Day 1 - On a commencé! (Le Puy-en-Velay à Saint-Privé d'Allier - 24 km)
What a fantastic first day! We started early with a 0700 mass at the cathedral with about 150-200 other pilgrims. After mass, a trap door opened from the centre aisle exposing a staircase that led down through the cathedral onto the street to begin our Camino. A very unique experience.
The weather for today's 24+ km journey could not have been better - mid 20s C, a light breeze and partly cloudy. Shortly after we began, we made our first tactical error in bypassing the first café we saw. Little did we realize that on Mondays in France, most shops are closed and no other open establishments were seen. This error necessitated a delay in getting the essential calories into our bodies by about 10 km’s of walking. Fortunately, to stave off a potential violent crime amongst our group of four, a couple of emergency energy bars were unearthed one km into the trek which satiated those so close to the edge of insanity. Additionally, there was no opportunity for coffee until that 10 km mark so I think we truly dodged a bullet today.
When we finally found an open bar, the ham sandwich and café au lait were extremely welcome and provided the energy required to continue for the day. It was uphill for most of the day however only a few spots were steep. The most challenging portion in my opinion was the last couple of kms into Saint-Privé as it was truly a rocky goat path that was somewhat treacherous requiring careful and slow negotiation. There were plenty of wonderful views along the way, just as we expected. We had read numerous blogs and web sites pontificating the incredible vistas and we were not disappointed.
For the last few kms, I walked with Clément, a young man from Lyon who was also on his first day and is camping along the route. With no set itinerary, he will see how far he gets before he has to go back to work. He is an English/French high school teacher who had nothing but passion in his voice when he told me how much he loved his job as well as each and every student. It was truly a pleasure to speak with him and I hope to see him again.
At the end of the day, all of us felt great despite the distance for our first stage. The day was topped of with a delicious meal at Gîte Kompost'l and a beautiful evening walk around the village of about 450 people.
