I had heard rumor (from pilgrims & locals alike) that the path’s first several meters after Cahors involved an extremely brutal climb. Unfortunately, those rumors proved to be quite correct … 😀 “I would rather my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than be stifled like dry rot. I would rather be a […]
One of the reasons I like the symbolism of the rolling stone is its tone of steadfast progress and fluid resolve – another is the simple fact that I love moss, and would rather always leave it where it already is … 🙂 “The man who is seen as appropriate or reasonable or standard is […]
Little “serve yourself” stands like this one weren’t very common in France along The Way, and yet they did pop up from time to time. And at very few times on my Walk was I more thankful to see one pop up than I was today … It was an extremely hot & dusty day […]
“No matter how many times my Heart has been shattered, and no matter how many times my will has been dampened by the detractors & denouncers who have crossed my path, still I am strong enough to endure it all, to pass through it all, indeed to adore it all through & through. For even […]
I kept walking through this oppressively hot, dry day — up & Up & UP, past the tiny hamlet of Les Mathieux (near the village of La Roziere) and into the upper outskirts of the town of Labastide-Marnhac. I was pretty worn out and getting pretty dizzy by this point, so I stopped without hesitation […]
“There are paths; those upon which you walk. And there are paths above those paths; the paths upon which the birds fly. And there are paths above the paths of birds; the paths upon which the clouds soar. And there are paths above the paths of clouds; the paths upon which the planets spin and […]
The soft Kindness I received from Christophe & Patrice in Labastide kept me going throughout the 6 long miles to the small town of Lascabanes, where I had thought I would be spending the night. It was, after all, getting relatively late and I was in truth already pretty exhausted. That said, the vibe in […]
The Way was long and dusty and hot and dry thereafter, repeatedly winding up, Up, and UP; a gradual yet persistent slow burn of a climb that had me wondering if I shouldn’t simply stop and sleep by the side of the road – maybe in the stacked-stone shepherd’s hut seen below. And yet that […]
I eventually made it to this interesting little Roman chapel dedicated to “St. Jean le Froid” – interesting because I had no desire to remain there for very long (even though I was exhausted at the time, and even though it was more than clean and cozy enough to consider staying therein for the night), […]
And so it was – once again – that I walked & walked & walked onward – not knowing where I would lay my head; not even knowing whether I would this day lay my head to rest at all. I had heard from other pilgrims about a monastery somewhat off the beaten path that […]
Well, the monastery was completely deserted when I finally arrived at its doorstep, and I was about to simply walk onward when a car drove up and two men hooped out – one of them, the passenger, dressed in quite pilgrimesque garb (a simple smock of sorts and sandals, with a small satchel slung over […]
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