Walking the Via Podiensis

By Joann Garbig

In the depths of the pandemic, I craved another long walk on one of the many pilgrimage routes in Europe. I wanted to be out walking in nature day after day, through changing landscape, alone yet not alone, carrying my pack, ending each day with a comfortable bed, a shower, a hot meal and fellowship with others.

Having walked through Spain and Portugal to Santiago de Compostela on earlier trips, I thought it might be nice to be in a different country with – for me – less of a language barrier. So, in September I locked up the house, shouldered my pack and made my way to Lyon, France, and from there to the town of Le Puy en Velay in the volcanic region of the Haute-Loire. Le Puy, a pilgrimage centre since the Middle Ages, is where I began my 750-kilometre walk on the Via Podiensis, ending at the Pyrenees and the border towns of Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port in France and Roncesvalles in Spain.

The walk began at the Cathédrale Notre-Dame du Puy with the blessing offered daily to all departing pilgrims and a dramatic exit down a staircase revealed by the opening of a large grille in the cathedral floor.

In the next five weeks, the Via Podiensis, also waymarked as the GR65 walking path, took me from the Auvergne through Occitanie and Acquitaine, across areas of spectacular scenery and a series of perfectly preserved medieval villages designated as the most beautiful in France. Highlights included:

• the Aubrac plateau (1,300 metres altitude), which I crossed during a morning of typically wild weather featuring pelting rain, powerful winds and streams of water underfoot;
• steep climbs and descents through the forested Lot valley to the fairytale village of Conques, said to be the inspiration for Belle’s hometown in Disney’s Beauty & the Beast;
• a tranquil morning’s walk along the Canal de Garonne outside of Moissac;
• innumerable churches and chapels, almost all of which were open to the curious or contemplative pilgrim; and
• views of the Pyrenees, first glimpsed after weeks of walking and drawing ever closer as the end of my pilgrimage approached.

With my pilgrim’s passport in hand, I was able to stay in gites d’etape – mostly family-run accommodations for pilgrims in houses renovated to provide small dormitories and private rooms. For a reasonable price, many offer demi-pension – an evening meal, bed for the night and breakfast. I had heard that the food on the Via Podiensis is something special, and I was not disappointed.

A communal dinner was served every evening, made with local ingredients in generous portions. Often there was a soup or sometimes a savoury tart, a main dish (duck, beef, fish, curry, etc., as well as options for vegetarians), sometimes a green salad, sometimes a cheese course and dessert (apple tart, flan, something chocolate or maybe a local specialty). And wine. And bread. And conversation around the table. I couldn’t always follow the rapid-fire pace, but the French pilgrims and hosts unfailingly made the effort to include everyone.

There were many days when I had the trail all to myself. I enjoyed the solitude and being able to go at my own pace. At the gite, it was always good to switch gears and chat with the proprietor and the other walkers. Most whom I met were French, several were from other European countries and only a few had made the trip from North America.

The gites themselves had their own character, as did their proprietors. There was the gite on a working farm, where we were invited down to the barn at milking time. I stayed in more than one gite located in a meticulously restored medieval house fitted with state-of-the-art bathrooms. Another couple of gites were run by talented musicians who played for us on the accordion and the banjo. Often the owners had themselves walked a pilgrimage in France or to Santiago and felt called to be of service to the pilgrim community.

My final walking day began in the Basque town of Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, the popular starting point for the Camino Frances. I walked across the Pyrenees into Spain and the village of Roncesvalles, traditional resting place for pilgrims en route to Santiago. As I had done in Le Puy five weeks earlier, I attended the church and its daily pilgrims’ blessing. I was content. The next morning, I watched the pilgrims leave the hostel to continue on their way. I silently wished them Buen Camino as I prepared to turn towards home.

Joann Garbig lives in the Glebe and is planning her next walk.