Via Gebenennsis, has anyone walked this route?

[gittiharre]

Hi has anyone walked this route and if so, what was it like? Have decided to walk from Geneva to Le Puy and then possibly Robert Louis Stevenson trail of GR 65 Variantes via Cele Valley or Rocamadour. Would love comments, cheers Gitti

 

[bowmanrich]

Hello Gitti,
My house is about 11 kms by road from the Via Gebenennsis as it goes through the villages of Saint-Blaise and Charly (I live near Cruseilles in Haute-Savoie).

I too am interested in walking this section, possibly as a first stage of a multi-year walk all the way to Santiago de Compostela.

I have ordered a guide from the Association des Amis de Saint-Jacques Rhône-Alpes that deals specifically with the Geneva to Le Puy-en-Velay section and am eagerly awaiting its arrival.

I hope the guide will give me an idea of how to split the 350 kms from Geneva to Le Puy into 'do-able' daily walks and where to stay overnight.

When are you planning your walk?

Bonne route.
Rich

 

[jabri]

In 2002 we, my wife Erna and I, walked the Via Gebennensis with the guide of the Association des Amis de Saint-Jacques Rhône-Alpes. The guide, then, was very simple, just giving places to pass or stay, but the sign-posting was good enough for us.
Our stages:
day one: Geneva - Neydens
day two: Neydens - Sarzin
day three: Sarzin - Sessières
day four: Sessières - Yenne
day five: Yenne - St. Maurice-de-Rotherens
day six: St. Maurice-de-Rotherens - Le Verrou
day seven: Le Verrou - St. André-le-Gaz , we took a bus from there, cause of the heath, till Le Grand Lemps and walked on till La Côte-St.André
day eight: La Côte-St.André - Pommier-de-Beaurepaire
day nine: Pommier-de-Beaurepaire - Clonas-sur-Varèze
day ten: Clonas-sur-Varèze - St.Appolinard
day eleven: St.Appolinard - St.Saveur-en-Rue
day twelve: St.Saveur-en-Rue - Montfaucon-en-Velay
day thirteen: Montfaucon-en-Velay - St.Jeures
day fourteen: St.Jeures - St.Julien-Chapteuil
day fifteen: St.Julien-Chapteuil - Le Puy-en-Velay

Jan Brilleman

 

[gittiharre]

Thank you Rich and Jan for your replies. I will be leaving next week. Still have to get hold of the guide book with accommodations. Hope to get it in Geneva somewhere. Also do you know if one can get a pilgrims passport in Geneva? Thanks Gitti

 

[bowmanrich]

Hello Gitti,

I will try to find out about the credential and the guide book before you arrive in Geneva and get back to you as soon as I have the information.

Regards,
Rich

 

[bowmanrich]

Hi Gitti,

The Geneva to Le Puy-en-Velay route corresponds to the GR65 (Grande Randonnée number 65). The French Trekking Association publish a Topoguide called "Sentier vers Saint-Jacques de Compostelle via Le Puy > Genève - Le Puy". The reference number for this guide is 650. From what I can see it is only available in French. It is priced at €14.40.

A sports shop not far from where I live has a couple in stock at the moment. If you are interested I can pick one up for you and arrange to pass it to you when you arrive in Geneva next week (I work in Geneva).

Rich

 

[gittiharre]

Thank you Rich, you are very kind, I just don't want to put you out. Apparently these guide books are available in tourist information offices, someone tells me, so I will pick one up when I get there. I have prebooked accommodation using the Outdoor guide, but it does not include Accueil St Jacques accommodation, so quite a lot of it is hotel accommodation. Around Seyssel/Cotes everything is booked out, apart from the Auberge in Motz, which is quite pricey at over 55 Euro. By the time I get there, I will have picked up a yellow french guide and hopefully change where I stay. So thank you. When I get back I can send you my blog if you like. Best regards, Gitti

 

[bowmanrich]

Hi Gitti,

The tourist season here in the Rhône-Alpes region accounts for many places being fully booked. Vacancies usually start appearing from the middle of August when the peak-season is more or less over. So you've got your timing right.

Yes, I would be very interested in picking up tips from you after your walk.

I have tried to get information about the Credential from the Amis de St. Jacques but I think the local representative is away at the moment.

Feel free to PM me if you need any local assistance.

Bonne route
Rich

 

[gittiharre]

Merci beaucoup Rich! Gitti

 

[lovingkindness]

Hello. The Cele Valley is exceptionally beautiful with a luminous, soft microclimate. Soaring granite cliffs rise up from the valley floor, ruins from the One Hundred Year War between England and France appear along the way and for thousands of years people have dwelt in the caves which dot the cliffs like cheese. I walked this variant in autumn, Oct 2004.

Lovingkindness.

 

[sillydoll]

Or you could go with an assited PediBus

http://pedibus.org/fiche-313--LES-CHEMI ... -PUY-.html

Pedibus : 73670 Saint -Pierre d'Entremont
Tel. 04 79 65 88 27
Email : pedibus@wanadoo.fr

 

[gittiharre]

Hi all, I am just back in New Zealand after walking the Via Gebennensis and the Robert Louis Stevenson trail from Le Puy to St Jean du Gard and here is my blog, cheers Gitti

 

[nellpilgrim]

Thanks Gitti,
This is really great stuff and I'll be using your Gebenennsis data hopefully in 2012.
Nell

 

[CaroleH]

Just spent a lovely lazy hour or 2 reading your blog, Gitti. Lovely, what an adventure, food sounded amazing, wonderful, mouth watering descriptions make me think a French camino needs to be added to my list. Never a mention of "lomo y patatas fritas"!!

Hope you are enjoying being home, processing your journey and organising your pics?? Love to see any you are willing to share. Thanks for letting us follow along on your walk.....
Love and cheers, Carole.

Sounds like the sore shoulders sorted themselves.

 

[gittiharre]

Thank you for the feedback Carole. I am happy to be home and will organise my pics soon. Unfortunately the sore shoulders are a continued problem. I seem to have a mix of Bursitis, frozen shoulder and chronic rotator cuff tears and have had a steroid injection with not much success. Feels a right mess and very painful and limiting. I am doing shoulder exercises, but every time I make a wrong move, like pulling the duvet over myself in bed for example I get the most awful pain tearing through. It all got really bad after I stopped walking. I am seeing a good osteopath and hope that over time this will all resolve. Cheers, Gitti