Shortly before 7 a.m., walkers climb the 134 steps leading to the cathedral of Puy-en-Velay, in Haute-Loire, splendor of Romanesque art.
They put their backpacks against a pillar and gather to the sound of friction, this little music of the technical clothing of the hiker... From April 1 to October 31, every morning, the pilgrims' mass brings together believers and profane in a same fervor.
At the end of the ceremony, the bishop brings them together at the foot of a statue of Saint James.
Everyone is invited to say where he comes from and how far he intends to walk, before being given his cretantiale, a kind of passport to be stamped at each stage, mainly in the gîtes.
Without it, no "compostela", the diploma given at the end of the long journey by the office of the pilgrims of Santiago de Compostela,
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Some jacquets draw a prayer intention placed by a faithful in a basket.
The portal opens, bathing the nave in light.
All that remains is to set off, alone, in a duo or in a group, on this Podiensis route, today the GR 65, 732 kilometers in 32 stages to the Franco-Spanish border, to be covered from one milked or in sections over several years.
"It's a bit like a school promotion which, in the days to come, will meet again and recognize each other over the steps or on a bistro terrace"
, laughs Marie-Julie, from the North, gone two summers in a row with her husband on the way to Le Puy.
Read also“By far my most beautiful trip”: on the roads to Compostela, more and more walkers
Follow the shell...
Arrival at Saint-Privat-d'Allier (Haute-Loire), first stage of the Le Puy route, 23 kilometers after Le Puy-en-Velay.
Luke Olivier
Metal shells embedded in the pavement indicate the route to follow.
Other clues guide the hiker, his nose in the air to spot statues of Saint Jacques embedded in colorful facades.
A first climb leads to
the Devès plateau
, between the fields of the famous local lentil.
Without straining the calves: many backgammoners injure their knees or ankles the first day, by advancing too quickly, their bodies poorly warmed up in rather rigid shoes.
A refreshment bar fitted out in a caravan offers a friendly first stop, for a coffee break or a snack upstream of
Saint-Christophe-sur-Dolaison
.
At kilometer 23,
Saint-Privat-d'Allier
represents the first historic stage of the via Podiensis.
Founded in 1046, the priory represented a welcome refuge in these then wild and inhospitable regions, near Gévaudan and its beast which would have raged in the 18th century... The chapel of Saint-Jacques de Rochegude offers a dizzying view of the Combine.
On the other side of the river, at the exit of
Monistrol-d'Allier
, the troglodyte chapel Sainte-Madeleine echoes it, surrounded by basalt organs in the caves of the hamlet of
Escluzels
.
Find my pebble, the summer 2022 contest
In order to celebrate the Saint-Jacques year, the association Sur les Pas de Saint-Jacques has scattered hundreds of pebbles painted in the colors of Saint-Jacques, red and white, along the route.
The objective: to create a link between pilgrims by carrying these pebbles ever further along the path, who knows as far as Santiago de Compostela.
Route des galets to follow on the networks via the hashtag #TrouveMonGaletStJacques.
The shell, compass of the paths to Compostela.
One of the scenes that you will find often, whatever your route.
AFCC
Read alsoRoads to Compostela: cycling between Vézelay and La Charité-sur-Loire
Margeride and Aubrac, two favorites
The Margeride then unfolds its vast hilly expanses, between meadows and forests.
The beauty of the landscape is even more intense on
the Aubrac plateau
, located between 1000 and 1400 meters above sea level.
The stage between
Nasbinals
and
Saint-Chély d'Aubrac
is one of the most beautiful on the Puy route.
Through a desert steppe, walkers advance along the drailles, these ancestral transhumance paths taken by the herds.
The horizon is bare, lined here and there with dry stone walls and crosses.
You will inevitably fall under the spell of the beautiful Aubracs, these red cows with black-rimmed eyes, as if made up with kohl.
Approaching the lost village of
Aubrac
, the Church of Our Lady of the Poor gradually grows in a composition worthy of a painting.
From the 12th century, pious travelers were welcomed and cared for there by the regular canons of Saint Augustine, who washed their feet and fed them.
Today's pilgrim can enjoy a succulent porcini mushroom omelet at Germaine, an address renowned for its XXL red fruit tart.
On the Aubrac plateau, looking like a desert steppe.
Stone Cardboard
High point in Conques
Other treasures are dotted along the Voie du Puy: the curious "flammé" or "tors" bell tower of
Saint-Côme-d'Olt
, the old town of
Espalion
deployed on both banks of the Lot, the majestic Estaing bridge over this same river… A long and magnificent descent leads to the village of
Conques
and its 12th century abbey church listed as a UNESCO heritage site.
The mass at 8:30 p.m. is a must, even for the most secular, short, with a text read by foreign pilgrims of the day.
Espalion, on the banks of the Lot, in the center of a valley dominated by the Aubrac mountains to the north and the Causse plateaus to the south.
AFCC_JJ.Gelbart.
It is followed by a night guided tour of the church under the splendid stained glass windows of Pierre Soulage, a native of Aveyron.
The tympanum of the Last Judgment, from the 12th century, is a masterpiece of Romanesque art.
Endowed with a real talent as an orator, the famous brother Jean-Daniel describes every detail, before recounting the incredible transfer of the relics from Sainte-Foy d'Agen to Conques, in the 9th century.
This canon of the Prémontrés order closes the evening by playing the organ, in a concert joyfully mixing Michel Polnareff and Jean-Sébastien Bach.
Cahors and Moissac before the Pyrenees
The abbey of Saint-Pierre de Moissac (Midi-Pyrénées) and its cloister, one of the jewels of the Puy route.
Anibal Trejo
In
Cahors
, in the Lot, the pilgrim borrows without fear the Devil's Bridge, or Valentré Bridge, one of the most beautiful bridges of defense architecture from the Middle Ages still standing, and this since the 14th century.
On Wednesdays and Saturdays, he can shop for his picnic at the market, in front of the Saint-Etienne cathedral.
On the stalls: cheeses from Rocamadour, melons from Quercy, walnuts from Périgord... Four days' walk further on, the cloister of the Abbey of
Saint-Pierre de Moissac
stands out as one of the other jewels of the Puy.
Bertrande keeps a strong memory of it:
“At the end of mass, the priest kindly laughed at us when we told him that we were from Paris, then, to be forgiven, he passionately commented on the famous capital of the transfiguration”
.
All the stages cannot display the same charm, the part between
Moissac
and
Saint-Palais
is less popular:
"straight and endless on asphalt roads between the fields of corn and sunflowers"
, appreciated less Blandine and François, couple Quebecer who crossed the Atlantic three years in a row to connect Le Puy-en-Velay to Saint-Palais.
Finally, the Puy route converges with the Tours and Vézelay routes in the Basque Country, to arrive at the foot of the Pyrenees.
Practical information
BEFORE LEAVING
The Friends of Saint Jacques du Velay offer a glass of friendship every late afternoon, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. from April 1 to October 15 at the Café des Pèlerins, where you are welcomed before warming up by former pilgrims who share their experiences on the way, at the Camino, 2 rue de la Manécanterie, 43000 Le Puy-en-Velay, Tel.
04 71 09 06 00.
WINDOWS ON LANDSCAPES.
Contemporary, long-lasting and ephemeral works of art line the Puy route, in dialogue with the ancient heritage: in Aveyron, La Chambre d'or in Golinhac and Living alone in Livinhac-le-Haut;
in the Lot, Super-Cayrou in Gréalou, La Citerne-lit in Felzins and Pecten Maximus in Limogne-en-Quercy;
in Lozère, the Castrum in Saint-Alban-sur-Limagnole;
in the Gers, the collegiate tree in La Romieu, www.derrierelehublot.fr/fenetres-sur-le-paysage/
WHERE TO STAY THE NIGHT? THREE COTTAGES TO PRIVILEGE
The Domain of the Savage.
Located in the heart of the Margeride, this strong address of the path is transmitted from hiker to hiker, a medieval freestone site isolated between forest and ponds, in a grandiose setting at nearly 1300 meters above sea level.
It is managed by a group of about thirty farmers, whose products make up the dinner.
Possibility to stop there just for a coffee or a tea for those continuing on their way.
Half-board rate from the beginning of April to the end of October: €37.
Le Sauvage, 43170 Chanaleilles, Tel.
04 71 74 40 30, www.sauvage-en-gevaudan.com
The hostelry of the abbey of
Conques.
It's rustic but friendly, in its own right, in a superb historic building run by the Premonstratensian brothers where you can sleep in a single room or in a dormitory, after dinner at 7.30 p.m., served by volunteer hospital staff in the refectory where several languages resonate.
Pilgrims can attend the evening and morning services, and especially the commented visit of the tympanum, at 9 p.m.
Hostellerie de l'Abbaye Rue Charlemagne, 12320 Conques-en-Rouergue, Tel.
05 65 72 80 30, abbaye-conques.org/hotellerie
Stopover gite L'Alchimiste, in Navarrenx, in Béarn.
Nine to twelve places are divided into five rooms on the model of free participation in costs (the donativo), with a reception based on the human and spiritual aspect, L'Alchimiste, 10 rue de l'Abreuvoir, 64190 Navarrenx, Tel .
06 32 78 13 76.
BAGGAGE TRANSFER
For those who prefer to walk with a light backpack, La Malle Postale offers a luggage transport service between the different stages of the Puy route, regular shuttles departing from Puy-en-Velay, La Malle Postale, 11 av.
Charles Dupuy, 43000 Le Puy-en-Velay, Tel.
04 71 04 21 79, www.lamallepostale.com/fr/
More information from the French Agency for Compostela (https://www.chemins-compostelle.com), 4 rue Clémence Isaure, 31000 Toulouse, Tel.
05 62 27 00 05, info.
accueil@chemins-compostelle.com.
