Hi!
This may seem very last minute and spontaneous, and it is, but also not. I've been thinking about it for some time, but then I twisted my ankle a few weeks back and thought it wouldn't be possible. But now I've decided that I will do it anyway. I want to walk a week on a camino in France, starting in just a few days. And I need help finding a route.
Six years ago a walked the last part of Via Gebennensis from Clonas-sur-Varèze to Le Puy-en-Velay, and I really liked it. I'm looking for something similar. I don't mind meeting people along the way (that was one of the things I loved with Via Gebennensis, the hospitality and friendliness of the French I stayed with or met on my walk), but I don't want a crowded camino. I've been looking at The Piémont Route, The Arles Route or (the first part of) Via Gebennensis. My problem is finding an accessible and suitable part for a week (or maybe six days) of walking. Here are some things to consider:
- My ankle is still not fully recovered, so I need to keep it at maximum 15-20 km/day.
- Because of my ankle I also want to carry as little as possible. So I'm not bringing a tent. I need to find accomodation for every night.
- The starting point and the end point need to be accessible by train or bus.
- There seems to be a heat wave coming, timing my walk very badly. Any advice on which route I should choose based on that?
- Since I would be leaving in just a few days, I don't have time to order a guidebook or anything online, i probably wouldn't get it delivered in time. But when I walked Via Gebennensis I just printed good maps (from Peter Robins, but his page seems to be down?) and had a list of pilgrim accomodations to call a day ahead. This worked good enough for me then. But I need to be able to find at least this, somewhere. Any advices? The accomodation part has been the hardest to find information about, and that, off course, causes a planning problem...
I would be so grateful if someone could help me find a route to walk! Quickly, if possible. I've been searching and reading but the there are still too many question marks in my head...
Thank you!
Maria