Hurrying slowly from Cluny

[KiwiNomad06]

It's still six weeks until I leave New Zealand- but time is racing by, and I have a 'to do' list a mile long of things I want to cross off before I walk out my front door and head off to the local airport to start the long journey for Paris. Before I know it, it seems like I'll be 'live' from the Camino- or the Chemin in my case, as I expect to be staying mainly in France. While I have a moment though- after working hard all morning to get some of my jungle aka the garden into some semblance of pre-Camino order- I thought I would set up this thread so I can briefly post to it if I get any internet access along the way.

I have set up a new blog for this trip, Festina Lente, http://dawdlingwalks.blogspot.co.nz/ It's title is a homage really to Robert from Oz aka The Dawdler, who manages to carve out an even slower route through the landscapes and villages than I do... Like my blog last time though, I am expecting this blog might become more of a retrospective one that I will do once I have reached home, with photos etc.

My plans are rather fluid/flexible this time. My first hope is to walk from Cluny to Le-Puy-en-Velay (where I started last time), a distance of just over 300km. But I have been reliably informed this route is more hilly, solitary and has less accommodation than where I have walked before from south of Le Puy- so I will see how I go. When/if I reach Le Puy, I will then decide whether to go to Geneva and walk back to Le Puy from there, or whether I will re-walk some of the Le Puy route. Time will tell...
Margaret

 

[robertt]

Just a thought here. I have plans to go from Le Puy along the Regordane way, which would almost link me to the Arles route. And don't forget one can walk the Stevenson from Le Puy. Of course, re-walking the Chemin du Puy is an equally great idea.

In any case, Nomad, I might start a blog called Festina Lentissime, or crawlingwalks. I don't like to seem competitive, but there's a Trans-Tasman trophy at stake here - and we know who usually wins those!

On to Cluny, Nomad

Rob

 

[Sagalouts]

good luck to both of you.
nearly choked on my cornflakes laughing at your post Rob.
Ian

 

[KiwiNomad06]

Oh Robert, so you have plans as well! Cough splutter at your proposed blog name- but I already bow to your superior dawdling skills. I will leave it to others of my nation to win trophies, and I am sure there will be plenty of those...
Thanks Ian. And may those cornflakes do you no further harm!
Margaret

 

[andy.d]

enjoy yourselves! Made the mistake of reading this as I was eating a fishfinger sandwich.

Can you put more thought into transport to France? I'm sure there's real scope for slowing things down there

Andy

 

[KiwiNomad06]

Andy, I leave on the 11th and arrive in Paris on the 13th so it's already quite a slow spread out journey, with three flights and a night's sleep in Singapore in the middle. I suppose I could have taken a side-trip to Malaysia en route as well....
Margaret

 

[andy.d]

Ahhh, but the plane is very fast 8)

 

[andy.d]

But seriously, both of you have really good Caminos and I'm extremely jealous of your ability for mindful dawdling,

Andy

 

[KiwiNomad06]

Ahhh, but the plane is very fast 8)

lol Andy all my ancestors came to the Antipodes by sailing ship. I guess I could take weeks and try and get a passage in the opposite direction to them on a container ship!
Margaret

 

[andy.d]

or you could wait patiently for a stone boat to take you. Though I can't recall the legend giving any information as to whether that dawdled.

Go well,

Andy

 

[KiwiNomad06]

If it's any consolation to any others, I have already been-there-done-that and have proudly hung the Compostela on my wall....but I did a first trial pack today- and it doesn't all fit in and I have to try again!!! Same pack, thought the 'stuff' was pretty much the same, but obviously not!
Margaret

 

[robertt]

Here you are packing for Cluny, Nomad, and not long ago it was all quite impossible. Makes one think.

 

[Priscillian]

From a historical perspective, Cluny is the perfect place to start as it was Cluniac influence on the medieval camino which brought the pilgrimage route to prominence (and Christian use). My daughter and I walked from Le Puy to Moissac some years ago and I loved it, especially Le Domaine Sauvage an old Templar house with mucho atmosfera!
Hope you will leave enough time to visit Foxy and me...
http://www.pilgrimagetoheresy.blogspot. ... house.html
for contact details

 

[KiwiNomad06]

Just days until departure now. A friend just sent me this quote for my journey, from Edwina Gately. I thought I'd share it in case others find it useful for their Chemin/Camino journey.

"I need simply and only to wait upon God without expectation, and God, all longing, resting in me, will breathe in me the music of my soul."

In 2008, walking from Le Puy, I know I did lots of talking to God out there in the remote rural countryside. And the route from Cluny is by all accounts a lot more solitary, so who knows what 'talking' will go on this time.
Margaret

 

[lovingkindness]

Bonne route, bon courage et Bon Chemin, pelerine!

Go well, Margaret and have a fantastic time.
Regards, Lovingkindness

 

[KiwiNomad06]

Thanks lovingkindness. Bon courage is always such a wonderful French saying I think- and I will try to remember it!
Margaret

 

[mspath]

Margaret,

It seems that you are good to go! I have always enjoyed reading your earlier postings and look forward to those from your new adventures on the Cluny route.

Remember Few people know how to take a walk. The qualifications are endurance, plain clothes, old shoes, an eye for nature, good humor, vast curiosity, good speech, good silence and nothing too much....Ralph Waldo Emerson

Bon Voyage and Buen Camino !

Margaret Meredith

 

[KiwiNomad06]

'an eye for nature'- was the thing that gave me joy on my very first morning climbing out of Le Puy in 2008. At present I am still getting my head around the way I will be jumping from Autumn into Spring in just a few days.
I know I will need 'endurance' as well. Thanks for your good wishes!
Margaret

 

[Juliec55]

Please keep in touch I would loveto hear how things go. I am leaving with my friend on the 24th. Staying in Paris for 3 nights then we will start our walk on the 29th of April. Am busy walking with my back pack and so far so good. Buen Camino!

 

[irishpilgrim]

Margaret,
You must be leaving home shortly I think. Have a wonderful Camino. Your blog on the Le Puy route has been an inspiration and a wonderful resource on this forum for all of us who have walked that route since. I am waiting with baited breath for the next installment. Fine if we have to wait till you get home to read it all. It will be all the better for the wait. Good luck and bon Chemin.
Anna

 

[KiwiNomad06]

Thanks Julie and Anna,
Yes, this time in just three days I will be on the plane to Singapore. it is strange to realise that this time in a week I will be in Paris, just about ready to head towards Cluny.
Anna, I am glad you found my Le Puy blog useful- thanks for telling me.
Margaret

 

[elirin]

Margaret,
Sending you all my best wishes, I hope you will have a fantastic camino! WIll follow you here, on the blog, and with thoughts and prayers. I'll contribute with the Pilgrim's Prayer of St Birgitta (of Sweden, 1303-1373):


Lord show me the way
and give me strength to follow it

I've found it can come in handy at times
Bonne route!
Elisabet

 

[KiwiNomad06]

Elisabet,
Thank you. I will draw strength knowing you are 'walking' with me. And I hope you are able to walk more and more as spring arrives in Sweden.
Margaret

 

[KiwiNomad06]

Sorry, having set this thread up, I realise I wont get to post here often. More will appear on my Festina Lente blog though, as I manage to find a quick bit of wifi.
Am in Le Puy enjoying some sunshine. Am soon off to climb the Rock of St Michel, and French friends are arriving here today in a few hours; and I am really looking forward to seeing them. One of them is Francis, who walked with me the first two days of the Cluny route.
Margaret

 

[mspath]

Sorry, having set this thread up, I realise I wont get to post here often. More will appear on my Festina Lente blog though, as I manage to find a quick bit of wifi.
Am in Le Puy enjoying some sunshine. Am soon off to climb the Rock of St Michel, and French friends are arriving here today in a few hours; and I am really looking forward to seeing them. One of them is Francis, who walked with me the first two days of the Cluny route.
Margaret

Margaret,

Glad to learn that you have sunshine! The photos on your Festina Lente blog are wonderful.
Keep on enjoying your route.

Ultreia!

Margaret Meredith

 

[KiwiNomad06]

Glad to learn that you have sunshine!
Ultreia!Margaret Meredith

Left Le Puy today. Started in sunshine but it turned to custard bigtime! Thunder, lightning and hail that hurt! All the pelerins gathered in a bar were laughing about it later though. I lost my sunhat when I changed into my coat, but a pilgrim found it and brought it to this bar. He had lost his sunglasses but another pilgrim found them and brought them to this bar. And yes again, I have proved how impermeable NZ pack liners are.....
Margaret

 

[lovingkindness]

So, you're alive, then. Great! I'm enjoying your blog, Margaret. It sounds like you've had quite an experience from Cluny to Le Puy. Can't wait to see the photos. Thanks for sharing.

Bon Chemin
-Lovingkindness

 

[MichaelB10398]

Margaret, I cannot adequately express how much I appreciate your posts. You are one of my most favorite pelerins and a joy to read about your adventures and perspective. I look forward to following your posts and peeking through your eyes at the Chemin.

God bless,

Mike

 

[KiwiNomad06]

Ok here I am making a Forum appearance! I have walked from Le Puy to Conques, and
am now resting in Moissac for a few days. I am staying in the gite Ultreia with my Irish friends Rom and Aideen.

And strangely enough, KiwiNomad has been recognized! I never met a single fellow Kiwi in the whole four weeks I was on the Chemin between Cluny and Conques. But first night here, in walks a Kiwi from Gisborne, who was using my blog and who realized I must be Kiwi Nomad. Then last night in walked three Australians, one of whom was Sharon from the Forum, with her husband and a friend! Sharon had PMed me before departure and commented that we might meet. I thought that unlikely, but there you go!

I am well and will stay here for another week or so, then will head off to Spain to walk some of the Camino. Current thinking is that I might start in Pamplona, but time will tell..

 

[KiwiNomad06]

OK, it looks like I might have some time this morning to do a forum post so here goes! This is the trip of several parts...

First up I travelled from Paris to stay with Camino friends in the Burgundy region, then Francis drove me to Cluny and walked the first two days with me. This was a great gift. There are not so many pilgrims or walkers on the Cluny route and he wanted to make sure I knew how to follow the balises etc so I wouldn't get lost. I was pretty highly motivated to not get lost, as there were several days of mostly forest walking and I didn't want to stray onto the wrong path and end up in the middle of nowhere. Francis had an interesting view of 'flat' though- and I soon learned that when he said the path was flat ahead, his meaning for 'flat' was not quite the same as mine!

The Cluny route - just under 300km- is mostly quite hilly, and is more difficult in places than what you get after Le Puy, and the tracks are rougher underfoot in places. There was a climb of 800m one day, and I used the guidebook so I knew where the steepest bits were and how long they would last for, so I could steel myself for it all. But up on top was a lovely little gite with a beautiful view. In fact there were lots of spectacular views, and some interesting towns as well. One beautiful town was right on a big sweeping bend in the Loire and it had a fascinating history, including finds from early human settlements dating back 60 000 years. I met some very kind people on the Cluny route, but the thing I found hardest was the lack of company from other walkers. So I shelved the thoughts I had of maybe doing the Geneva route as well, as that would be similar, and now have even greater respect for people who walk very long distance from their homes in Holland or Switzerland or Germany etc, and who walk so far on these less pilgrim-ed routes.

I had a rest day in Le Puy and was lucky enough to stay two nights in a gite run by the local Amis of St Jacques who were very kind. This was especially welcome as I had a mini-meltdown on arrival in Le Puy- I'd had to stay so strong for the Cluny route and suddenly I could relax. I had only been expecting an easy 16km 'stroll' into town on the final day, but there were two big climbs and descents, and then I got lost! I found myself in a little historic chapel where I had a good cry, and then a pilgrim who'd been walking five weeks came in and was very understanding.

Next day I headed off on the Le Puy route that I walked on last time. I was thrust into the realities of the present moment when a thunderstorm struck, about 5km before Montbonnet where my day's endpoint was. Yikes- there was no shelter, and the hail became very thick and heavy- and hard pummeling on the head!! I was too concerned about the heaviness of the hail to be too worried about the lightning which was probably just as well. I arrived totally drenched and it was lovely to be taken across to the beautiful gite I was staying in, where there was a hot shower.

I was keen to re-walk as far as Conques. One day someone asked me if it was a bit boring repeating the same walk, but it wasn't like I was repeating it at all. For one thing, I was meeting new people along the way, and quite a few of my night's stops were in new places. But the other factor was that the weather was so different, Places that had looked really foreboding in dark stone on grey days looked very welcoming in the sunlight. Sometimes I found I had forgotten really tricky descents or ascents, as what I had remembered was the extremes of weather that day. And the biggest pleasure was crossing the two days of the high Aubrac Plateau in sunshine. Last time the weather was bitterly cold on day 1, and the fog was so thick on day 2 that I never saw anything. This time it was two days of pure heaven with the views to die for- like I was walking in heaven on top of the world, and the wild daffodils in the fields were just breath-taking. And I strolled across in warm sunshine in a t-shirt.

I seemed to go over on my foot a little on a rock on that first day across Aubrac though. A few days later I got a bit concerned that if had torn something, I was damaging my foot more. I was intending to come off the track sometime soon to visit my Irish friends in the gite Ultreia in Moissac, so I decided then to leave the Chemin when I reached Conques if I could find transport. And I could. Took a school bus, a bus, and a train, and arrived in Moissac.

And I have been here for the last ten days or so. This month is the peak month for walkers in France, and I've been able to do some things to help Rom and Aideen a little. Sometimes because I have walked the route myself already I can answer questions people have. There are quite a few cyclists here as well, some of them doing the Camino, and others cycling the nearby canal. Rom and Aideen are very quick to help pilgrims in need. Last night Aideen drove out to collect two men about 6pm- one of them had developed tendonitis and was really struggling especially as it was a hot day.

And the next phase of my journey is about to begin: on Tuesday I am taking trains to Pamplona in Spain- Moissac-Agen- Bordeaux- Irun- Pamplona. I get there about 6pm and have booked a pension for the first night. Then the next day I will start re-walking some of the Camino to Santiago. I don't have time to do all of it at my speed before It's time for me to head back to Paris. Might skip a bit, or might walk to a certain point then skip ahead to Santiago as a tourist. Will depend on my foot and on how hot it gets on the Meseta probably!
Anyhow, that's the low-down! Until next time,
Margaret

 

[lovingkindness]

well, that was a jolly good read, Margaret.

 

[KiwiNomad06]

And here is a shorter one lk :wink:
Arrived in Pamploña yesterday evening and began walking today: Was going to do a short day to help ease my body in, but in the heat decided I would cut it even shorter and stopped in Uterga.(Robert, I feel under no pressure to go far or fast this time- your Dawdler record might be under threat!)

The temperature was only about 14C in Pamplona this morning but soon warmed up. I was looking forward to the climb to Alto del Perdon,and the views lived up to all my memories and more in the sunshine.

I did have memories of climbing through mud in 2008- but everything was very dry on the trail today. Quite a few wheat crops have grown tall. The views across to the hills and over the fields of crops were to die for. I really think the views in this section of the Camino are under-rated.

Met lots of friendly people of many nationalities and ages. More from the USA than I have met before, so I wonder if the movie ´The Way´ has had an impact on numbers. Quite a few separate groups of Italians were on the trail today as well, and one threesome were singing behind me at one stage to help get themselves up the hill, and it sounded bellissimo.

Sat on the shady side of a monument at the top of Alto del Perdon to eat my lunch-and took quite a few photos of the pilgrim statues at the top.

I had thought I might walk to Obanos but in the heat decided to quit at Uterga. My foot is feeling good so am very pleased about that. Think I set a record for fluid intake today, so it´s time to go get another Fanta with ice in it!

 

[KiwiNomad06]

Now in Logrono. The colours in the landscapes are spectacular at the moment with the wheat ripening and the vineyards getting greener. Had four very hot days
- up to 32C- but last night in Torres del Rio it all came to an end with a spectacular thunderstorm. I was quite glad to walk with cool arms this morning!

 

[SabsP]

Margaret,

love reading about your progress!!

 

[KiwiNomad06]

Thanks Sabine

Today I am in the same town and albergue I was in in 2008, for the first time in Spain... It´s a lovely albergue in Azofra with rooms that just have two beds in them. But last time I was here, on nearly the same date, it was bitterly cold! There is a foot pool outside that last time must have been like ice, but this time I will wait a bit until the heat has gone out of the sun somewhat before I gratefully use it!

Had a really pleasant evening in Ventosa yesterday. There were some lovely ladies from various countries in the dorm, and the garden outside led to some very communal chats, all with the background sound of the little waterfall feature.

As promised, the music went on in the albergue at 6am for us to wake up. I arose then, and by the time I headed off outside, the sun was just rising. One of the great things about staying in village albergues is that you are immediately out in the countryside for the start of the day´s walk, and that helps give a great sense of wellbeing.

Today´s walk was an especially wonderful one, past many vineyards, and with mountains in the distance. There was a bit of a climb to start with that soon opened up to a view of the basin below where Najera lay with a little mist in places. There were lots of mountains and hills surrounding the basin, including some very flat-topped plateau ones. The sun was shining, and the world was just a delicious place to be! A Swiss woman from the albergue joined me for a while, and it was like we shared a bit of heaven.

In Najera, the sun made the cliffs behind the town look very red, and I saw a few storks´ nests up high. Most of the remaining vineyards for the morning´s walk also had the same red soil, and the colours in the landscape were again just superb.

I arrived in Azofra before lunch, and had to decide whether to walk on another 10km in the midday heat, or have a ´slow´day and stay here. Not a hard choice really when you are me! Soon had my 'evening' change of clothes out on the laundry line, and will put them on to wash my walking set soon. Have had a delicious lunch in the local restaurant, and can now go have my siesta.

I am only going to be walking one more day in this part of Spain, to Santo Domingo de la Calzada tomorrow. Then the plan is to catch buses on to Leon. I finally worked out my 'dates' last night and realised I really only have two more walking weeks left, and decided that a straight through walk from Leon to Santiago was the best option. It's funny, but it is as if I feel the tug of all the preceding millions of pilgrims along the Camino to arrive there. It's like a strong current I can't ignore- though when I arrived in Spain, I wasn't at all sure if I would go to Santiago at all.

For anyone reading my Festina Lente blog you´ll know this post comes pretty much from there. Will add a few photos to my blog later if I find wifi in town!
Margaret

 

[KiwiNomad06]

Am in Cacabelos this afternoon, so will soon be climbing O'Cebreiro and into Galicia.
Yesterday climbed to Cruz de Ferro- it was a bit rainy at times and the wind made it cold enough for me to pull on my polyprops and woollen hat. But could still see quite well and loved the views, the alpine plants and all the schist and mountain rocks. Slipped on some loose shingle at entrance to El Acebo and think I was lucky to escape a bad foot injury.
Am in a hotel tonight. They had big billboards offering a special pilgrim price and I am loving the luxury of real towels, my own big bathroom, and nobody to wake me tomorrow at 4.30am. I could get used to this!

It seems a bit 'odd' sometimes that I am so near the end but have done just under two weeks walking in Spain. It mystifies others at times, especially when they can see how worn out my shoes are. (I just hope they last the distance or I will have to wear my sandles. But when I got a sello in a bar this morning the man was most impressed with my credential, and the beautiful stamps he had never seen from the Cluny Chemin.

 

[Sagalouts]

thanks for posting "live" Margaret-also following your blog-great as always ( love the pics)
Ian
ps if 26km up to the iron cross is dawdling for a Kiwi-then Rob has got you beat hands down

 

[KiwiNomad06]

Lol Ian I guess he probably has! I treated my foot gently for the first week in Spain, but it has now proven itself capable of more.
Mind you, this hotel room is so comfy I could quite easily slow my pace and take a rest day here!

 

[realtree71]

I've enjoyed following your journey, salute. If you are posting at other locations could you put up the links? Do you have any recommended readingings to prepare for this journey? What has been the hardest part of this for you and and what would you do differently?

I live in the very central part of the USA and I am inspired by your posts

 

[Rebekah Scott]

Margaret, you ROCK. I am sorry you skipped by us, but I will try to understand!

 

[robertt]

Hey, give my regards to Margarita and staff in Cacabelos - if you're still there, of course.

Ian, this Kiwi fancies herself as a dawdler, but she seems to cover as much ground as you do. I feel no threat coming from over the Tasman.

(By the way, Nomad, we are trying to compassionately repatriate a Kiwi called Robbie Deans. Free to a good NZ home!)

Ultreia

Rob

 

[KiwiNomad06]

Real tree, I am posting more often on my blog- top link on my signature. There isn't so much from France as I had less Internet access there. Hardest thing wad that I hurt my foot a bit crossing Aubrac. My journey hasn't quite been 'standard' but I wouldn't change a thing.

Reb, I know, twas a hard decision to skip past you, but in the end the call to Santiago was too strong, even for a bad Catholic like myself! I did think of you as the bus went by!

Rob, I only saw Margarita briefly last night- our common language being French. I will pass on your regards. You are well remembered at Ultreia Moissac by the way. Poor Robbie- he did such a good job with the Crusaders...

 

[KiwiNomad06]

We'd had some drizzly days here so I was expecting more of the same for thd climb up O'Cebreiro. But the weather turned out to be just superb! It was sunny and warm but not too hot, and the views were just magnificent. Saw lots of people I hadn't seen for a few days on the way up as well. It is steep in places, especially on the haul up to La Faba, but I think anyone who has been walking a while finds they are fit enough to cope.
Weather even stayed gorgeous all evening do relaxed and looked at the views.

In Triacastela tonight and expect to make Santiago about 21/22 all going well.

 

[realtree71]

I see from your blog site you are nearing the jouney ends. Congradulations.. You must be filled with excitement and joy. Im curious how you are reaching the internet while you are traveling? I am thinking of using my iphone but is it easy to find places along the way to charge the devices?

I wish you safe travels the next few days

 

[KiwiNomad06]

I am pretty excited at this stage realtree. I will have a walk of 25km or so to reach Monte de Gozo tomorrow, then Santiago the following morning.

I brought my iPod Touch with me and have found wifi fairly often, especially in bars and restaurants. Sometimes it is easy to charge devices but not always- it depends where you stay, and sometimes where the power point is in relation to your bunk!

 

[Tia Valeria]

Good to see you are nearly there Margaret. It is just over a month since we were walking where you are now. Still sorting photos and memories to post as we didn't do so while on the camino.
Buen (final kms) Camino
Terry and Valerie

 

[KiwiNomad06]

Well, I am indeed nearing the end. I walked about 25km from Melide today, and am less than 30km from Santiago. Tonight I am in a hotel a few hundred metres off the Chemin that has a small albergue. They have given us each a Real Towel which is Pure Bliss! Tomorrow I will wàlk to Monte de Gozo then the next morning into Santiago. I wasn't sure where I would stay as it seems like the city is quite busy when I arrive, but I picked up a flyer on the path today for what might be a new pension not far from the Cathedral, and the lady here at the hotel has rung and reserved three nights for me.

Last night I met a Forum dude from Kiwiland- Lou. He used to live not so very far from me until he abandoned us for Oz five years ago.

It was pretty easy walking today, a lot of it through forest. I find I am quite reflective as I approach Santiago, which is rather nice.
Johnnie Walker, here I come!
Margaret

 

[KiwiNomad06]

Terry and Valerie, I'll be walking in your recent footsteps tomorrow then. I'll think of you!
Margaret

 

[robertt]

Heaps of congratulations, nomad. This gives me strength to plan for the Regordane Way and Arles, which presently seem unlikely. Seems to be how it works.

Rob

 

[KiwiNomad06]

Robert, I hereby admit defeat in the dawdling stakes.
I am currently sitting on the laundry at Monte de Gozo while everything gets a good clean. So I am in my long johns, but there is nobody else here to see!
Tomorrow morning I will walk into Santiago. Will it be raining? It's trying hard to start drizzling right now, but so far without success.
Stayed last night in the albergue part of a new hotel Pousada de Salceda. The lovely lady there rang up and reserved a place for me to stay in Santiago, so all going well, this is my last night in a bunk bed in a dorm!

 

[andy.d]

I think you should spend at least three days travelling from Monte de Gozo to Santiago
Go well!

Andy

 

[KiwiNomad06]

But Andy, that would be Purgatory!
Margaret

 

[andy.d]

You're sounding like one of those who start walking massive distances when nearing Santiago! :wink:

Buen Camino!

Andy

 

[KiwiNomad06]

I have arrived. It is sunny! I dawdled in from Monte do Gozo this morning, thinking about all those I had walked with in 2008, and arrived at the Pilgrim Office just before Johnnie Walker arrived in to start his day. So he put the last stamps in my credentials and filled in my Compostela. Thanks Johnnie!

 

[LTfit]

Felicidades Margaret and what a wonderful way to finish!

I have enjoyed following you on Festina Lente (love the title) but you sure have not been dawdling over the last few days!

Cheers,
LT