The pilgrim certificate

[Michael Galvin, PhD]

What are we doing on our 'puters when we should be doing something useful :-) ?
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: bill deutschman 
  To: GOCAMINOapete.uri.edu 
  Sent: Saturday, February 24, 2001 8:49 PM
  Subject: Re: The pilgrim certificate


  And you don't have to stay on the asphalt on bikes. I have been on the Chemin/Camino 4 times. Once I did Pamplona - Santiago mostly of the camino de a pie on a touring bike, fully loaded--but that's not easy. Still, cyclists can do a lot of the trail parts. 
    Don't know how you did that as many of the sections of the camino, e.g. the hills around the iron cross and O'Cebrito were too steep to ride either up or down the way the camino cut switchbacks.  There were numerous other places that cut across small valleys as the road took longer switchbacks.  We decided not to ride the many sections of the camino that were 10 to 50 feet from the road side.  It was a lot easier than trying to dodge three and four wide groups of walkers.  However it was easier to ride the path across the meseta as most of the pilgrims were on the road that parallels the path.  We tried the section into Portomarin and were turned back as the trail was a small rocky stream bed as far as we could see.

  I see you DID do the whole Way. 

  HeeHee, I love it when you young whippersnappers say that. My friend and I rode in '92 when we were both 50, and yes, did the foot trail up to Cruz de Ferro and the foot trail up to Cebreiro. Often we had to push the bikes on stretches like that. The parallel paths along hiways were just getting built in those days, in prep for the Holy Year of '93 and there were many fewer pilgrims than in '95 and '99. And yes we rode that stream from Mercado da Serra into Portomarin. Turns into a tiny road down thru tiny villages. Very picturesque. And many other places as difficult. It was one of the hardest things either of us had done, tho we are used to Rocky Mtn mtn bike trails. Don't think I'd repeat it but now we can be obnoxious about having done it the rest of our lives. And we certainly didn't do great distances that year.
     I now see you are from Colorado so there isn't much chance that we can get together as we don't get there often.  

    Would you like a more detailed description of our route from Le Puy to Cahours?  

  You bet! Thanks. 
    Be sure to allow a full day in Le Puy to see the cathedral and climb up the two volcanic spires.   You will also need a half day at Conque, preferably stay there at night so you will see the city after the tour busses leave.  We were able to sit in the darkened cathedral and listed to someone play the organ for an hour.  The timpany over the door is best viewed in the afternoon.  There is one thing I just remembered.  There was a huge wind storm last winter and huge areas of the forests were blown down.  It extended from Paris to Le Puy and then down to the Lot so some of the trail may be covered with logs.  We passed hillsides where no trees were left standing.


  Thanks again for the info. That's right; that wind storm! I heard of the damage in Paris, but didn't think about it in the Massif Central. I was planning a layover day in Conques; what do you think? If not there, where?
    bill

  Michael
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