Plans to walk from Le Puy - Sept 2022

[Albertagirl]

I am beginning the Le Puy in about ten days, starting to walk on Sept. 11. I have booked two nights in Le Puy, to rest from the long journey from Calgary- it looks like two nights in a row with little or no sleep. Then I have three nights on the trail booked after that: Saint-Privat-D'Allier, Saugues, and Auberge du Sauvage. The rest of my route as far as Cahors is planned as to distance walked each day and town/village stopped in.

I prefer a little more flexibility, but my decision to accept a last-minute invitation to serve as a hospitalera at Gaucelmo in Rabanal, and my long-purchased air ticket to Lyon have forced me to plan carefully. I need to work around these two requirements: How long can I walk? and Where can I stop that I can find transportaion to Rabanal. I have booked a night in Cahors and a complex train route from Cahors to near Rabanal. My guide book is Dave Whitson's new this year guide to the Via Podiensis from Cicerone Press. I won't have time to try out the many options but I rely on his information to help me along the Way. I also intend to rely on the staff in the Tourist Offices. I have located one close to my accommodation in Le Puy and will have many questions for them: booking further accommodation and arranging for pack carrage come to mind.

My French is improving by leaps and bounds. I have been wandering about Calgary singing "Un Canadien Errant" for several days now. I started by watching videos by French speaking pilgrims, choosing one whom I found audible and comprehensible. As a review, this has worked well for me. I look forward to meeting other pilgrims along the route, and, hopefully, a successful journey onward to Rabanal.

 

[VNwalking]

I am beginning the Le Puy in about ten days, starting to walk on Sept. 11.

Bon chemin, @Albertagirl !

 

[naplesdon]

Albertagirl,

That has to be a very interesting and daunting train itinerary. I walked le Puy in 2019 and took a train from Cahors to Toulouse for several rest days and scope out the Canal Midi. (Yucko, frankly it looks like an open sewer as it crosses through Toulouse, I'm sure it is more pleasant out in the countryside.)
I chose to take a Flixbus from Toulouse to Bilbao which turned out to be a magical mystery tour. The bus originated in Rome and was traveling to Lisbon, the departure time from Toulouse was supposed to be around 6pm, the bus finally showed up well past midnight which was hours after the bus terminal was close. One of the stops on the route to Bilbao was in Pau. I have been to Pau numerous times but as far as the two clowns driving the bus it must have been their first. They drove around for about 30 minutes trying to find the station and I knew they were well off course. I think becuase they were running so late they finally decided to forgot finding it, so if there were any passengers waiting to be picked up there; forget it! We fianlly arrived in Bilbao many hours behind schedule but I was only planning on going as far as Burgos, so catching a late afternoon bus was not an issue.

 

[Albertagirl]

Albertagirl,

That has to be a very interesting and daunting train itinerary. I walked le Puy in 2019 and took a train from Cahors to Toulouse for several rest days and scope out the Canal Midi. (Yucko, frankly it looks like an open sewer as it crosses through Toulouse, I'm sure it is more pleasant out in the countryside.)
I chose to take a Flixbus from Toulouse to Bilbao which turned out to be a magical mystery tour. The bus originated in Rome and was traveling to Lisbon, the departure time from Toulouse was supposed to be around 6pm, the bus finally showed up well past midnight which was hours after the bus terminal was close. One of the stops on the route to Bilbao was in Pau. I have been to Pau numerous times but as far as the two clowns driving the bus it must have been their first. They drove around for about 30 minutes trying to find the station and I knew they were well off course. I think becuase they were running so late they finally decided to forgot finding it, so if there were any passengers waiting to be picked up there; forget it! We fianlly arrived in Bilbao many hours behind schedule but I was only planning on going as far as Burgos, so catching a late afternoon bus was not an issue.

@biarritzdon:

Local residents had recommended Flixbus for me to travel from the Le Puy route on to Rabanal, but I soon discovered that it was not an ideal way to plan long-distance travel from France to Spain. I downloaded the Trainline app, which makes it practical to link up train routes in France and Spain: three changes, but none too long and none at night, ending in Burgos, where I have booked a night at Norte y Londres, then a direct train to Astorga the next morning. I shall then be a day's walk, or a taxi ride, from Rabanal, depending on my energy at that point.
As a follow-up to my report on my planned walk on the Le Puy: This will not be the whole of my camino walk this year. I shall still have a month and a half after finishing my hospitalera time in Rabanal, so I am planning to remain in Spain and walk the San Salvador and the Primitivo to Santiago. A perfect conclusion: two pilgrim routes that I have not yet walked, ending in Santiago, then off home for this year.

 

[naplesdon]

Ah, Norte y Londres. It is one of my favorite stops on the Camino.

 

[chinacat]

@Albertagirl

We took the train in the other direction, from Pamplona to Cahors, via a change @ Bordeaux and another @ Toulouse, through Irun/Hendaye.
It felt like a relatively straightforward journey and most of the stages connected well with each other, with little waiting around.
Good luck with your journey and Bon Chemin/ Buen Camino!