de vie un peu particulier qu'est celui de pélerine sur le Chemin de Compostelle (rien a voir avec le camping en passant). Ils ont été, et continuent à l'être par leurs courriels, un immense soleil sur un grand champs de pâquerettes et de coquelicots. Merci d'exister tous les deux.
Je dois mentionner la patience de Michèle qui s'arrête chaque fois que j'ai besoin de reposer et de masser mes pieds. Elle est une compagne de Chemin remarquable. Elle mérite un MERCI en lettres d'or et qui clignottent dans le firmament.
A tous les autres que nous avons rencontrés et qui nous suivent, merci pour tout ce que vous nous avez donné, souvent même sans le savoir.
Je termine par une petite histoire racontée par Luc dont la femme ne sait pas qu'il se laisse pousser la barbe-il fume la pipe sur une des photos, une autre belle rencontre. Il y a 30 ans il est venu au Québec faire un stage chez Steinberg. Avec un copain français, ils ont loué une voiture pour aller visiter la ville de Québec en compagnie de deux québécoises. Il monte a l'arrière avec une des deux, qu'il ne connaissait que depuis quelques minutes; elle lui demande en le regardant droit dans les yeux" et toi, tu chauffes?" Il rêvait déjà de tout ce qu'il vivrait durant son séjour d'un an... Il en est resté marqué!!!
Je vous laisse sur cette image d'un français aux yeux écarquillés (? car pas sure de l'épellation). "
Au prochain reportage. En attendant, je vous fais la bise.
Regardez les photos mises par Michèle.
Arlette
" Chers lecteurs, chères lectrices, voici un court reportage de Cahors (hé oui, là où le vin est aussi tres bon- faut quand même savoir où s'arrêter!).
En commençant, je dois vous dire que nous voyons des choses belles et ravigottantes, mais j'ai quand même hâte de voir, chez moi, celles que je trouve magnifiques même sans lunettes !!!!
Des histoires de couleuvres et de vipères, de chats et de souris le tout mélangé à des "nanas", on en a entendues des vertes et des pas mûres mais je dois vous dire que le cousin de Gilbert Carrière, Guy Bouladier, il est aussi conteur que Gilbert et il est français en plus!!! Imaginez les 2, ensemble, avec un verre de vin rouge dans le nez.
Mais laissez moi vous parler de quelques rencontres faites sur le Chemin. Il y a tout d'abord eu Christophe (photo au début du voyage) qui semble un peu au dessus de tout mais un petit peu inquiet en même temps et qui a un coeur grand comme la mer. Puis il y a eu Jorge (avec un J car d'origine portugaise)- notre bouffon personnel, qui cachait un coeur si sensible.
Guy et Julia, les cousins français de Noella et Gilbert Carrière, couple super gentil avec sourires et histoires qui vous remontent le moral en peu de temps. Que dire de Jacques (74 ans et qui a vécu a Diego Suarez quelques années avant que j'y passe) et Alice, deux amis a qui on a réajusté les sacs a dos - merci Rob de ISIS- Et Gérard, notre homme-cheval puisqu'il "tirait" son barda.... Comment a-t-il fait dans certains sentiers???
Virginie et Antoine avec ses ampoules sous la plante des pieds et ses belles bretelles (aucun lien) mais dont on se souvient pour leurs beaux sourires. Et que dire de celui de Thérèse! ses yeux et son magnifique visage en sont pleins et tout le temps, que ce soit une journée de soleil ou de pluie.
Quatres jeunes français, en vacances deux semaines et qui en font un bout chaque année, vous donnaient le goût de rester avec eux. Inspirants et beaux comme des coeurs!
Et enfin Marie-Jo et Edmond, couple que nous avons rencontrés le 1er soir au Puy. Le coup de coeur a eu lieu le 2e soir. Ils sont la preuve que les coups de foudre d'amitié, ça existe vraiment. Un cadeau du ciel qui nous a permis de nous adapter à ce nouveau style de vie un peu particulier qu'est celui de pélerine sur le Chemin de Compostelle (rien a voir avec le camping en passant). Ils ont été, et continuent à l'être par leurs courriels, un immense soleil sur un grand champs de pâquerettes et de coquelicots. Merci d'exister tous les deux.
Je dois mentionner la patience de Michèle qui s'arrête chaque fois que j'ai besoin de reposer et de masser mes pieds. Elle est une compagne de Chemin remarquable. Elle mérite un MERCI en lettres d'or et qui clignottent dans le firmament.
A tous les autres que nous avons rencontrés et qui nous suivent, merci pour tout ce que vous nous avez donné, souvent même sans le savoir.
Je termine par une petite histoire racontée par Luc dont la femme ne sait pas qu'il se laisse pousser la barbe-il fume la pipe sur une des photos, une autre belle rencontre. Il y a 30 ans il est venu au Québec faire un stage chez Steinberg. Avec un copain français, ils ont loué une voiture pour aller visiter la ville de Québec en compagnie de deux québécoises. Il monte a l'arrière avec une des deux, qu'il ne connaissait que depuis quelques minutes; elle lui demande en le regardant droit dans les yeux" et toi, tu chauffes?" Il rêvait déjà de tout ce qu'il vivrait durant son séjour d'un an... Il en est resté marqué!!!
Je vous laisse sur cette image d'un français aux yeux écarquillés (? car pas sure de l'épellation). "
Au prochain reportage. En attendant, je vous fais la bise.
Regardez les photos mises par Michèle.
Arlette
We have already finished a third week!
Hello all from Cahors! First of all thank you to all who have added comments to our blog! A little note, you will not see you comment until I have an access to the internet. Because spam and viruses that are often sent via blog comments, we have put in place an approval system. As soon as we see them then they are published.
We are not walking today, resting and of course catching up with e-mails, etc. Yesterday we had a great day. We walked to Cahors in beautiful sunny weather with a cool breeze. We had lunch on a terrasse, one of the best pizzas I have ever had in France! We then crossed the "Pont Valentré" a famous bridge on the way to Santiago and then climbed, and I mean literally climbed on all fours up a hill to our next gîte.
I really thought that Arlette and I would talk a lot while we were walking but though we did the first few days we now seem to be lost in our thoughts. Because the paths are sometimes quite narrow, we tend to walk one behind the other.
As I walked yesterday, I was thinking that we have now walked 20 days. I think it is obvious that, physically we can do it. So why are we still walking? I know that I am anxious in the morning to get started again. I know that I want to go to the end. I know that I love having someone to walk for, to honour, in memory of someone who has died and is missed by a loved one. It seems to give me energy and motivation. I sometimes feel as if it can help the person who is suffering the pain of loss. It is, I believe, the magic of the pilgrimage.
On May 4th we stayed at the gîte "Les Volets Bleus". It is owned by a Swiss-German artists who has lived in this tiny village of Gréalou for over 30 years. We were 7 pilgrims, one other like us going all the way, the others stopping after a week or two. We had a wonderful evening. The weather was warm, we prepared the meal ourselves, a big niçoise type of salad with eggs, tuna, olives, potatoes, tomatos and apples. It was a wonderful evening. Our hostess played a few numbers on the accordian.
Michèle
jeudi 1 mai 2008
Une marcheuse,ça pense à quoi?
Bonjour tout le monde,
Nous marchons depuis 13 jours Michèle et moi, des heures et des heures chaque jour. Que fait-on en marchant? On pense, donc je pense et je pense.
Alors, une journée de marche typique pour moi? Tout ce que je peux faire en marchant c'est
1) d'abord regarder où je peux mettre les pieds pour ne pas me casser la 'margoulette' comme dirait ma mère et là mon cerveau m'indique rapidement le meilleur endroit- il a intéret à faire vite car dans certains sentiers, c'est une question de seconde...
2) regarder le magnifique paysage si je peux lever la tête donc si le terrain est plat et s'il fait beau sinon, tête baissée car mieux vaut regarder où tu mets les pieds ma chèere Arlette... Mais tu écoutes les oiseaux- c'est super!! J'ai entendu le chant de vrais coucous
3) penser à celles et ceux que j'aime et vous êtes nombreux ainsi qu' à celles et ceux à qui j'ai dédié ma journée
4) penser aux belles choses qui m'attendent au retour et elles sont aussi très nombreuses car je suis tellement bien entourée
5) penser à quel point je suis une femme choyée par la vie et très heureuse en général
6) me dire que je suis privilégiée de m'offrir ces 3 mois de .... je ne sais encore trop quoi mais ça va venir
7) me demander ce que sera la suite de cette longue marche- à suivre
Marcher de 5 à 8 heures par jour, ça donne de longs moments de réflexion. Déjà 2 semaines avec un sac à dos qui contient si peu de choses mais qui est quand même un peu trop lourd... Je crois que je vais trouver mon condo bien "chargé" en tout cas plus qu'habité comme a dit Marie-Claire dont c'était l'anniversaire hier !!!
Comment peut-on vivre de si nombreuses semaines avec 2 paires de bobettes quand on en a 2 tiroirs pleins chez soi???
Pensée profonde hier qui me vient de Gilbert de la gang Hay " tout ce qui monte redescend et tout ce qui redescend ne remonte pas nécessairement". Je lui confirme que, sur le Chemin vers Compostelle, tout fini par remonter... 300 m de dénivellation sur 2 km hier!!!! hihihi
;-)
Je vous embrasse
Arlette
Nous marchons depuis 13 jours Michèle et moi, des heures et des heures chaque jour. Que fait-on en marchant? On pense, donc je pense et je pense.
Alors, une journée de marche typique pour moi? Tout ce que je peux faire en marchant c'est
1) d'abord regarder où je peux mettre les pieds pour ne pas me casser la 'margoulette' comme dirait ma mère et là mon cerveau m'indique rapidement le meilleur endroit- il a intéret à faire vite car dans certains sentiers, c'est une question de seconde...
2) regarder le magnifique paysage si je peux lever la tête donc si le terrain est plat et s'il fait beau sinon, tête baissée car mieux vaut regarder où tu mets les pieds ma chèere Arlette... Mais tu écoutes les oiseaux- c'est super!! J'ai entendu le chant de vrais coucous
3) penser à celles et ceux que j'aime et vous êtes nombreux ainsi qu' à celles et ceux à qui j'ai dédié ma journée
4) penser aux belles choses qui m'attendent au retour et elles sont aussi très nombreuses car je suis tellement bien entourée
5) penser à quel point je suis une femme choyée par la vie et très heureuse en général
6) me dire que je suis privilégiée de m'offrir ces 3 mois de .... je ne sais encore trop quoi mais ça va venir
7) me demander ce que sera la suite de cette longue marche- à suivre
Marcher de 5 à 8 heures par jour, ça donne de longs moments de réflexion. Déjà 2 semaines avec un sac à dos qui contient si peu de choses mais qui est quand même un peu trop lourd... Je crois que je vais trouver mon condo bien "chargé" en tout cas plus qu'habité comme a dit Marie-Claire dont c'était l'anniversaire hier !!!
Comment peut-on vivre de si nombreuses semaines avec 2 paires de bobettes quand on en a 2 tiroirs pleins chez soi???
Pensée profonde hier qui me vient de Gilbert de la gang Hay " tout ce qui monte redescend et tout ce qui redescend ne remonte pas nécessairement". Je lui confirme que, sur le Chemin vers Compostelle, tout fini par remonter... 300 m de dénivellation sur 2 km hier!!!! hihihi
;-)
Je vous embrasse
Arlette
We are now on our own!
Yesterday was our first day without our new friends Marie-Jo and Edmond. It was quite comforting to walk with them not feeling alone. Edmond walked the Camino 4 years ago so he was enormous help. He reserved all gîtes for us each night. Marie-Jo was always eager to listen to us and talk. It took us all a while to get used to each other's accents! We have truly made new friends that we will surely meet again. They went home after Conques.
Today is a rest day for us. It is good to stop and rest our feet and legs. We found a small hotel in Decazeville, a former mining town and actually slept in real bed sheets last night and again tonight; a luxury! My faithful sleeping bag is warm but sleeping in nylon is not for me luxury!
Some of you might be curious to know what a day on the trail is! Here is a description.
We usually get up at 6:30 am, better to have easy access to the toilet and washroom. Breakfast is normally at 7:00 am, a piece of bread, baguette usually, butter and jam, sometimes homemade, coffee, tea, or hot chocolate. The French do not vary the morning meal much. Sometimes we are lucky and there is orange juice.
We re-pack our backpacks (haven't found the ideal way yet!) and we are off around 8:00 am. The first order of business is to find the "alimentation", grocery store, to buy our provisions for the day, snack and lunch. Then we are off. Most french villages are in the valley so we often begin with a climb out of the valley. What a way to start without warmed up muscles! Every evening we swear we will do warming exercises before leaving in the morning but the urge to get onto the path is very strong. So far we have found that we are usually about a dozen leaving at the same time in the morning.
We normally walk until about 10:30 am. If the weather is good, no rain, we will find a spot to sit and eat a snack, fruit if we have been lucky to find some, a banana, an orange. Then before continuing it is peepee time; no port-a-potties on this trail ladies! It is amazing how quickly your inhibitions and shyness disappear. Are there any pilgrims coming down the path? Drop the pants and that's it! Every once in a while we will come to a village that has public toilets. But since almost all are turkish type toilets, (a hole in the floor) you still have to stoop trying not to hit your boots!
We often stop for lunch a little after noon, a piece of baguette, some dried saucisson or a can of tuna, sardines, maybe a little cheese and , luxury, some wonderful dark chocolate with almonds! It is amazing how little gives you pleasure!
The afternoon is similar. Since we have been walking around 18-20 km a day, we normally arrive at our destination between 3:00 and 4:00 pm. We find our gite, choose our bed and run to get to the shower (or showers if we are lucky enough that there is more than one). We wash our clothes, take care of our feet, write our journal and it is time for supper.
Supper is a wonderful time. The food is almost always good and plentiful, almost always a homemade soup a main course, cheese and dessert. It is a time to chat with other pilgrims, learn something of their story or get some suggestions from those who are not on their first trek.
In some gites, you help with the dishes, in others just cleaning up the table. By 9:30 pm we are almost always in bed.
Along the way we often meet other pilgrims, some that we have met on previous days, some new people. Sometimes we will walk with them a way and share stories, other times we exchange salutations and continue. We have met along the way, cousins of a previous colleague, a young
woman who knows the daughter of a close friend and many others that leave us messages in the sand or at a gite that we met and bonded with in previous days. It is truly a magical experience!
Michèle
Today is a rest day for us. It is good to stop and rest our feet and legs. We found a small hotel in Decazeville, a former mining town and actually slept in real bed sheets last night and again tonight; a luxury! My faithful sleeping bag is warm but sleeping in nylon is not for me luxury!
Some of you might be curious to know what a day on the trail is! Here is a description.
We usually get up at 6:30 am, better to have easy access to the toilet and washroom. Breakfast is normally at 7:00 am, a piece of bread, baguette usually, butter and jam, sometimes homemade, coffee, tea, or hot chocolate. The French do not vary the morning meal much. Sometimes we are lucky and there is orange juice.
We re-pack our backpacks (haven't found the ideal way yet!) and we are off around 8:00 am. The first order of business is to find the "alimentation", grocery store, to buy our provisions for the day, snack and lunch. Then we are off. Most french villages are in the valley so we often begin with a climb out of the valley. What a way to start without warmed up muscles! Every evening we swear we will do warming exercises before leaving in the morning but the urge to get onto the path is very strong. So far we have found that we are usually about a dozen leaving at the same time in the morning.
We normally walk until about 10:30 am. If the weather is good, no rain, we will find a spot to sit and eat a snack, fruit if we have been lucky to find some, a banana, an orange. Then before continuing it is peepee time; no port-a-potties on this trail ladies! It is amazing how quickly your inhibitions and shyness disappear. Are there any pilgrims coming down the path? Drop the pants and that's it! Every once in a while we will come to a village that has public toilets. But since almost all are turkish type toilets, (a hole in the floor) you still have to stoop trying not to hit your boots!
We often stop for lunch a little after noon, a piece of baguette, some dried saucisson or a can of tuna, sardines, maybe a little cheese and , luxury, some wonderful dark chocolate with almonds! It is amazing how little gives you pleasure!
The afternoon is similar. Since we have been walking around 18-20 km a day, we normally arrive at our destination between 3:00 and 4:00 pm. We find our gite, choose our bed and run to get to the shower (or showers if we are lucky enough that there is more than one). We wash our clothes, take care of our feet, write our journal and it is time for supper.
Supper is a wonderful time. The food is almost always good and plentiful, almost always a homemade soup a main course, cheese and dessert. It is a time to chat with other pilgrims, learn something of their story or get some suggestions from those who are not on their first trek.
In some gites, you help with the dishes, in others just cleaning up the table. By 9:30 pm we are almost always in bed.
Along the way we often meet other pilgrims, some that we have met on previous days, some new people. Sometimes we will walk with them a way and share stories, other times we exchange salutations and continue. We have met along the way, cousins of a previous colleague, a young
woman who knows the daughter of a close friend and many others that leave us messages in the sand or at a gite that we met and bonded with in previous days. It is truly a magical experience!
Michèle
vendredi 25 avril 2008
What a day!
Today is sunny but we did start out at below zero. As the day went it increasly got warmer. It is the hardest day we have done in my opinion. We climbed through farmers fields for 8 km up to 1380 metres. There was still snow in spots. The fields were muddy and imbedded in water. The views however were overwhelming. It is a stark beauty like nothing I have ever seen! In the small village of Aubrac we visited a wonderful little church with a wall of paintings by the contemporary artist Hervé Vernhès. It depicts the history of the village from it founding by Adalard to early 20th century.
We then climbed down the mountain on a path that was like a creek bed, full of rocks, mud and water. It was through a forest so there were a tremendous number of birds singing including cuckoos. The French believe that if you have a penny in your pocket when the cuckoo sings, it will bring you good fortune. I think the fortune I have received is being on this pilgrimage, being able to do it physically, I am truly fortunate!
The gîte here is very comfortable. We are sharing a room again with Marie-Jo and Edmond. Supper smells wonderful. We are also lucky to be able to update our blog and even download photos.
I find the physical demands of the pilgrimage much harder than I had anticipated. However, when I think of the difficulties many have with Parkinson's disease and many others who live their lives with constant limitations and pain of diseases such as rhuematoid arthritis, I cannot complain. We have completed one short week and this trek has already given us so much. We have met some wonderful people, others who are going all the way to Santiago like us and many who are doing a partial pilgrimage. All have a generosity of spirit that continues to warm our hearts. We are supported by our many friends and family at home who have been wonderful with us and we have the support of all those we meet on the road. Can't beat that!!
We then climbed down the mountain on a path that was like a creek bed, full of rocks, mud and water. It was through a forest so there were a tremendous number of birds singing including cuckoos. The French believe that if you have a penny in your pocket when the cuckoo sings, it will bring you good fortune. I think the fortune I have received is being on this pilgrimage, being able to do it physically, I am truly fortunate!
The gîte here is very comfortable. We are sharing a room again with Marie-Jo and Edmond. Supper smells wonderful. We are also lucky to be able to update our blog and even download photos.
I find the physical demands of the pilgrimage much harder than I had anticipated. However, when I think of the difficulties many have with Parkinson's disease and many others who live their lives with constant limitations and pain of diseases such as rhuematoid arthritis, I cannot complain. We have completed one short week and this trek has already given us so much. We have met some wonderful people, others who are going all the way to Santiago like us and many who are doing a partial pilgrimage. All have a generosity of spirit that continues to warm our hearts. We are supported by our many friends and family at home who have been wonderful with us and we have the support of all those we meet on the road. Can't beat that!!
D'autres photos
Le vin est bon et la compagnie est au delà de toutes attentes. Voici Marie-Jo et Edmond, de nouveaux amis français.
Quelques photos enfin!!
Michèle et moi a St-Etienne et notre Christophe (pas le saint..) qui a partagé notre chambre le 2e soir
Michèle marche et je prends un taxi
Aujourd'hui, 25 avril, mes énormes ampoules m'ont empêchées de marcher. Demain devrait être mieux§ je m'assagie...
Michèle arrivera bientôt au superbe gîte St-André avec Marie-Joe et Edmond.
Je tente de mettre quelques photos. A suivre!!!
xox
Arlette
Michèle arrivera bientôt au superbe gîte St-André avec Marie-Joe et Edmond.
Je tente de mettre quelques photos. A suivre!!!
xox
Arlette
jeudi 24 avril 2008
Bonjour de Aumont-Aubrac,
Nous marchons depuis 5 jours déjà. La 1ere journée fut magnifique avec des paysages à couper le souffle.
2e journée plus difficile avec pluie, vents violents et descentes rocailleuses plus le froid.. Petit découragement.. Mais bon, a deux c'est nettement plus facile.
Avec 2 ampoules aux talons; disons que ça ralenti-donc plus de temps pour se rendre à destination.
Les rencontres sont cependant extraordinaires; les gens sont super sympatiques et a l'écoute les uns des autres. On parle de Parkinson. On a des surprises comme les cousins de Gilbert Carriere- Des Bouladiers - qui nous attendaient . Bises, bises et on a bien ri.
Sur la route, on a le temps pour penser, penser et penser à chaque personne, comme prévu.
LA VIE EST BELLE!!!!!!! Je vous aime
Arlette
Nous marchons depuis 5 jours déjà. La 1ere journée fut magnifique avec des paysages à couper le souffle.
2e journée plus difficile avec pluie, vents violents et descentes rocailleuses plus le froid.. Petit découragement.. Mais bon, a deux c'est nettement plus facile.
Avec 2 ampoules aux talons; disons que ça ralenti-donc plus de temps pour se rendre à destination.
Les rencontres sont cependant extraordinaires; les gens sont super sympatiques et a l'écoute les uns des autres. On parle de Parkinson. On a des surprises comme les cousins de Gilbert Carriere- Des Bouladiers - qui nous attendaient . Bises, bises et on a bien ri.
Sur la route, on a le temps pour penser, penser et penser à chaque personne, comme prévu.
LA VIE EST BELLE!!!!!!! Je vous aime
Arlette
mercredi 23 avril 2008
La Première Semaine/The first week
Today was a relatively short, 15 km trek, up and down small mountains from one valley to the next. The sun shone today the first time since Saturday! The path went through farmer's fields and forests today. We passed by several animals some curious. I gave one beautiful horse a pat on the nose and wouldn't you know it he bit me! Through the three layers of clothes I had on, he still managed to cause quite a bruise on my arm. Lesson learned, say hello from afar and take pictures, but don't touch! We also saw a newly born calf, probably not much more than one day old, he had trouble standing on his legs.
We are at a very nice hostel, "La Ferme du Barry". He made strawberry pie and lamb for supper. Along with a cabbage and vegetable soup that tasted every bit as wonderful as my grand'maman used to make, he made a concotion called "alligot". It is a mixture of mashed potatoes, garlic and cheese, freshly made. It was very good, lots of calories I am sure!
Merci à mon ami Michel T. qui a recommandé ce gîte!
Tuesday April 22
We walked 25 km today and the terrain was difficult, cold, windy and rainy! We walked most of the day with the same french couple Edmond and Marie-Jo, wonderful generous people. We arrived in St. Alban at about 5 pm; we had started at 8 am. We have met beautiful people on the route, always ready to talk as we walk. And of course they are all fascinated by our accent! Don't they know they are the ones with an accent!?
Monday April 21
Today has started out sunny and cool and we began the day with a 4 km climb quite steep. It took us 2 hours to get to the plateau. We passed by a wonderful little chapel that had been built into the rock so that only the facade is actually man-made. I wished it had been open, but I did manage a picture through the window. If I can find a way to put pictures up on this blog, then maybe you will be able to see it!
The rest of our walk today was pleasant and uneventful. We arrived at our gîte around 4 pm. The woman on the phone had said to go in make ourselves comfortable and she would be there around 6 pm to cook supper for us. There was a wood stove burning strongly, hot water for our showers and everything we needed to make ourselves at home.
Along with our new walking friends Marie-Jo and Edmond, we shared the house with another traveler, Jeorge (yes, with a J). Jeorge made us laugh all evening! He is a comedian by profession along with lots of other professions to keep him financially viable.
Sonia, our host arrived at 6 pm as she had said and made us a wonderful meal, most of it with products from her farm or her neighbour's farm. In the morning there was homemade yogurt! The whole experience was like we had rented a gîte with entertainement (provided by Jeorge)and meals by Sonia.
Sunday April 20
We left Montbonnet this morning with all the clothes on our backs that we had in our backpacks. It is brutally cold with a wind that freezes you to the core! The first part of the terrain was through farmers' fields and the wind caught our backpacks and pushed us on the path. Thank you to my friend Michel T. who recommended I bring a long silk scarf. I used it to make a turban around my head and ears to keep warm!
Today I walked with Luc and his family in mind. They were my motivation and kept my spirits up and my feet moving despite the weather and difficult terrain. Luc has early-onset Parkinsons. His courage and determination keeps him going to help raise his two boys, Zacharie and Théo with his wife Julie. He travels with them, goes camping even in winter and does everything a yound Dad does with growing boys. Keeping Luc and his family in mind made the day easy.
We navigated downhills on narrow paths that were full of rocks and water streaming downhill. We are actually quite proud of ourselves; neither of us fell or slipped! Because it was cold and windy we chose to have our lunch in a restaurant. It somehow didn't quite feel right. The food was good but out of sorts with the idea of a pilgrimage.
We are at a small hotel tonight, no room at the gîte, but not alone since many others on the same journey as us are here. We had a good meal with good company and great conversation. There are several french citizens on the trek for a week or two going only to Conques or Figeac. All hope to eventually in another year finish the pilgrimage.
Saturday April 19
We started the day with Mass at the cathedral and a blessing from the priest. There were more than 40 pilgrims ready to begin. We had our credencials stamped and all excited left by the main door that allows you to see through the town streets and up into the hills we were about to climb. One of the traditions of the pilgrimage is that people leave wishes for St. Jacques in a basket at the cathedral and as a pilgrim you can carry a wish to Santiago to deposit at the cathedral there. Legend has it that if your wish makes it, it will be granted. I picked one and it is from a young man who would like to meet someone with whom he can build a life and a family. I hope I am strong enough to take it all the way to Santiago for him.
The weather was good today, sun and cool enough to be comfortable walking. Saturday is market day so we bought what we need for our lunch and off we went up the first hill. Our first gîte in Montbonnet was typical I think. Arlette and I lucked out I think since we were assinged a room with only 3 beds and our own shower.
Some of you know that our friends Marie-Claire and Gissane gave us each a small statuette of St. Christophe, patron saint of travellers. Today we met a real Christophe, a nice yound man from Finistère in the Bretagne region of France. He ended up sharing our room with us! Merci à Marie-Claire et Gissane!
We are at a very nice hostel, "La Ferme du Barry". He made strawberry pie and lamb for supper. Along with a cabbage and vegetable soup that tasted every bit as wonderful as my grand'maman used to make, he made a concotion called "alligot". It is a mixture of mashed potatoes, garlic and cheese, freshly made. It was very good, lots of calories I am sure!
 |
| Vincent nous prépare un aligôt |
Merci à mon ami Michel T. qui a recommandé ce gîte!
Tuesday April 22
We walked 25 km today and the terrain was difficult, cold, windy and rainy! We walked most of the day with the same french couple Edmond and Marie-Jo, wonderful generous people. We arrived in St. Alban at about 5 pm; we had started at 8 am. We have met beautiful people on the route, always ready to talk as we walk. And of course they are all fascinated by our accent! Don't they know they are the ones with an accent!?
 |
| Arlette avec son poncho |
 |
| Il m'a mordu ce beau cheval! |
Monday April 21
Today has started out sunny and cool and we began the day with a 4 km climb quite steep. It took us 2 hours to get to the plateau. We passed by a wonderful little chapel that had been built into the rock so that only the facade is actually man-made. I wished it had been open, but I did manage a picture through the window. If I can find a way to put pictures up on this blog, then maybe you will be able to see it!
 |
| Sainte Marguerite dans le roc |
The rest of our walk today was pleasant and uneventful. We arrived at our gîte around 4 pm. The woman on the phone had said to go in make ourselves comfortable and she would be there around 6 pm to cook supper for us. There was a wood stove burning strongly, hot water for our showers and everything we needed to make ourselves at home.
Along with our new walking friends Marie-Jo and Edmond, we shared the house with another traveler, Jeorge (yes, with a J). Jeorge made us laugh all evening! He is a comedian by profession along with lots of other professions to keep him financially viable.
 |
| Marie-Jo et Edmond |
 |
| Jorge d'Arras |
Sonia, our host arrived at 6 pm as she had said and made us a wonderful meal, most of it with products from her farm or her neighbour's farm. In the morning there was homemade yogurt! The whole experience was like we had rented a gîte with entertainement (provided by Jeorge)and meals by Sonia.
Sunday April 20
We left Montbonnet this morning with all the clothes on our backs that we had in our backpacks. It is brutally cold with a wind that freezes you to the core! The first part of the terrain was through farmers' fields and the wind caught our backpacks and pushed us on the path. Thank you to my friend Michel T. who recommended I bring a long silk scarf. I used it to make a turban around my head and ears to keep warm!
 |
| C'est très froid! |
Today I walked with Luc and his family in mind. They were my motivation and kept my spirits up and my feet moving despite the weather and difficult terrain. Luc has early-onset Parkinsons. His courage and determination keeps him going to help raise his two boys, Zacharie and Théo with his wife Julie. He travels with them, goes camping even in winter and does everything a yound Dad does with growing boys. Keeping Luc and his family in mind made the day easy.
We navigated downhills on narrow paths that were full of rocks and water streaming downhill. We are actually quite proud of ourselves; neither of us fell or slipped! Because it was cold and windy we chose to have our lunch in a restaurant. It somehow didn't quite feel right. The food was good but out of sorts with the idea of a pilgrimage.
We are at a small hotel tonight, no room at the gîte, but not alone since many others on the same journey as us are here. We had a good meal with good company and great conversation. There are several french citizens on the trek for a week or two going only to Conques or Figeac. All hope to eventually in another year finish the pilgrimage.
Saturday April 19
We started the day with Mass at the cathedral and a blessing from the priest. There were more than 40 pilgrims ready to begin. We had our credencials stamped and all excited left by the main door that allows you to see through the town streets and up into the hills we were about to climb. One of the traditions of the pilgrimage is that people leave wishes for St. Jacques in a basket at the cathedral and as a pilgrim you can carry a wish to Santiago to deposit at the cathedral there. Legend has it that if your wish makes it, it will be granted. I picked one and it is from a young man who would like to meet someone with whom he can build a life and a family. I hope I am strong enough to take it all the way to Santiago for him.
The weather was good today, sun and cool enough to be comfortable walking. Saturday is market day so we bought what we need for our lunch and off we went up the first hill. Our first gîte in Montbonnet was typical I think. Arlette and I lucked out I think since we were assinged a room with only 3 beds and our own shower.
 |
| À la sortie de l'église à Puy-en-Velay |
 |
| C'est le début! |
Some of you know that our friends Marie-Claire and Gissane gave us each a small statuette of St. Christophe, patron saint of travellers. Today we met a real Christophe, a nice yound man from Finistère in the Bretagne region of France. He ended up sharing our room with us! Merci à Marie-Claire et Gissane!
vendredi 18 avril 2008
We have arrived!!
We are here in Puy-en-Velay. Our acommodation is good, a room to ourselves, very clean. We let ourselves be charmed by a cute ticket clerk in Paris who arranged a better train ticket than we had managed on the web, but wouldn't you know it was more expensive and of course charming as he was, we went ahead anyways! Oh well, live and learn!
It is quite cold here today. We have every layer of clothes we brought with us on. We visited the town cathedral and the wind whistled through it. Let's hope tomorrow will be warmer!
It is quite cold here today. We have every layer of clothes we brought with us on. We visited the town cathedral and the wind whistled through it. Let's hope tomorrow will be warmer!
jeudi 10 avril 2008
Great Friends - Entres amies
We had a great dinner party on Tuesday night to celebrate Arlette's birthday. To my surprise our friends had thought of both of us and brought us many thoughtful gifts for our trek; a tiny St. Christopher medal to carry with us, he is the patron saint of travelers, especially those carrying a heavy weight; folding bowl and cup, very light and flat when unfolded to fit in our backpack; wonderful bottles of wine to drink to our success when we get back! And tiny tools kits to repair our glasses if needed! We are truly blessed! Merci les amies, Marie-Claire, Gissane, Lucie, Louise-Marie et Céline.
Michèle
mardi 8 avril 2008
BONNE FÊTE ARLETTE!
C'est la fête d'Arlette aujourd'hui! Que je suis chanceuse d'avoir une si bonne amie qui est prête à faire ce trajet avec moi!
Michèle x
Notre crédentiale
Hé, oui, nous avons reçu notre crédentiale dimanche et ce en présence d'amis très chers et de la famille de Michèle. Lisez son texte et regardez ses photos pour plus de détails.
Je dois vous avouer que c'est un peu grâce a une crédentiale "remplie"que me voici lancée dans ce projet.
A ma première soirée d'information de l'Association québecoise des amis de Compostelle il y a près de 7 ans, un pélerin avait apporté SA crédentiale. Vous verrez que c'est impressionnant lorsque je vous monterai la mienne, autour d'une bonne bouteille de vin naturellement!! Je ne crois pas que le Chemin va m'enlever le gout du vin rouge. Mais sait-on jamais?
Arlette
Monsier Dextras sera avec nous en pensée tout le long du Chemin, comme la plupart d'entre vous d'ailleurs. Merci, ça nous aidera.
dimanche 6 avril 2008
Credencial del Peregrino
Today we received our « credencial ». The Association québécoise des pèlerins et amis du Chemin de Saint-Jacques organized a day of ceremony that began with a short 5 km walk. In medieval times when a person set out to walk to Santiago, friends and family would walk with them to the next village to see them off. After, a mass was read by the Bishop of Gatineau Mgr Ébacher. We then shared lunch and then received our Credencial del Peregrino. This is our passport that allows us access to the refugios or albergue, hostels or inns for pilgrims along the path. It is also proof that you have walked the Camino and allows you to receive your Compostela (sometimes called a Compostelana), a wonderful document written in latin that serves as your proof that you have walked the Camino. Arlette had our names translated into Latin for the Compostela.
I was very touched and felt very lucky to have my family with me, my parents, my sister, my supportive husband Jean-Claude and my wonderful son Sébastien all the way from Vancouver. Several of my friends also came to share this experience with me. Joan & Jacques, Louise & Michel, Jocelyne et Roger, François, Don and Marnie & Paul all walked with me in the morning and several of them were able to stay for Mass and lunch.
When I went up to receive my credencial I was cheered on by my friends and family. I feel as if all of them will be with me and Arlette throughout this journey. They will certainly all be in my heart!
Ten days to go before we fly off! I can't wait.
I was very touched and felt very lucky to have my family with me, my parents, my sister, my supportive husband Jean-Claude and my wonderful son Sébastien all the way from Vancouver. Several of my friends also came to share this experience with me. Joan & Jacques, Louise & Michel, Jocelyne et Roger, François, Don and Marnie & Paul all walked with me in the morning and several of them were able to stay for Mass and lunch.
When I went up to receive my credencial I was cheered on by my friends and family. I feel as if all of them will be with me and Arlette throughout this journey. They will certainly all be in my heart!
Ten days to go before we fly off! I can't wait.
Michèle
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Qui suis-je
- Compostelle 2008
- Nous voilà deux femmes à la retraite prête à passer à la prochaine étape de notre vie. Ce pèlerinage nous donne l'opportunité de vivre des changements dans nos vie.
