Saturday, May 13 – Day 1 on the Chemin du Puy/Via Podiensis
Dave woke me up at 6:20 so we could attend the Pilgrim Mass at the Cathedral of Le Puy. Even though our hotel was located way up high in the village, we still had to climb to the Cathedral. Begun in the 11th century on prior church ruins, the Cathedral has been consistently enlarged and improved. Several styles of architecture are represented, yet they achieve a harmonious whole. The service was lovely, and we stayed afterward for a special Pilgrim Benediction. I prayed for the strength to finish today’s walk in below 50° temps, pouring rain, and wind. I also prayed for patience when dealing with my pilgrimage partner .
Then an amazing thing happened, the priest advised us that, having come into the Cathedral via the normal entry, we would be exiting via the special Pilgrim exit. At this several enormous brass grates located along the main aisle began to slide apart and then open, and a stone staircase leading directly from the pews where we sat to the Cathedral’s front steps was revealed. I have to say it was pretty awe-inspiring.
We didn’t head out onto the camino immediately, though. Instead, we headed back to our hotel, where we discovered that the owner’s family and several guests were Spaniards whose families had escaped to France and Belgium during the Spanish Civil War. Needless to say, we bonded over our Spanish heritage.
After this fun “what we have in common” moment, we packed up our belongings and headed out. Attired with thermal leggings and shirts, sweaters, hiking socks, rain pants, hooded jackets, hats, and waterproof hiking boots, we strapped on our backpacks and headed out into the rain. It was not a good look but definitely effective. Here I am smelling spring lilacs:
The weather deteriorated throughout the day, becoming colder, rainier, and windier. Alongside cow fields, we climbed through persistent puddles and pulsating rivulets turned rivers. On farm roads and trails, we sometimes could not avoid toxic looking accumulations of orange water (turns out this is due to the color of the basalt-filled earth around here.) The first relief arrived in the form of lunch in a small town of 950 people. Some enterprising couple had set up a respectable restaurant, Auberge du Grand Chemin (no ala carte – menu only).
Dave started with a cheese tart accompanied by a soft slaw of fresh spring vegetables lightly spiced. Nice and creamy, the tart melted in your mouth. Since I was cold, I ordered a fragrant vegetable bouillon laden with carrots and butternut squash and enlivened with green lentils, the local specialty. Abundant fresh bread sat nearby. For our main course we both had vegetable curry. A cheese plate followed. There were three dessert options, and we both opted for the freshly baked pastries, loaded with Chantilly crème and salted caramel ribbons. 22 € each not including wine .
Thus fortified, we again headed out. The rest of the day was a slog, and we arrived at our hotel sopping wet and tired. Fortunately, the place had a shoe drying closet and a clothes dryer (rain is evidently more typical than the locals let on.) After dinner in the hotel we tucked ourselves into bed, hoping that tomorrow we’ll have better weather.
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