Yes, I am back on the route that will ultimately, I hope, bring me to Santiago. This year I have started without fanfare, without discussion, and without rehearsals. Though having said that, I have walked 6 stages of “Walking the Borders of Basel” so itt is not like I have been totally idle for the last few weeks. No, the reason is that having done the walk last year, I know that I can do this, so I am just going ahead and doing it. Also, I did mention it at the beginning of the year as a key objective of my walking programme, so it should not come as a surprise to any reader to see that I am doing this.
However, there was one key learning from last year, which basically was that just because you can do something doesn’t mean that you should do it. Last year, I successfully walked form Geneva to Le Puy en Velay based on a daily rate of 30km per day. I enjoyed it, but I decided I would enjoy 25km per day even more. So that is what I am doing.
Taking all of that into account, I started off from Le Puy this morning. The route leads down into the city, among a mixture of locals, tourists, pilgrims and general walkers, before going uphill again as it heads out into the countryside. The trail soon reaches the settlement of la Roche. It goes through the settlement and around the edge of the built area to emerge into open fields with occasional woodland.
And then I came to the village of St. Christophe sur Dolaison. This little village has a wonderful stone built old church which is a little gem and well worth a visit.
The village also boasts a bar which serves beer with a plate of assorted cheeses. Just what was needed on a warm day. And then it was back out into the countryside, back into open fields with the occasional cross. Some of these crosses are rather ancient, up to 600 years old, and they all have a designated place
Eventually, just before Montbonnet is the wonderful Chapelle St. Roch. The thick stone walls of the chapel allow the air to remain cool inside even on a warm day, so cool that my breath would condense as I breathed through my mouth.
Then it was on through the village of Monbonnet. A mixture of fields and woodland brought me over the ridge, and then downhill. I had a refreshing beer in le Chier before going the last two kilometers into St. Privat d’Alllier. That is where I am staying tonight. I had booked into Gite, where I have had a delicious and filling meal, so now I will sleep soundly to face tomorrow.
I just realized this evening that I have been very remiss in not giving the information on step counts associated with recent postings. So I will start to remedy that from today, when I had a count of 39509 steps for the day. That is OK.
Walkingman 