From Cluny to Le Puy-en-Velay
Note: in March 2022, I used spring break to squeeze in a shorter pilgrimage from the medieval monastic center of Cluny, France to Le Puy-en-Velay, where the Via Podiensis begins. I never posted this account here, but it’s worth sharing given the dearth of available information on this route. No single place, aside from Santiago […]
Via Podiensis Guidebook Updates – Late 2023
The Via Podiensis guidebook is heading out for a second printing! Thanks very much to everyone who has bought a copy and made this possible so soon. For those who have the first printing, not to fear: you can find the complete list of updates that I’ve just submitted in this linked doc, with the […]
So You Want to Learn About the Via Podiensis?
While I didn’t make it back to the Via Podiensis this summer, it has been a huge point of emphasis for me over these past few years, as we prepared the Cicerone guidebook for launch, and now an upcoming reprint. The guidebook, of course, is a great way to learn about the route, but if […]
Nobody Beats the House: On Tarasteix and Lourdes
He made the bells toll. The image remains vivid: cramped into a wooden belltower, students and other visitors wedged around me, and the bells clanging rambunctiously overhead. Never mind the sound; the noise churned the bones, surged upward into the teeth, and then poured into the hairs on your forearms. More than any of that, […]
Via Podiensis Podcast Series
Over on The Camino Podcast, I’m now three episodes into a series focused on the Via Podiensis. It’s a fun way to build on the work with my new Cicerone guidebook, and it has kind of taken on a life of its own. My original plan was to carry forward the framework that I followed […]
New Book on Pilgrimage Coming January 6
Pilgrimage: A Medieval Cure for Modern Ills, available for pre-order on Kindle now, available for free through Kindle Unlimited, available in paperback on January 6! On May 1, 2002, I staggered into Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, France under the cover of darkness, around 10:30pm, following a small pack of newbie pilgrims into the old town and up to […]
Walking from Saint-Cirq-Lapopie to Cahors
I’ve been lucky enough to walk the Célé Valley route a few times now, and I always struggle with the last chunk of it, between Saint-Cirq-Lapopie and Cahors. If you follow the “official” GR36 along the way, faithfully and completely, it’ll run something like 35 to 39km, depending upon whether you take the riverside fork […]
A New Resource for the Via Podiensis
It has been nearly four months since I last posted here. The relative nature of time certainly has been reinforced during the pandemic, but this fall has been little more than a blur. While Zoom school brought its own distinct set of challenges, the return to in-person learning has been even more complicated. It’s just […]
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 […]
Connecting the GR-65 and the Camino del Norte
I still remember the first time I walked the GR-10. I had just finished walking the GR-65 from Le Puy-en-Velay, so I turned right in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port brimming with confidence that I’d make short work of these ~100km. How hard could it be? Three days, max. Well, I got my butt well and truly kicked. Just […]