“There are only a few ways to be truly brave. One is to walk a hundred miles, another is care for a hundred strangers. If you want to know the truth of who you really are, then you must either have the guts to walk until not a person knows your name or the courage […]
The path (which had by then proven to indeed be almost as physically challenging as rumor had portrayed) thereafter began to wind down Down DOWN — through the village of Pratclaux and then into the town of Monistrol, where I entered its lovely Catholic church for another brief yet blessed respite from the dust and […]
“Obedient to no man, allegiant to no nation, with neither definite goal before them nor roof above them; dependent only on weather and will; owning nothing while sharing everything; open to every whim of happenstance and knowing all others as friend — the homefree wanderers lead their purely toddleresque existence; brave yet shabby, bold yet […]
This pathside shrine was quite remarkable for two reasons — one of them quite obvious (i.e. being adorned by the unusually beautiful small iron sculpture pictured below), and the other quite subtle (i.e. a tiny white marble that had been left there by a previous pilgrim; a white marble that allowed me to pay a […]
After leaving Monistrol the path soon became steep and quite rocky — and unendingly loooooooong as well … :O … Despite the same I was walking at a pretty smooth clip when I came upon fellow-pilgrim Jacqueline — a woman who was slowly dragging most of her belongings behind her on a type of wheeled […]
“I will be walking under the burning burden of the Sun. I will be walking through the pelting rain and in the wild winds. And yet as I walk the Sun will warm my chilled heart. And in the windy rain the gardens of my faith will flourish. And as I wear out my shoes, […]
I then walked up and into the small town of Le Vernet, where I hung out for awhile at Buvette la Coquille (“The Tavern of the Shell”) with these two wheelchair-riding brothers (who remained completely silent the entire time I was there) and their amazingly affectionate dog … 🙂 “Dogs are a primary link to […]
The Path got relatively steep and quite rocky again as I approached and then finally entered the city of Saugues, where I come across Pierre, a fellow pilgrim from French Canada who was experiencing joint pain very similar to my own. We bonded a bit over the same (while also marveling at how surprised we […]
It was pretty much the middle of the day by the time I walked into Saugues proper, and even though my hips were hurting quite a bit I didn’t intend on staying long there. After briefly & peacefully checking out the local Catholic church (the lovely St. Benilde en Margeride — the sanctuary of which […]
I passed another pathside shrine just outside of town, and someone (probably the same pilgrim as before) had placed yet another small white marble thereupon — a small white marble that is so symbolically indicative of the Soul within us all and the pure unconditional LOVE that resides therein. And so it was that I […]
The Way flattened out nicely after a time, and yet the Camino once again showed her true humor-laced colors when a steady headwind whipped up and turned what was a promising afternoon saunter into an arduous trudge through much thicker air ( 😉 ) … No matter, of course, as trial & tribulation are constant […]
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