St Guilhem-Le-desert and more

First happy birthday to the bravest and strongest hiker any guy ever walked dangerous roads in the rain with!!!

Next, have to spell it right... Guilhem, not Guilliam as I have been.  Lovely medieval town that ranks right up with Mont St Michel, just not as spectacular. 1200  years old dating from Guilhem who was Charlemagne's cousin and ally in war.  Lovely, peaceful church open for prayer and a quiet evening mass attended by 6, including us...just what we needed before the mountains starting tomorrow. Allegedly 5-6 days of good weather ahead but not enough to get all the way thru the mountains...so may have to bus part.

Stupid things in the rain, continued...

So, the longer we walked from Aniane towards St Gulliame-Le-Desert, the harder it rained.  And the deeper the puddles in the road became; and the swifter the rivulets running down the hills and across the roads ran, etc, etc, you get the idea.  It was really bad. And when the trail followed this narrow two lane mountain road, with the mountain on one side and the river gorge on the other, it got downright dangerous.  But the Gendarmes passed us twice and and didn't pick us up so guess the French see risk-takers differently.  Anyway, we got there, drenched, in 3 hours walking.  All's well that ends well- we guess!!!

Even Smart People Do Stupid Things...

In Spain we walked in the rain. Lots of rain...once for 9 straight days without sun. So when it rained today and we had only a short 8km to walk, we thought, "n'est pas un problem" in the local lingo. We've done it all before, right? How bad could it be? Even when the proprietor at our hotel offered to drive us to the next town for free, we thought, "we can do this...no need to miss out on the walk for a little rain, right?" Well, dumb, dumb, dumb.  More in next entry... Meanwhile see the pix... It gets worse...

Day 8 - Into the Rhythym

LWalking the Way is like most other endeavors- it has it's own rhythym which you can only find by experience. We had one pace with our companions; now , after two days, we are finding another.  Late start on Sunday as we remained in Montanard to attend 11am mass - the only one available in several towns. The local people were quite welcoming when we appeared with backpacks and hiking sticks, although there really are not many walkers on the Chemin de Arles compared with Spain.  Pix of the route.

Gravels to Montarnaud

Departed Montpellier by bus and tram and started walking at Grabels after 11am.  We hate walking through city suburbs. Not very far (12k) but the most difficult terrain we have seen yet.  Did the 12k in 4 hrs.  Notwithstanding the detours, rain and rest day, I estimate we have walked about 89k. Not bad for a first week.  Weather is supposed tone bad for 3 days this week; we'll see. Pix are the rocky path and view over Montarnaud from our door.

Montpellier on our own

Today we separate from Marie & Peter, our Swedish walking companions for the past week (and from the Camino last year) who return home.  We will stay in Montpellier an extra day, wash clothes, and enjoy this old university town that is surrounded by modern suburbs.  On Saturday back to the trail West.

Lunel and beyond

Wednesday am we taxied to Lunel in the rain and Thursday we did a bit of cross country navigation to rejoin the Camino / Chemin Arles.  Construction of a new train line and highway wiped out the marked trail later in the day but between the four of us we found our way at 4 pm to Vendargues, which was sort of dead with no close hotel after close to 20 km walking on rough land. So we bussed 13 km to Montpellier, which had a convention in town and no hotel rooms.  It's a pilgrimage, right? Well, our resourceful Swede, Peter, found affordable rooms close in town and we ended the (very) long day with dinner and drinks in Montpellier's wonderful old city .  More on that next entry.

Adventures Without a Map

Well almost without a map...

Last night our host, Erik, suggested that we might see some other picturesque villages not on the Chemin, so we decided to do so.  We quickly learned that routefinding based on Erik's broad directions was not the easiest since our guidebook maps are focused on the trail. We persevered across various back roads and got the light travel day we needed, although we did have one stretch of walking on a busy highway and met a variety of horses and burros. Weather is cooler and damp so we may need our warmer clothes. Having got our adventure fix satisfied , tomorrow it's back to the boring old marked trail...

2d Day

Today, Monday, we walked to Vauvert, small town in the Canargue. Was supposed to be only 17k, but felt like far more. That's us in front of the auberge in St Giles. Also John showcasing un-harvested grapes, and the famous white horses of Camargue. Our overnight accommodation is in the stables -literally. But our host, Erik, was hilarious. It was a long day. 

On the Way

We are finally walking.  On Sunday we walked across the Rhone bridge, following signs that seem very familiar to anyone who has walked the Camino, and  went on 25 km to St Giles. Needless to say we had no difficulty sleeping last night!

Stes Marie de la Mare & Arles

On Saturday we were at Saintes Marie de la Mare and then on to Arles. STs Marie are the two Mary's who brought word of the resurrection to France.  It gets complex...you have to read about it.  Saw the pink flamingos and white horses of the French Camargue and the statue of the French cowboys below. Arles with its Roman amphitheater and great restaurants is always interesting. We walk today, Sunday, with our Camino friends, Marie & Peter, who are great fun.  Going to be a great day!

The Beauties of Collioure

We depart Friday am for Arles. Today was on the small rocky beach in the town; the water is clear and the waves not too strong. The old harbor further out is quite spectacular. And the surrounding hills are beautiful.

Collioure

Since Monday have been in Collioure, enjoying the quaint town. Today did a long walk up the overlooking mountain to the next town for dinner. Pix are John at the local windmill on the mountain and looking back down on Collioure from the mountain. 

On to the Mediterranean

On Monday, 15th we trained from S. Germany across France to Collioure, small town on the Med just north of frontier with Spain. Here visiting Camino friends from Sweden for few days before returning north/east to Arles to begin walking west on the Camino Arles. Pix are the harbor and the view from our balcony at breakfast.

Visit to Germany

Here in Karlruhe for two nights to visit old friends from Heidelberg and Paris, Robert & Dominique.  We are so happy to be back with these dear friends and in Germany, even for a short time.  Karlsruhe is a lovely old city full of fascinating architecture like the imaginative war memorial in the pix... And in Germany there is always time for beer...

Lourdes and old friends

We had an extra two days at the start of our Europe trip and, rather than remain in Paris, decided to visit Lourdes for a short respite after the relentless activity of the past nine months since our return to the US. Old friends from the US Lourdes North American Volunteers are here this week, making our visit especially meaningful as faith is always stronger when shared. Pix is the early morning mass at the Grotto where Our Lady appeared to Bernadette in 1858 - always a blessing for us.

The Renaissance Festival

Last Saturday before our departure for Europe, we went to the Renaissance festival nearAnnapolis with friends Linda and Jay. As always, great company makes great experiences. Pix are of our lusty companions, Sir William displaying his blowdart skills and the knights in the Tourney.

 

Back to Paris

Arrived in Paris Wednesday morning and, with the exception of our diminished French vocabulary, it is unchanged from when we departed in December.  We had a very acceptable lunch at a sidewalk cafe near Gare Montparnasse and got the afternoon train to Lourdes for the first leg of this journey.  

On The River

Went whitewater rafting on the Lehigh River in Pennsylania this weekend. It was a bit more challenging than we expected,  with three of the four paddlers getting tossed out of the raft, two of us twice. Next time we are recruiting younger, stronger paddlers!!

The Pocono Palace

We have wanted to go to the Pocono Mountain resorts with the champagne glass jacuzzi for 30 years. We finally went this weekend and went big for the bubbles!!