Unexpected meetings

 

I left le Puy at 7:45 this morning.   If you walk through Le Puy with a backpack you will probably be accosted (as I was) by the self appointed Pilgrim guide who proceeded to explain to me that (like 90% of pilgrims) I was going the wrong way. He then proceeded to tell me in great detail how I should get back on the trail.  I thanked him profusely and then having checked my map realised he had just told me to go exactly the way I was planing on going!  

Half an hour out of Le Puy I come across Alain (77 years old)  another self appointed Camino guide.  Alain proceeds to tell about the "real" pilgrim's way as opposed to the one I'm following.  It seems that in the late nineties the mayor of a village 5 kms south of the original route decided his café needed more customers and so lobbied for the GR65 (which is the official route) to be rerouted through his village.  This adds time to the journey and means you have to take tarmac road  part of the way.  Also, Alain explained there is a beautiful little church along the old road which you miss if you take the official one.  Having already realised that shortcuts were definitely a high priority for me I thanked him and proceeded to take the proposed road (accompanied by Alain for 30 mins to make sure I was on the right path).  an hour and half later I arrived at the said church and lo and behold who was there waiting for me? Yes you guessed it: Alain.  He had driven there in order to give me a  tour of the church!  Having made suitably awed noises about the church and with Alain's parting instructions I got back to the trail.

An hour later I arrived in the hamlet which brought me back to the official trail.  as I was resting on a bench a local kitten decided I needed further company and sat on my lap for 10 mins in exchange for some stroking behind his ears.

Exhausted, by all this socialising I decided to push on to my next Gite which I reached et 3PM. 

Elphed (from Wales) and Pascale (from France) welcomed me with a roaring fire and a cup of tea.  I had a most pleasant afternoon and evening.

I'm not sure when I'm going to have the time to reach a higher plane with all this but its still early in the journey.

I walked 26 kms today. 10 points to who can tell me where I am.