Shortly after leaving St Privat d’Allier, we descended down a path covered with broken pieces of terracotta roof tiles. We surmised that they were placed there to create more traction for hikers. The rocks underneath were probably very slippery especially during rains. A first for both of us.

Our first stop was the Rochegude Chapel and Tower. A kindly Canadian took our photo before the chapel in the distance which commanded a wide view of valleys of the D’Allier River.

Rounding the chapel, we began our 1000 foot descent to the floor of the valley where we crossed the D’Allier River by the Pont Eiffel, yes, the same guy of tower fame.

After a refreshment break, we started our 1500 foot ascent towards Saugues. We had a wonderful panorama of the river and its town, Monistrol-d’Allier. Nearing the top, we passed the Chapelle de la Madeleine that was built into the face of the mountain.

After six miles, we encountered wooden sculptures on the outskirts of Saugues, our end point. Notice the scallop shell hanging from the tallest candle. The descent was steep but we knew that our hotel was about a mile away.

Dinner was early — 6:30. Our waitress told us that people in this town are early to bed, early to rise. The town was eerily quiet and dark when we made our way back to the hotel.

But a short commentary about dinner which began with a glass of kir. We both ordered the lentil salad — excellent. I had a local fresh water fish while Monique asked for an omelette. I ended with three local cheeses from a semi-hard like Comte to a very subtle blue. In between was a creamy cheese with a soft rind with ash — not Morbier but a distant cousin.

A short walk back to hotel for a well deserved sleep. I took an image of the Tour des Anglais built in the 13th Century during the Hundred Years War that loomed in front of my window. All was peaceful tonight.

Breakfast at 7, on the road by 8 with pilgrims on our heels.

The cathedral tower was a dark silhouette at sunrise. Soon after breakfast, we were leaning into the hill on the Rue des Capucins (the Camino route) that passed next to our hotel. Our fellow pilgrims were a serious lot. For some, a new experience of walking a quarter mile up a steep incline. For veterans, just the first of many hills to come.

After the climb, we settled in for a long walk across the plateau. The temperature was mid-50s, moderate winds, and puffy clouds moving quickly across the sky. The terrain was mostly open with occasional moments in the trees that lined the trail. We also saw a most unusual combination of a tv antenna affixed to a cross. Was it a new way of the communicating with the Almighty or a pragmatic way getting a better signal to watch futbol?

Eventually, we descended to our destination St Privat d’Allier, a small village perched on the side of a mountain. We were early so I enjoyed a biere pression, La Vertueuse, the virtuous woman. An instance of French tongue in cheek?

Before dinner, we took a stroll to the other side of the gorge where a church was constructed in the 12th Century stood. At the threshold, I spied an interesting stained glass cross behind the altar that beckoned me in. Who knew that some of the church’s stained glass windows were Mondrian like. The Camino continues to surprise me with its hidden beauty.

No report of dinner tonight. It was quite ordinary.

My five previous Camino walks have been exclusively in Spain except for the one that started at St Jean Pied-du-Port, the gateway over the Pyrenees to Pamplona and onto Burgos. It is not surprising that everyone associates the Camino with Spain.

But pilgrims started from villages and cities throughout Europe on their Caminos that eventually crossed into Spain along some well traveled routes. The Caminos Frances is the best known with the starting point at St Jean Pied-du-Port. This village will now be the end point of this Camino – the well marked Camino Podiensis (CP), the GR65 — that traverses the Massif Central (an area of extinct volcanoes) through the Dordogne (the land that produces Roquefort cheese and Armagnac) and ends in the French Basque area at the foothills of the Pyrenees. The guidebooks say 450 miles. I have 32 days based upon the dwellings that have been reserved.

The first task is getting to the start point — Le Puy. Perhaps you have eaten its famous green lentils. All went smoothly from Sharon driving me to the Newark Airport bus and the Air Canada flights to Montreal and Lyon. I chose these flights because they were the least expensive when I booked in early March. Something called the Iran war sent prices quickly up.

A serendipitous benefit happened by arriving in Lyon. The Schengen zone has started to phase in a new scanner/photo turnstile entry system while eliminating the old fashioned face to face system with immigration officers stamping passports with entry visas. Alas, no more bragging rights on how many stamps you have in a passport — at least, Schengen zone ones.

Reports abounded about long waits of up to two hours especially at major hub airports like Frankfurt, Paris, and Amsterdam. But today, I walked without stopping to a passport checkpoint and had my passport stamped — perhaps my last of the Schengen zone.

Instead of taking hours to get to Lyon central station, I was ahead by four hours. So, here I am starting to write this prologue and people watching before boarding my train to Le Puy where my friend, Monique Karrer, will meet me.

I first met Monique on my 88 Temple walk in Japan. We later met in Orvieto, Italy to walk the final leg of the Via Fracigena to Roma. I had walked from Firenze to Orvieto with my friend, Rich Gorton. Two years ago, Monique guided me on trails around her hometown of Winterthur and the Zurich canton including Rheinfalls. She will walk from Le Puy to Conques (10 days) — her third time. I’ll go on from there.

The Le Puy train station was crowded with Camino walkers who spread out through the town. The cathedral, the official start point of this Camino, was built in the 11-13 Centuries during the same period as Notre Dame Paris though of different architectural styles. It occupies a commanding site near the top of a hill. Worshipers can enter through the floor before the main alter. Dramatic as is the church with its glass cross over the altar and Moorish arches in the ceiling recalling those of the mezquita in Cordoba. St James, St Jacques in French, has his place near the alter.

After our visit, dinner at the 7 Instant restaurant in the old town near our hotel. Monique had local trout that was similar to Arctic Char; I had the last portion of steak tartare prepared at the table. The steak tartare was classic with cut pieces of meat rather than being ground. The wines were delicious and only 5 € per 6 oz pour. We ended with desserts, Pavlova for Monique and a cerise (cherry ice cream) enclosed in a thin layer of colored white chocolate. To be in France.

Bonne Nuit. Our Camino begins tomorrow.