Mardi 14 Avril Saint Privat d'Allier

Morning here now and I survived my first day quite well. I am staying with a family and will continue on soon.  I am a bit stiff ce matin.  I was ready to stop after 24 km.  Big problem yesterday was getting my poles to lock in place.  I got one to work, but carried l'autre, mais avec secours de Josette et REI website got the other one fixed now aussi.  

Josette

Serge

Beautiful scenery and some remote forest on mountain where I saw no one for a couple of hours.  J'etais perdue un fois and walked peut-etre un km in wrong direction.  No sign of Michel yesterday.  I probably missed him while I was trying to get my poles to work.  Très interessant to spend night ici avec Josette et Serge avec my own room et dinner et conversation with help of dictionary!  Josette is off to take les malades from Le Puy where she volunteers on un voyage à Lourdes ce matin.  Only 16 km à marcher aujourdhui, but looks very winding so probably means hills.  Il fait froid.  Computer says -3 in Saugues where I go today.  Merci à Serge qui corrected my spelling et made eggs et café pour le petit dèjeuner.  Au revoir!

From Le Puy en Velay

Le Puy enVelay

St. Michael Archangel Church

Flowering plums in Le Puy en Velay (still quite cold here)

 I will see if I can post on the blog:  I can! Very busy day today, walking everywhere; meeting helpful people although almost no one speaks English. Cette keyboard Francais is mauvais for a touch typist: Tomorrrow will be the real test -- first day of walking 24 km or more; I am writing une messsage to all of you have written (and even those who have not).  Merci. Tomorrow at 7 a.m there is a mass and blessing of pilgrims in the eglise; then I take off. I met a helpful homme named Michel who speaks not much more English than I do French so communication is difficile, but we will look for each other in the a.m. at 8:30, mais I suspect he will be able to walk plus vite que moi.

View from Cathedral Door from which pilgrims depart

Cold, maybe 50 F un peu de pluie; but petit soleil ce soir.  Many shops and almost all restaurants are fermé ce soir; so I have some pain et fromage et banana and pudding -- not very balanced diet,I know, mais pour dejeuner I hqd rice; porc; et broccoli in a salon de the Le Bergerac (restaurant).

Ah je trouve l'accent é -- something useful about cette kyboard:

Must go now as last nuit I arrive so late I had to find everything in the dark.  It was lucky I had my little flashlight in my pouch. Many photos of course, pas non temps to figure out any way to post them.  Another time peut-etre.  Tomorrow I will almost certainly be too tired to post even if there is internet;  Thank you for all the good wishes.

The time has come...

I'm leaving for the airport in less than an hour.  One last check of the bag, writing down phone numbers since I won't have my cell phone or computer.  The bag weighed in at about 16 pounds last night without water, and not counting the camera.  I took some things out -- I did have jacket and fleece inside the pack.  I'd like it to be lighter.  But I added some clothes pins, foot powder, and granola bars this morning.

It is a perfect spring morning with all the trees blossoming.  It is hard to believe that France will be any more beautiful than this.   Two roadrunners in the driveway this morning to say good-bye.  I wish myself Buen Camino.

All ready to go, with absolutely all I took with me (hiking poles collapsed and wrapped in plastic).

One More Day to Get Ready

It is Thursday night and I leave early Saturday afternoon.  I've taken care of most of the stuff that needs to be taken care of at home while I'm gone.  But, I'm still going over the route in the books, still haven't decided on the final packing list, and still have things to do -- return library books, copy passport and other documents.  Do laundry, clean out the fridge...

Delta airlines rep says I can probably carry my collapsed trekking poles onto the plane as long as they are in the backpack.  But, I'll have to allow extra time in case I'm not allowed through security and have to return to the check-in counter to check them.

I'm worried about a lot of things, like connecting with the Lyon airport bus that will take me to the train to St. Etienne that will take me to the train to Le Puy en Velay.  And can I survive without a phone or a computer?

"Whan that Aprille with his shoures soote..."

Whan that Aprille with his shoures soote

The droghte of March hath perced to the roote,

And bathed every veyne in swich licour

Of which vertu engendred is the flour; 

Whan Zephirus eek with his sweete breeth

Inspired hath in every holt and heeth

Tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne
Hath in the Ram his halve cours yronne,

And smale fowles maken melodye,

That slepen al the nyght with open ye
(so priketh hem Nature in hir corages);

Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages,

And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes,

To ferne halwes, kowthe in sondry londes;

And specially from every shires ende Of Engelond
to Caunterbury they wende,

The hooly blisful martir for to seke,

That hem hath holpen whan that they were seeke.

Beginning of the "Prologue" to Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales."
Was it the esteemed Miss Dwyer who had us memorize this in senior English class?
For those who have forgotten their Middle English, see notes here.

Camino Bleu Introduction

I will be walking the Chemin de Saint Jacques from Le Puy en Velay in France to Roncesvalles in Spain between April 13 and May 20, 2010. When my husband Ed was dying of cancer in 2007, I made a vow that I would walk the pilgrimage, which I first became fascinated by when I read Frances Temple's novel The Ramsay Scallop. I will be walking for God, for Ed, and for the betterment of my soul.