TravellingSonn
Active Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- Camino Frances 2008, Le Puy route (TBC)
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I second that! I walked through the Valley (GR651) earlier this year. It is quieter than the other route and the villages surrounded by the cliffs are very pretty. This route also gives you the opportunity to visit the Peche Merle caves with their prehistoric art. It leaves the GR65 just after Figeac and joins it again just after Limogne en Quercy. I opted to stay at the convent at Vaylats then walked on to Cahors the day after.peregrina2000 said:Looks like a great itinerary. I've done pretty much the same thing, except that we decided to take a slight detour off the GR65 for a few days along the Cele River Valley. It is BEAUTIFUL and well marked. You turn off somewhere soon after Figeac and return to the GR 65 at Cahors.
A short distance away is:I opted to stay at the convent at Vaylats
Kiwi-family said:Is this route comparable in terms of financial cost to the CF?...
Kiwi-family said:...are there frequent supermarkets or just little "corner stores" with the odd baguette?)...
Sorry Laurie, I just saw the question you asked a couple of days ago. The gite is right in the middle of the high part of the village so restaurants and the tourist office are nearby. The current one doesn't appear to be very old but there has been a gite in the village for some years.peregrina2000 said:Julie, is the gite in St. Cirque in the old high part of the village? We were walking with Dutch friends who stayed in the campgrounds down by the river, and I do mean DOWN. It was quite a schlepp for them to come up and down to the hill-top village. I don't think there was a gite when we were there.
Laurie, you don't need to backtrack to Bouzies as the trail from St-Cirq-Lapopie continues towards Concots and joins up with the GR65 just before Bach.peregrina2000 said:From St. Cirque, you must return to Bouzies to continue on the GR, so there is some back-tracking. But well worth it, IMO.
I agree with this. Mostly you can ring up and reserve a place in a gîte just a day or two ahead. Occasionally at a busy time you won't get exactly the place you thought you might like to stay at, but you will still find a bed.newfydog said:1 Don't be wedded to that schedule---you can be spontaneous on that route and not get stranded
I never had a crepe, but you will expand your food horizon! Breakfast is still bread, coffee, butter, and jam. Go for the duck gizzards...I have never been a fan of French food, except the desserts. A meat and potatoes guy. No cream based foods, or duck, or things that look back at me. Will I starve or do I have to live on crepes?
I found that cost-wise it was sometimes double in France along the Le Puy route compared to what it often was in Spain. For doing things cheaply there is not really the same infrastructure as along the CF. There are municipal gites in bigger places- but they were more likely to cost around 10 Euro. They do tend to have well equipped kitchens in municipal gites. But in rural areas you quite often end up staying in private gites, and there won't always be a food store handy. Some of the private gites have kitchens for you to do your own cooking, but not always. In many of them, they offer dinner and breakfast at a demi-pension rate, but that would be more expensive than what you experienced along the CF.Kiwi-family said:Is this route comparable in terms of financial cost to the CF? (bearing in mind we managed to stay in 5euro albergues for almost our entire three weeks...and more often than not cooked for ourselves....are there frequent supermarkets or just little "corner stores" with the odd baguette?)
Something is stirring inside me!
The lodging infrastructure along the Le Puy route is quite different from what is encountered between SJPP and Santiago. For every ten walkers in Spain, there is only one walker in France. So there is a correspondingly lower level of intensity in the lodgings: there are fewer of them, there is more distance between them, and each is smaller. If you skip this one, you might have another 12 km to walk to the next opportunity. The most common is the private, family-operated gite that sleeps perhaps 8 to 12. Almost all of these will offer a combination of dormitory (room with bunkbeds for 4-8) and private sleeping rooms (sleeps 1-2). A family-style evening meal and breakfast is included in the demi-pension rate and is definitely the way to go. In the larger, older towns you may find small hotels, that generally include a restaurant. You may also find municipal gites that are less expensive and offer shared kitchen privileges. One does not need to stay in a hotel to get a private sleeping room. But if this is your requirement, you must reserve in advance! Miam Miam Dodo includes email contact info.georgia jugs said:We like to stay in small hotels or pensions, rather than the albergues, for privacy and restful sleep. Are there only gites along this path, or a combination of both?
It's a good thing the French are no more bound by our stereotype of them than we are by their stereotype of us. If the French food you object to is expensive, Michelin-starred Parisian restaurant cuisine, you will not find it along the Le Puy route. The evening meals served in gites are home-cooking, with generous portions. The French are famous in Europe as meat-lovers; we often wondered why we were walking by so many vegetable gardens yet saw vegetables making an appearance at table only in the form of soup (or salad). If you are a vegetarian, the gites were very accommodating - mention your diet needs when you book your advance reservation. I never saw a crepe, actually. Now, there is one stretch after Moissac where duck is the red meat; I thought I had had duck every possible way on successive nights, and then I found the place that served duck hearts. Tasted like a delicious beef burgundy.georgia jugs said:Another question - I like to eat and enjoyed the food of Spain, however I have never been a fan of French food, except the desserts. A meat and potatoes guy. No cream based foods, or duck, or things that look back at me. Will I starve or do I have to live on crepes?
rickster said:I am planning on walking Le Puy around mid May,2013 and have followed all of the helpful comments with interest. I only have two weeks. Can anyone suggest an itinerary starting in Le Puy? Even if it means breaking it up at some point for a bus or train ride to a forward location. Or am I better off just starting in LePuy and walking for two weeks and picking up the remainder at some point in the future.
TravellingSonn said:Kanga,
Thank you very much for sharing. I'll endeavour to stop over and try Monique's food. Whereabouts is Bach located?
Thanks again,
Sonn
Larazet said:Condom! Lovely town, cafes etc. I live near there anyway so I have to be biaised....
ranthr said:Buen camino on the GR 65. I left it to day in Figeac to go to Irun and el Norte.
Randi
To me, this seems quite strenuous, especially given your (lack of) training. My personal "sweet spot" is in the 16-18 km/day range. If your travel companion is dead-set on this pace, however, it doesn't mean that you need to be, also. You have several options. You could walk separately, and meet up again with him at your departure city. Another option would be taking a taxi halfway to the next town, in the morning, and meeting companion there each night. A third option would be to send your bag ahead with a transport service, and walk with companion (perhaps the weight differential will slow him down a bit). The transport service will also transport you, if asked - but this generally would be for a day-long leg and not a half-leg, as a taxi would. Fourth, of course, is to convince companion to slow down to a pace you can manage.Sat 21 Day 1) Fly + Nothing
Sun 22 Day 2) Nogoro TO Aire Sur L'Adour(28 KM)
Mon 23 Day 3) Aire Sur L'Adour TO Arzaq - Arraziguet(33 KM)
Tue 24 Day 4)Arzaq - Arraziguet TO Arthez - de Bearn (29 KM)
Wed 25 Day 5) Arthez - de Bearn TO Navarrenx (30 KM)
Thur 26 Day 6) Navarreux TO Aroue(17.7 KM)
Fri 27 Day 7) Aroue TO Ostabat (23.7 KM)
Sat 28 Day 8) Ostabat TO Saint Jean - Pied de Pont (21.8KM)
Sun 29 Day 9) Nothing + Fly
Erik, I did not see this until now. my moving to the norte was planned ahead. I have walked from Le Puy to Santiago in 2009 and this year wanted to rewalk a part of Gr 65 as i did last year too before doing the Aragon to Punte la Reina. I took the train from Figeac to Toulouse and from there to Irun. Then walked to Santander. The weather was a mess in May by the way. In 2009 I walked in autumn in beautiful weather most of the time. But you never know about weather. Buen camino in October if your plan is still alive!Hello Randi, I'm very curious about this as I am considering this move in Oct. Could you please tell me why you left the Gr65 at Figeac (was it the trail, or weather or personal) and how did you get from there to Irun?
Many thanks
Eric
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