New arrival to this list... with questions!!

[Rémi Loyer]

Robert,
    Thank you so much for the information, definitely useful!!!  If you
don't mind...  how long did it take you from Arles to Santiago?

Thanks again,
Jennifer
  -----Original Message-----
  From: Road to Santiago Pilgrimage [mailto:GOCAMINOapete.uri.edu]On Behalf
Of Robert E. Spenger
  Sent: Wednesday, April 04, 2001 4:11 PM
  To: GOCAMINOapete.uri.edu
  Subject: Re: New arrival to this list... with questions!!


  Jennifer,
  I did the Arles route last year, and , yes, much of it is hiking paths. I
followed the guide put out by the London-based Confraternity of Saint James.
Often I stayed on the paved road when the designated route (GR653) seemed to
be unnecessarily circuitous. One of the stretches that I enjoyed the most
was neither on the paved road nor the "official route," but was on the
hiking/biking path alongside the Canal du Midi. I was on this for almost a
whole day and it took me into the center of Toulouse. As a Californian, I
had never seen a canal lock in operation before, so it was a treat to watch
and photograph the whole process when a  large canal boat went through one
of the locks. On a number of occasions, the paved parts were quiet country
lanes with very little traffic. Often I could see a more or less parallel
major highway in the distance, but there were only a few places where I had
to walk on a highway with heavy traffic. On leaving Toulouse, on the
recommendation of the guidebook, I took a bus about ten miles to the
outskirts of the city.

  France does not have a refugio system like the one in Spain, although
there are some establishments that cater to pilgrims. I often stayed at
cheap hotels or at a chambre d'hote. Since my command of French is
negligible, I  got in the habit of asking the proprietors to call ahead to
make reservations for my next stop. I hope that this information is useful
to you.

  Robert

  Rémi Loyer wrote:

     Hi everyone,    My name is Jennifer Bruce.  I live in Calgary, Canada.
Last September I picked up a magazine at the hostel in Seattle... and there
I found an article on the Camino.  I am a student of anthropology and
history and my passion is travel... so this seems a dream come true.  I am
planning to do the Camino on Sept 1.  I will be travelling on my own and
have a few questions.  I am pretty sure I will start in St.Jean... however,
I am also pondering starting in perhaps Arles, or Toulouse.  Does anybody
know if these ancient routes leading in from France still exist as a path -
as opposed to highway?  I didn't really have any concerns regarding the
Camino until I read the book by Shirley MacLaine... now I am afraid of these
'dogs'.  Should I be concerned enough to bring rabies vaccinations?  Any
other vaccinations?  I guess the real question for everyone, is... what is
the one thing you brought or didn't bring that would be indispensable for a
modern day pilgrim.  That is all for now.  I thank you for your
time.Jennifer BruceJenJenacadvision.com
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman.oakapple.net/pipermail/gocamino/attachments/20010404/6f15d85e/attachment.htm