My Summer on the Via Podiensis

Any summer of pilgrimage is a great summer, but I felt all the more fortunate to be in France this year. After so many months effectively locked down in the US, the reopening of Europe in early June was as well timed as it was deeply appreciated. Beyond that, I know that many pilgrims, in Australia and elsewhere, remained geographically isolated as a consequence of the pandemic.

And while it’s always a treat to be walking in France, it was particularly critical for me to return this year, with a new guidebook on the Via Podiensis in the works. The hope had been to do some walking last summer, but that was scrapped with pretty much everything else. As a consequence, I needed to cover everything this summer: the full GR65 from Le Puy-en-Velay to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, the many small-scale route variants, the Célé Valley and Rocamadour routes between Figeac and Cahors, and the two routes linking Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port and Hendaye/Irún on the coast.

Mission accomplished! With fresh notes, updated GPX tracks, new pictures, and plenty of great memories to sort through, I’m now finalizing the manuscript and labeling maps. There’s plenty to do, but we’re on track to have this released, if all goes smoothly, by early next summer.

While that plays out, I’m pleased to have write-ups of each day’s walk already posted from the road, ready right now for you to read if you missed them the first time. For convenience’s sake, here’s a complete list of the posts:

Prelude: A Whole Day in Le Puy-en-Velay