December 7, 2018
by David Ryan
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Comparisons and Observations re: the Camino de Santiago in France and Spain

This is the third of three blog posts regarding my recent walk on the Chemin de Compostelle (Camino de Santiago) in France. The first post covered the walk from Le Puy to Conques; the second covered the stretch from Conques to St. Jean; and this post has fewer pictures and is a bit wonkish as it covers items to consider if you are thinking about walking the Camino de Santiago whether in France or Spain.

The observations in this post are based upon my walk in Spain on the Camino Francés from St. Jean to Santiago de Compostela in the spring of 2015 and walking the French portion of the Camino from Le Puy to St. Jean in the fall of 2018. Please keep in mind that everyone walking the Camino, whether in France or in Spain, will have their own Camino experience and may have a different observation than mine.

Some of the wonderful scenery you’ll see along the Camino de Santiago in Spain!

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November 10, 2018
by David Ryan
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Wandering on Le Chemin de Compostelle (2: Conques to St. Jean)

This is the second of three blog posts about the Chemin de Compostelle in France from Le Puy-en-Veley to St. Jean Pied-de-Port. The route from Le Puy to St. Jean is one of the many “Camino de Santiago” routes across Europe that eventually converge upon the Pilgrim destination of Santiago de Compostela in the far northwest corner of Spain.

Map of several of the Camino routes. (Map courtesy of the Kosten Foundation and Flickr.)

The previous post covered the walk from Le Puy to Conques. This post will cover the walk from Conques to St. Jean. The next post will provide some comparisons between the walk in France and the walk in Spain and should be of help to someone considering a Camino walk. Continue Reading →

October 25, 2018
by David Ryan
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Wandering on Le Chemin de Compostelle (1: Le Puy to Conques)

In 2015 I had the opportunity to walk the Camino de Santiago (or “The Way), from St. Jean Pied-de-Port at the base of the Pyrenees in France to Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain. If you’re not familiar with the Camino, it consists of several pilgrim routes, from almost every corner of Europe, that converge upon the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela. The bones of St. James (Santiago) are interred in the cathedral and have been attracting pilgrims for over a thousand years.

If you are thinking about walking the Camino, you can find several posts in this blog on the topic by entering Camino in the search box. The posts will show you what’s along the Camino, what it’s like to be a pilgrim on the Camino, and how to prepare for a Camino.

Two weeks ago I finished walking a 400-mile plus portion of the Camino in France (Chemin de Compostelle in French) from Le Puy-en-Veley to St. Jean Pied-de-Port. I hope to give you an idea what you can find along the way from Le Puy to Conques in this post. The next post will be from Conques to St. Jean. The final post on this topic will be a comparison of the route in France to Spanish route.

The Camino route goes through this plaza in Le Puy.

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