Le Puy-en-Velay

It is Friday 16th September and I have a day in Le Puy-en-Velay resting, doing some chores, and more importantly getting myself reorientated for a long walk or a long pilgrimage. It is a mindset thing. 


Having done my camino research and preparation well in advance I had then turned my attention to preparing for a half marathon that I ran 11 days before departure. It wasn't a surprise to me that I woke up in Le Puy-en-Velay today but it did feel like I needed to get with the programme. With this in mind I attended the Pilgrim Mass at 7am. On arrival the main entrance was closed and you go round the side. Especially long winded this morning as the front gate was also locked and no one could find the key. The priest included some audience participation and walked round with a microphone finding out where the non-French pilgrims had come from thereby giving me the opportunity to address the congregation in French; "J'habite en Angleterre". When will I learn not to put my hand up! I realised why we had been forced to use the side entrance when mass finished as the cathedral has a special party trick. Three large floor grills in the centre of the nave rise up to provide railings around the flight of steps that lead down and out of the cathedral through the main doors; a grand exit and a grand start to a pilgrimage.


After mass I got my credential stamped in the cathedral shop with the other 49 pilgrims that morning.

Breakfast back at the gite d'étape was good and I met I German couple who had walked from Lake Constance and would walk another 1,522 km to Santiago; in total about three times the length of my planned walk.

Next on the agenda was checking out my exit from Le Puy-en-Velay the following day and the start of my camino. This was to avoid first hour navigation embarrassment and to tune into the red and white waymarked route; white bar over a red bar.


I walked about 1km and only had to double back once and only briefly so I feel confident the signs will carry me on my 475 mile walk. Oh, we will switch to km when the walking starts. Back at the gite I tie my pilgrim's scallop shell onto my rucksack; this is the symbol of the St James camino and is often used in towns to show the way as brass scallops are embedded in the pavement. 


The next job is to try my travel card (loaded with Euros) in an ATM. The first didn't work and I suspect that may have been due to my use of the touch screen. The second ATM worked and it also gave me confidence that I still remembered my PIN for the new card. Many gites don't take cards so I'll need cash or bank transfer both supported by my travel card.

The16th Century Renaissance Festival is still in full flow and I took time to wander round town. There are some set piece paid for shows but really the whole town dresses up, sets up assorted stalls and gets on with the business of being in the year 1515. 

If you are confused on dates I expect the Renaissance hit France before it came to Britain. Banqueting House in London I think was an early example of the Renaissance in Britain and where Charles I was executed in 1649. Luckily the belief in the Divine Right of Kings was dropped by the monarchy as they didn't want to lose there head's over it.

My only room mate last night had enthused about a Chapel on one of the volcanic cones in the area. It is dedicated to Saint Michel (as in the Brittany and Cornwall monts).

I suspect she just wanted me to endure the same mountaineering duress she had been through. This (above) is the best photo I could manage of what remains when the soft lava/tufo (?) had been eroded and below a shot from the cone supporting the Chapel.

I am hopeful that the pilgrim path winds round such obstacles.

There were lots of bands playing on the afternoon and I managed to secure a spot near the front of one of the performance areas.



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