Little Green Tracs

Lolo's BGEE

Post Breakfast Walk is Mandatory

A breakfast for pilgrims - Biscuits Gravy Eggs Extravaganza

After a breakfast like this, we will need to go for a long walk just to work off all those calories - maybe a walk through France might do the trick

Via Podiensis - Gear

People ask about questions about the size of the packs and the amount of stuff we take for this type of walk. So we decided to include a couple of photos titled "His and Her Gear" to give you an idea.

For this walk we are both carrying 50 liter packs; His pack weighing about 11 kg and Her pack about 9 kg. Not shown in these photos are our boots and jackets and the iPad used to take these photos.

Via Podiensis - Le Puy-en-Velay to Lourdes France

In a few weeks, we will be embarking on another adventure, this time walking along an old pilgrim trail in France, called the Via Podiensis. Better known as the Chemin du Puy, the Via Podiensis, this is one of the four main pilgrim routes through France, used by French pilgrims but also by others coming through Switzerland and from points further back in Germany, Austria, Poland and the Czech and Slovak republics. It joins the routes from Paris and Vézelay on the French side of the Pyrenees at Saint Jean Pied de Port France. However, for this walk, instead of arriving in Saint Jean Pied de Port, we will divert south at Lectoure and head towards Lourdes, our final destination. 

Le Puy-en-Velay

Our walk with start in Le Puy en Velay France, approximately 3 hours southwest of Lyon. Pilgrims came to Le Puy throughout the Middle Ages and it was considered one the most popular destinations. Le Puy-en-Velay's most striking attraction is the Cathédrale Notre-Dame du Puy, dating from the first half of the 12th century. Pilgrims starting their journey to Santiago de Compostela in Spain, gather each morning to be blessed at the cathedral. The cathedral has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1998, as part of the "Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France."

Conques

We will be spending an extra night in Conques, staying at the St. Foy Abbey. Conques is located at the confluence of the Dourdou and Ouche rivers, built on a hillside with narrow medieval streets. The St. Foy abbey-church in Conques was and still is a popular stop for pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostela Spain. The original monastery building at Conques was an eighth-century oratory built by monks fleeing the Saracens in Spain. 

Figeau & Rocamadour

We will also spend an extra night in Figeau in order to use the day to visit nearby Rocamadour. Rocamadour has attracted visitors for its setting in a gorge above a tributary of the River Dordogne, and especially for its historical monuments and its sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which for centuries has attracted pilgrims from every country. Rocamadour is famous for the Grotte Prehistorique des Merveilles. Discovered in 1920 and listed as a Historic Monument in 1925, the Grotte des Marvels opens onto the Causse of Rocamadour, a vast limestone plateau eroded by underground water. This remarkably cool cave of lakes and shimmering masses of crystals give a magical effect under the play of lights as do its wall paintings dating from more than 20,000 years ago. Rocamadour is also famous for its very young goat’s cheese that can be eaten after just 12-15 days of ageing, but which gets more intense after a few months.

Cahors

Cahors dramatic location is contained on three sides within an udder shaped twist in the River Lot known as a 'presqu'île' or peninsula. Today it is perhaps best known as the centre of the famous AOC 'black' wine known since the Middle Ages and exported via Bordeaux, long before that region had developed its own viticulture industry. It famous landmark is the Valentré Bridge, the symbol of the town. 

Auch

Auch is a very ancient town - its name comes from the Aquitanian tribe that inhabited the area at the time of the Roman conquest in the 50s BC. A key landmark in Auch is the Renaissance Cathédrale Sainte-Marie with its magnificent organ, carved stalls and Rose stained-glass windows

Lourdes

Lourdes a village on the Gave de Pau River in the foothills of the Pyrenees in southern France, is famous for the Marian apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes occurred in 1858. In that year, a fourteen-year-old peasant girl named Bernadette Soubirous had a series of eighteen visions of the Virgin Mary who appeared in a niche in the grotto of Massabielle near Lourdes. Five million pilgrims visit Lourdes each year, however few few like ourselves make the journey by walking from Le Puy.