Tag French Camino

A Year After the French Camino, the Trail Calls Us

Reg Spittle 5 Comments

A year ago, our steps connected these two historic pilgrimage places, nearly 500 miles apart on the French Camino, or Le Puy route.

We climbed on interior stairs to the top of the Statue of Notre Dame de France. The statue graces the highest point in Le Puy, France, and offers a spectacular view of the medieval city, home to the Camino that has hosted pilgrims for centuries. The 1860 statue was constructed using cast iron from 213 Crimean War cannons and delivered by Napoleon.

Le Puy marked the beginning of our journey.

Six weeks later, we stood on the iconic bridge in St. Jean Pied de Port, just five miles from Spain. It marked the beginning of the Camino Frances, the most traveled distance trail in the world and our first trek 10 years ago. On our way to St. Jean, we traveled over countless mountains and hills, along valleys, over rivers, and through French villages during an unusual fall heatwave that tested our resolve. Farms, ranches, forests, high plains and much more lined the trail. We stayed in small hotels, a few hostels, and were nearly stranded without accommodation and food more than once.

The memories make our seventh distance trek feel fresh. We are eager to tackle another trail, but where will it take us?

That’s for 2025 to unveil. The beginning of the year will also unveil Reg’s third trekking adventure book; more on that later.

Meanwhile, we will walk vicariously via YouTube and on trails around our Ashland, Oregon home.

Top Ten Retirement Adventures: No. 8

Reg Spittle Leave a comment

If the most satisfying times in life are hard, then my retirement adventures would have left me content. But within a few weeks, sometimes just days, of returning home, I want more. Sue is more patient, keeping me more grounded than my heart yearns to be. But, I’ll grudgingly admit, probably better off in the long run.

Our feet have carried us more than 2,000 miles over seven distance trails, six in Europe. Our latest backpacking trek began in August 2023 and continued into October. It fills the number eight spot on my top ten retirement adventures.

Its name? It has at least three. The French Camino, the Via Podiensis, or the Le Puy Route. We battled heat like we had not seen on any trek, but when it was done, we celebrated like conquerers.

It was our longest backpacking trip yet—more than 600 miles, including sidetrips—and it transported us through beautiful French countryside, ranches, and farmland along with more villages than we could count–or pronounce. The trail has been around for more than 1,000 years and is known for the thousands (millions?) of pilgrims who have walked to Santiago de Compestella in Spain.

Our steps began in Le Puy, France, a bustling tourist town with history around every corner and a grand cathedral that has welcomed pilgrims for centuries. More than six weeks later, we arrived in St. Jean Pied de Port, at the foot of the Pyrenees mountains. St. Jean also serves as the starting point of the most famous pilgrimage in the world: Spain’s Camino de Santiago. Some, including a few we met in France, walk from Le Puy, though St. Jean, all the way to Santiago, more than 1,000 miles. There are even pilgrims who begin the traditional way, from their front door.

At a trailside stand, above, we sipped refreshing drinks on one of the few flat sections of the Camino, which snaked through valleys and over hills and mountains that tested our resolve.

When we first glimpsed the Pyrenees peaks in the distance, our reaction was disbelief. Was it really nearly the end? Had we really walked that far?