Wandering on Le Chemin de Compostelle (1: Le Puy to Conques)

The Camino route goes through this plaza in Le Puy.

The stairway exits the church and continues outside down to the street.

Here’s looking back at the Cathedral from the street. The decorations are for a Renaissance Fair that was going on at the time.

The 267 steps wind their way from the bottom all the way into the chapel.

It’s 1522 KM to Santiago (Saint Jacques in French). St. Jean is about halfway. The shell is the symbol of the pilgrim route.

When you reach the outskirts of Le Puy, you’ll run into this statue of a pilgrim.

You’ll see plenty of crosses along the entire route. This one is just outside of Le Puy.

This part of the route is winding between buildings of a very small village.

Here’s an example of where the GR 65 is on a footpath. You’ll be following the red and white markers (on the right-hand side of the picture) of the GR 65 all the way to the end.

Here’s an example of the GR 65 on an agricultural access road.

You’ll even find plenty of ancient shepherd huts made of stone in the Massif Central.

You’ll also find plenty of churches and chapels along the way. Many of them are no longer active. Because the Massif Central is volcanic, almost all of the structures are made out of granite or schist. When the underlying rock changes later in the walk, the materials used for structures will also change.

You’ll make several descents into (and ascents out of) small villages (this one is Monistrol-d’Allier) and river (this one is the L’Allier)  valleys.

You’ll pass many very attractive homes and farms. Many of the old farmsteads have been renovated for use as a retirement or vacation homes.

You’ll have scenic and peaceful vistas the entire way.

You’ll see these carved figures as you enter the small town of Saugues. The 2017 Tour de France went through Saugues and several other towns touched by the GR 65 on the Massif Central.

You’ll see plenty of cows on the Massif Central especially when you enter the area known as the Aubrac.

The Aubrac is known for its wide open vistas and stone walls. The walls have been ongoing project for centuries and are made out of volcanic rocks cleared from the fields.

In some places in the Aubrac you’ll actually walk through the cows. The GR 65 continues straight ahead through the small gate in front.

And in every village you walk through, you’ll find a monument to La Grande Guerre (The Great War or World War I). The monuments list those “Morts pour la France” (Dead for France). When you consider the size of these towns, it must have been truly awful. It’s still very sad to see these monuments 100 years later.

And high above almost every town you’ll find a statue of Notre-Dame. This one is above Espalion.

This twisted church steeple is in St-Come d’Olt.

The French countryside is absolutely stunning!

Estaing is almost like a “fairy tale” town.

You enter the town on the this small stairway. Again, if like to climb stairs, you’ll love exploring Conques!

And when you reach the bottom of the stairs, you’ll make a right-hand turn and find yourself transported back to 800 years ago.

Conques is also home to the abbey church of Saint-Foy (Saint Faith in English; Santa Fe in Spanish)

The stone carving of the “Final Judgement” above the entrance of the church is very interesting. I’ll have more to say about the carving in a future blog post.

And when you leave Conques, you’ll have a long climb up and will have the chance to ring the bell in the small chapel of Saint-Foy overlooking the town of Conques.