Camino de Santiago ~ Video Finder

Recommended Clips about the Camino Francés

Here is a collection of interesting videos about the Camino de Santiago. This section focuses on the classic “French Route” from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, over the Pyrennées, across northern Spain, the meseta, up into Galicia, and finally to Santiago de Compostela. We’ve selected these clips for their interesting, informative, practical and inspirational content. (more…)

On the GR-3 along the Loire River, France, 2007.

Tips on Planning a Route

Organizing Waypoints

When I was planning my six-week 2007 walk, I began looking for information about the various places along the route. Sometimes I came upon information like this, outlining a trail in paragraph form: Orléans, La Chapelle-Saint-Mesmin, Saint-Ay, Meung-sur-Loire, Beaugency, Tavers (hors), Lestiou, Avaray, Muides-sur-Loire, Seuvres, Saint-Dye-sur-Loire, Chambord, La Chaussee-le-Compte, Cellettes, Saint-Gervais-la-Fôret, Blois, Chailles, Candé-sur-Beuvron, Chaumont-sur-Loire, Rilly-sur-Loire, Souvigny-de-Touraine, Amboise, Lussault-sur-Loire, Montlouis-sur-Loire, Vouvray, Roche-Corbon, Tours.

That may be a tasty mouthful of French, but it soon becomes a bewildering mess if you try to find information about any of these waypoints. (more…)

Through the woods in Aquitania, France, Voie de Vezélay, 2005.”

Gear ~ Wallet

My Absolute Favorite Everyday Ultralight Wallet

Simblissity LiteFOLD – 8 grams

I like to keep my “walking around” money handy and I like my gear light. A few years ago, I found the perfect convergence in the Simblissity LiteFOLD T-Line™ Ultralight Tri-fold wallet. That may be a whole mouthful of ultralight, but it’s my favorite wallet – period! (more…)

Clothing ~ Waterproof Rain Jacket

Mountain Hardwear™ Stimulus™ Jacket – 199 grams

I wore the Mountain Hardwear™ Stimulus™ Jacket throughout my 2009 walk across France and Spain. This jacket is one of the reasons I love my “ultralight hobby” because I first read about it in an airline in-flight magazine. (Never stop looking for solutions.)

It’s a true “minimalist” jacket that still has everything I really need. Totally waterproof! MH really pushed the envelope here, with innovative design, materials, and construction. It doesn’t have every popular feature available (but heavier) on other jackets, like underarm vents, but I didn’t miss them. Another means of saving weight is the absence of a hood. I always where my Tilley Air-flow hat, rain or shine, and I don’t like the way hoods restrict your view, so this is a real plus for me. The Stim does have an extended tail that really helps keep the water out. (more…)

Hotel Saint Jacques, Le Puy-en-Velay, France.

Where to Sleep in France ~ Hôtels

Over the course of a long walk through France, there are many possibilities of where to get a good night’s rest. Over the last few years I’ve spent nearly 150 nights in France, in lodgings spanning the full range from “humble” to “luxury”. Here are a few explanations, opinions, and lessons learned. (more…)

Bar in rural France, along the Via Podiensis.”

The Secrets of France

Café or Bar?

OK (“Okay”), let’s just straighten this out right now, just so we avoid any confusion… After thousands of kilometers (thousands of miles!) walking across France, through towns big and small, I began to wonder – What’s the difference between a bar and a café? There is quite a difference in the USA, but in France, the difference eluded me for a long time. My curiosity notched up when friends started asking why I was always “sitting in a little bar” whenever I wrote them postcards. Hmmmn… (more…)

Map of the Camino del Cid.

The Camino del Cid

Follow “the Leader”, El Cid Campeador

For most people, walking in Spain usually refers to the legendary Camino del Santiago, and specifically the Camino Frances, which in fact is only one of a dozen-odd trails leading to Santiago de Compostela. But there are many trails that crisscross Spain, and one of the newest – still somewhat in development – is the Camino del Cid, which starts in his birthplace, Vivar del Cid, just north of Burgos and heads south through some of the remotest lands of Europe to Elche in Alicante province, near Spain’s southern Mediterranean coast. (more…)

Path from Lyon to Le Puy, France 2009.

Making Light ~ Take Less

Less doesn’t weigh as much

Here’s a real quick and simple one. Go through your packing list, and find at least one thing, pull it out of your kit, and leave it at home. You decide. But if you’re like most people, you won’t miss it. At least not that much. And you’ll soon forget that you miss it, or even why you thought you needed it in the first place. (more…)

Trail junction on the path from Lyon to Le-Puy, France 2009.

Making Light ~ Getting Small

Smaller makes lighter possible

“Space is a vacuum”, as our astronautical friends are fond of telling us. And vacuums don’t like being that way. Space doesn’t like to be empty. It wants to be full. So if you buy a pack that’s bigger than you need, it will come with its own insidious need to fill up.

By finding the smallest pack that can accommodate your gear and supplies, you automatically limit how much extra you can haul around.

“Don’t Buy a Backpack…” …until you know what you’ll need to carry. (more…)

A brief rest on the trail from Lyon to Le Puy-en-Velay, France 2009.

Longwalk 2009 ~ Lyon to le Puy-en-Velay

Warming up for the oldest walk in western Europe.

I set off in late April, easing into the rhythm of the trail, and reached Le Puy in eight days. During that first week, I saw virtually no other walkers, aside from a few French day hikers on the weekend. I walked through one long day of rain, and only strayed from the path a few times. (That’s why it’s called a shakedown). Quite a bit of the trail follows an ancient Roman road, parts of which are still paved in stone.

Several guidebooks describe the eastern approaches to le Puy-en-Velay. I chose the excellent, though sometimes hard to find Chamina guide #207. It presents two routes – the one from Lyon (le chemin de Lyon au Puy-en-Velay in 9 stages (étapes)), which meets the other from Cluny, (le chemin de Cluny au Puy-en-Velay in 14 stages) coming down from the north. (more…)