Julesy McJulesface
New Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- Sept 2020 Le Puy
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The average for demi-pension at gites on the Le Puy is EUR40. Add EUR5 for lunch groceries. Add EUR8 for daily luggage transport (if you really want, although it does not seem necessary to me). Makes about EUR 61 per day, or EUR793 (call it 800) for 13 days. Really. (Makes AusD 1280 at today's rate.)The quote I have obtained so far as a solo, self guided traveller with breakfasts and luggage (!a new thing for me) transfers included for 13 days via an Australian company from Le Puy to Conques is $2900 AUD. I am awaiting an international company to provide a quote too.
I will do that, I think that will give me time to take some pressure off and adjust to the culture shock I will no doubt experience.Book your first night out of Le Puy, maybe two. That won’t lock you in very much but it will take some stress out of your first days. Looking at my diary that means St. Privat and Saugres.
I made it to Figeac in 13 days, and your experience relative to mine suggests you can do that. Just think how you’re going to fly without a full pack!
It was a bit non-conversational in the evenings the first year I walked the Le Puy (Le Puy to Cahors). So the second year (Cahors to SJPP), (both years in September) I used MMD to book lodgings in advance that were indicated as "English-speaking". The thing is, other English speakers (ie, everyone else but the French) also gravitate toward these same establishments, so they tend to book up early.I have read some comments that non French speakers felt lonely on the Le Puy route, would that be accurate for any of you who have walked it?
No worries. With the strong local accent, even the Parisians have trouble. So do as the rest of us - ask the gite owner to phone ahead for you for the next night. They all speak the same accent, they all know each other, and they will know to ask about store closings, weather conditions, etc.I will have barely enough language skills to make a booking
Hi Carol, I was thinking about walking in September, but might be tempted to swithch to June/ july,HOW MUCH? That is a total rip off. I spent 6 weeks in France including over a week in Paris, and only spent $5000 aussies. I'm in Australia, Sydney too. My average was $45. per day in 2018. I took 4 weeks from Le Puy to Cahors. Slow walk and a couple of rest days. I do speak French (with an awful accent apparently). I did it in JUNE/JULY and it was really empty. I went whole days without seeing another person, lots of cows. I was on my own in the gites. I bought a phone and 28 days connection for $70, and just phoned for the next gite. 'Avez vous un lit pour une femme ce soir? Demi Pension, s'il vous plait." But a lot of hosts speak sufficient English. (As someone who wanted to practise their French, I had to fight off Europeans wanting to practise their English.) Malle Postale is the best!
I also just got on the train under Paris airport Charles de Gaulle to Lyon, a superfast train of 2 and a bit hours,(booked over trainlink from Sydney, go to the station office to collect ticket) then in the same station every 4 hours to Le Puy, but watch out for french train strikes. I would sleep a night in Lyons and eat in one of the Boutain restaurants, delicious and not expensive. (They eat Rabbit!!) Jet lag is a killer. If you pm me, I will give you my MamanDodo guide.
Hi Carol, I was thinking about walking in September, but might be tempted to swithch to June/ july,
Thanks Bill
Excellent idea, thank you! I will try that. Even if I only get lucky once every few days with English speaking Gite owners, that should stop me losing the power of speech on my travels- although I suspect my husband would like it if I finished the trip talking a little less than I do now!
I did take French in highschool for 4 years, but I left high school 23 years ago, so my French is non- existent. I am making the effort to practice every day until I go, but am under no illusion that in 9 months, I will have barely enough language skills to make a booking etc rather than hold a conversation.
Theoretically, yes. There is often a space available. But you must be willing to feed yourself without kitchen access, and be willing/able to converse with the French fellow-lodgers. Typically it's the Germans, who do 30-40 km/day stages, who do this. Practically, it's the demi-pension meals that drive the calling-ahead practice. And the few pigs-in-python waves of large groups walking, which take up almost all beds.My question is whether it's possible on this chemin to just see how far you get in a day and stop there.
The heaviest months on the Le Puy route are May and September. Most gites are only open Easter to All Saints. There is a French school mid-term holiday in late October for two weeks. French vacation period is from Bastille Day to Sept 1. So the end of Sept/Early Oct is one sweet spot. And late April is the other. However, being well into the shoulder season, weather is quite chancy for both these and you will need to pack accordingly.Secondary question - what times of the year might that be possible (that sweet spot between "so crowded you have to reserve in advance" and "you have to reserve in advance or otherwise they might not even open for the night")?
Excellent idea, thank you! I will try that. Even if I only get lucky once every few days with English speaking Gite owners, that should stop me losing the power of speech on my travels- although I suspect my husband would like it if I finished the trip talking a little less than I do now!
I did take French in highschool for 4 years, but I left high school 23 years ago, so my French is non- existent. I am making the effort to practice every day until I go, but am under no illusion that in 9 months, I will have barely enough language skills to make a booking etc rather than hold a conversation.
Bonjour / Bonsoir! I agree wholeheartedly with most of the posts here ... certainly imho the prices quoted by the aussie walking tour companies for pre-booking your accomm. are a total rip-off ... €50 a day [A$80] for them to send an email ... seriously ... and many of the stages they set are ridiculous ... and above-all, as you know, you end up with no flexibility in your schedule to pick and choose your stages and everything else ...
The Miam Miam Dodo app is a wonderful companion for you to have on this route ... it works like a .gps and you can set the text to english ... it lists most of the accommodation options with prices, a badge to indicate if english is spoken, and a host of other info ... and you can contact places direct from the app ... even though I know this Way very well I twouldn’t leave home without it ...
Best sim card in my experience is Le French Mobile which uses the orange network [equivalent to telstra] but is not a tourist sim which is what they sell in the orange stores in France ... and best of all there is an aussie distributor : Tim at VeloNomad [will post the link]
Something else you might like to consider if you are on FB is to join the private «Way of Saint James Via Podiendis» group where you can access lots of free and comprehensive resources incl. accommodation lists.
with best wishes from fellow aussie and recidivist Le Puy route pilgrim ... happy planning!
So the end of Sept/Early Oct is one sweet spot.
Bonjour / Bonsoir! I agree wholeheartedly with most of the posts here ... certainly imho the prices quoted by the aussie walking tour companies for pre-booking your accomm. are a total rip-off ... €50 a day [A$80] for them to send an email ... seriously ... and many of the stages they set are ridiculous ... and above-all, as you know, you end up with no flexibility in your schedule to pick and choose your stages and everything else ...
Ooops missed this in my other multiquote attempt! Thanks to all of you generous more experienced forum members, I can see that it was a bit of highway robbery on the travel agents behalf. It was so overwhelming to even think about the trip at the start, but each little piece of info you have all shared with me is forming the building blocks of confidence. I know I can do this now!
Curious what you meant by the stages being ridiculous as set by the tour companies? Do you mean too long or just not making for the best stops?
One thing I had thought of is had I gone ahead and let them book for me, I may potentially have ended up feeling a bit isolated from the other walkers. In the quote I received, I was getting a single room and no dinner, it wasn't demi-pension they were booking, but breakfast only. I assume I will meet others, even if not English speaking, by sharing a room, or bathroom or dinner table with them.
Bonjour, Blackrocker,Bonjour Bill / Hansel! something to think about re walking June / July is the heat ... this year, frankly, it was unbearable and very hot nights [no aircon and no cool breezes] making sleep difficult ... imho best stick with your September plan ... another thing that I noticed but didn’t particularly bother me, was that the numbers of walkers dropped off sharply as soon as the heat arrived ... very few of us in the trail which is fine BUT there is a downside to that ...
Bonjour Bill / Hansel! something to think about re walking June / July is the heat ... this year, frankly, it was unbearable and very hot nights [no aircon and no cool breezes] making sleep difficult ... imho best stick with your September plan ... another thing that I noticed but didn’t particularly bother me, was that the numbers of walkers dropped off sharply as soon as the heat arrived ... very few of us in the trail which is fine BUT there is a downside to that ...
Great! I shall make a cup of tea and sit and have a read, thank you for sharing your blog link, savouring it now will save me from the pile of washing I was intending to fold.walking500more.wordpress.com
That was us last week too. I work permanent nights so pointed the kids in the direction of the fridge, told them not to use the oven and wake me only if there was literally a fire I needed to know about. Stay safe, let's hope this weather breaks soon.Enjoyall schools in our area closed today - catastrophic fire danger, 42 degrees and very windy!
That is an excellent resource- thanks a bunch! I was typing in different search terms today and didn't come up with anything half as useful as that.This might help you with the distances, at least in the Lot, along the Cele especially. The maps and what I might term subway maps are incredibly helpful. I'm seriously considering going between Figeac and Cahors myself.
https://www.tourisme-lot.com/sites/...ent/files/170322_guide_saint-jacques_2017.pdf
That is exactly what I have got going on, Linda!I print out a calender for the month/s I'm away and map out which town/village I'm likely to be in each night, bearing in mind that things might change but it gives me a rough idea of distances and where we need to be to finish on time. If I have any accommodation booked I add that info on as well and leave a copy with my husband.
It’s quite do-able to book your accommodations from home if that makes life easier for you. The guidebook Miam Miam Dodo gives contact details for gites and chambre d’hotes.
Are there stops you would miss on my plan, things you would recommend I reconsider? Throw your experiences and feedback right at me!
I have a question to ask, Do you think the Via Podiensis out of Le Puy to Cahors will be overly crowded in 2021. Being a Holy Year for the Camino I imagine it will be quite busy but I though that would be more so in SPain than in France, any ideas or thoughts ? I plan on walking it with my Hermano in the fall of 2021.
Off topic a bit- but I don't normally eat bread,sugar , starchy vegies (ie. Potato) of any sort by choice. Obviously I will be consuming pastries, jams and sugary yogurts etc while walking the route, I think the French diet will be very interesting and I wonder what effect it will have on me I wonder if I will lose, maintain or indeed gain weight.
I have dialed in my plans, accommodation, airfares...now just to continue saving my $ and maintaining/improving my fitness. I am so utterly excited!
I have ended up deciding to walk as far as Cahors in the time that I have, which is where my husband will drive to meet me. It seems like a challenging itinerary, but one that I should be capable of.
Thank you to the wonderful forum member who so generously loaned me their MMD and some maps, such a surprise parcel to receive.
Off topic a bit- but I don't normally eat bread,sugar , starchy vegies (ie. Potato) of any sort by choice. Obviously I will be consuming pastries, jams and sugary yogurts etc while walking the route, I think the French diet will be very interesting and I wonder what effect it will have on me I wonder if I will lose, maintain or indeed gain weight.
I had been walking across the Perigord(?) (aka "duck country") for a whole week, getting duck every night. In fact, I really thought I'd been served every piece of the duck there was. Until, in one town, where I was staying in a farmhouse on the edge of town, and I was the only guest. Madame prepared dinner for the two of us and served it on the patio. It being late September, this was after dusk, and the wall sconces did not shed much light. Madame, a physician, spoke quite good English and we enjoyed the conversation. The dinner was absolutely delicious, and I complimented her.duck in various forms (a by-product of the foie gras industry)
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