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Day 6 in LePuy France,known by the Catholic Church as the most sacred place in the world.

The mountains and the monuments that are erected from volcanic rock are amazing. The St. Michael Rock is awesome with many steps to climb up to the chapel called St. Michael the Arc Angel. Today was perfect weather, sunshine and warm.

On the Chemin de Saint Jacques most pilgrims are from France. I have

also met another Canadian, a couple from Perth Australia, a lady from

South Africa, several Swiss and 1 American.

Some interesting people:

– Alain from Switzerland who is a Templar

– Sonny from Toronto who did the Camino in Spain last year and is now

doing it again all the way from Le Puy

– Ursula from Switzerland who is walking with her dog from Switzerland

to Santiago

– John and Claire who flew all the way from Perth, Australia to hike for 2 weeks

– Vincent the chef who made us Aligot a melted mixture of cheese and potato

– a nice older couple from France who hike all over the place

It's great to quickly make so many friends in a foreign land.

Here in France there are some differences in etiquette.

Last night I was privileged to have a 7 course meal. Not knowing each

time more was coming, I filled up on whatever Monique (Chez Monique

B&B) brought. Mistake, half way thru I could not eat anymore. We had:

– apperatifs

– hordourves

– soup

– pasta casserole

– chicken and rice

– cheese plate

– fruit and tart desert

– coffee/tea

Another oddity is les francais drink their morning coffee out of a

bowl after dipping their toast into it.

Tonight dans Le Gite de la ferme au Sauvage there were only 4 courses

so I got off easy.

Gaining weight sur le Chemin de St Jacques..

Salva Regina! The bishop from Le Puy

Wrote this prayer,

Today was amazing, walked to this statue.

Mass at the Cathedral Notre Dame for the procession ” Corpus Christie” feast day,

I am in beautiful Sauges, a medieval town full of narrow cobblestone

streets, boulangeries and friends.

Today was the most difficult walk of my life. From Montbonnet to

Monistrol d'Allier, a mere distance of 13 km, the rocky muddy trail

went up and the down 650 m. I was exhausted when I arrived at

Monistrol. So, a nice man named Henri drove me to Sauges (12 km but

up 650 m again) after serving me lunch in his restaurant!

I am now esconced in Chez Monique B&B awaiting the 5 pm cathedral service.

I will decide tomorrow if I will have my bag sent ahead to lighten the

load. (Henri says the Camino is much easier from here on.)

Just ran into friends Sonny from Toronto with Sophia from S. Africa.

Life is good when their are angels like Henri and Monique.

To all our Family and Friends:

After a long journey we have arrived in LePuy.

Dave left this morning on his Camino walk for the next 10 days.

I am getting settled at theInternational Centre for Sisters of St. Joseph. There are 9 participants from Ottawa including Sister Rosemary our Leader.

There are three Sisters ( Gracie, Line, Kate)hosting us and the hospitality is fabulous as well as the food. We sit for 3 course in house meals served with red wine, breads and creamy cheeses.

Our retreat will commence tonight and we will meet in the mornings for gatherings, prayer and reflections with outings/ sightseeing in afternoons. The purpose of this retreat is the re birthing of the Little Design Community(of which I am a member).During the retreat there will be some quiet/ silent times while in the house.

Of course I will offer yoga and meditation sessions to whoever wants to join me daily.

This is indeed a Pilgrimage for me and I walked 4 hours today with 4 ladies from my group.

Photos and more updates to follow.

Buen Camino

Sent from my iPhone

I’m leaving Le Puy today. Managed to get internet on the Blackberry but it is pretty compromised.

Off to the pilgrim mass in the Cathedral, then have to get guide books and credential before I leave.

All wente well yesterday. The St Joseph sisters are very welcoming of our group. We were all quite tired but today we will recover.

I can’t believe my 2nd Camino is about to start. Buen Camino!

Just getting settled into our flight to Lyon. The trip by train to Dorval airport went very smoothly. 8 ladies and me. We had a light meal and shared a bottle of malbec so we would rest better later.

The airport and flight is crowded with young couples heading to France. Weather forecast for Le Puy is cool (14 deg C) and rainy for the next 2 days but as of Saturday it is supposed to clear up and be sunny all next week.

Le Puy here we come!

Sent wirelessly from my BlackBerry device on the Bell network.

Envoyé sans fil par mon terminal mobile BlackBerry sur le réseau de Bell.