[Gocamino] Le Puy route

[Robert Spenger]

A few suggestions:

Be sure to have the latest (i.e. 2007) edition of Miam Miam Dodo. My  
2004 edition was definitely out of date. If you don't have one ahead  
of time, you can buy one just about anywhere. I saw them for sale (16  
Euros) in Tabac shops, tourist offices, book stores, and elsewhere.

Book well in advance. This year the traffic has been very heavy and  
sometimes it was necessary to reserve as much as 5 days in advance.  
It is not just a pilgrim route. There are many people on the route,  
especially groups. There are even a lot that are going in the  
opposite direction — not returning from a pilgrimage, just taking the  
GR 65, often as part of a loop that involves one or more of the other  
GRs. The groups often have vehicle support. Some people have the  
entire route booked in advance.

Keep a record of the time and date that each booking was made and, if  
some one else has done the booking for you, the name, position, and  
location of the person that did the booking for you. I had the  
unfortunate experience of being told that there was no record of a  
reservation having been made. This happened on a couple of occasions.  
If you speak French well and can do your own bookings, make sure that  
you get the name and position of the person taking the call.

Test your rain gear ahead of time in the shower. I thought that I had  
an adequate waterproof pack cover and raincoat, but they both leaked  
like sieves. Fortunately the rain pants, from North Face, were great.

Be prepared for lots of rain and mud. Hopefully it will have cleared  
up and dried up by the time you get there, but May and early June  
were very wet and the mud was a real hazard just about every day.  
(The pilgrim grapevine reported a broken leg on the notorious descent  
from Rochegude and a set of broken teeth on another steep descent.) I  
walked for four weeks, but with two weeks to go before my flight, I  
gave up after walking from LePuy to Condom. Compared to the LePuy  
route, the camino Francés is a leisurely stroll in the park.

Don't place complete confidence in Transbagages. I have heard a lot  
of good reports about them, but the grapevine had a few horror  
stories as well — mostly about bags arriving at a very late hour. If  
you decide to ride with Transbagages on any particular stage, try to  
book it as early as possible or you might have a long wait.

Bob S.


On Jun 12, 2007, at 9:05 PM, Lori Volding wrote:

Hello everyone,

I have found this sight rather enlightening and helpful since I have  
joined
last February. Many thanks!

In 11 days I will be departing from my home state to start my pilgrimage
journey. I had planned to begin in SJPP, however, now I am considering a
starting point on the Le Puy route.

I would appreciate any suggestions, comments, pros/cons to this route
leading to SJPP. My time frame is one month, and I have learned that  
I am
not interested in setting fixed distant goals for myself; I am open.  
Le Puy
has most recently sparked my interest after learning about an  
international
spiritual center that I believe is run by the Sisters of St. Joseph  
and had
just opened in the Fall of 2006.

Lori

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