CHEVELLE propped herself against a farm fence just outside of Montbonnet on the first day of her pilgrimage. Exhausted from the 15km hike, she was catching her breath before tackling the last few kilometres on the Chemin de Saint-Jaques – better known as the Le Puy Camino.
At 67, it was the French grandmother’s first multi-day walk and her first day of retirement. A big decision to walk from Le Puy-en-Velay to Saint Jean Pied de Port – a total of 750km. Her husband of 45 years passed away 18 months earlier and she was fulfilling his dream. She planned on walking about 15km a day, inserting rest days when needed, all the way collecting her thoughts and penning a book about her husband’s life for a family keepsake.
Caminos are good for that; there is endless time for thought and reflection. Another grandmother, Juliette, was just walking for five days with her nine-year-old grandson to form a special bond; Mattieu, the 20-something Frenchman eyeing off 1500km to Santiago going cold turkey kicking a cigarette and mobile phone addiction; the Americans who sold
