"When you travel, you experience, in a very practical way, the act of rebirth. You confront completely new situations, the day passes more slowly, and on most journeys you don't even understand the language the people speak. So you are like a child just out of the womb. You begin to attach much more importance to the things around you because your survival depends upon them. You begin to be more accessible to others because they may be able to help you in difficult situations. And you accept any small favor from the gods with great delight, as if it were an episode you would remember for the rest of your life.
"At the same time, since all things are new, you see only the beauty i
n them, and you feel happy to be alive." (Paulo Coelho)
"What a joy walking is. All the cares of life, all the hopeless, inept fuckwits that God has strewn along the (dandd) Highway of Life, suddenly seem far away and harmless, and the world becomes tranquil and welcoming and good." (Bill Bryson)
I'm dyspeptic enough that I lean toward Bryson, but take your pick -- they are saying the same thing.
ANIMALS: While we saw more wild animals than we did in Spain, we were again surprised at how few we saw. We saw a couple of deer, a ton of squirrels, a dead badger and a dead wild pig, and one giant snake (not a python giant, but far too giant and too alive for dw -- perhaps a yard long). We saw a group of five wild pigs that ran across the road and several orange slugs. In the region of miles of corn, we didn't so much see as hear mourning doves. They sounded like flocks of owls with laryngitis except they didn't do anything to thin out the squirrels (rodents in a nice suit) -- so we got annoyed by the doves hoo-hoo-hooing all the time. The area restaurants and gites need to feature squab on their menus.
Five miles past Miramont we saw a giant frog sitting in the road. I pushed it with one of my sticks but it wouldn't move so I used both to lift and roll it off the road lest it become a frog pate'. I asked dw if she wanted to kiss it to see what would happen. No words, but I got a grim glare in response. (dw loathes frogs). But after all, why would she kiss a frog when she already has a prince charming (I modestly admit).
The first day, only a few miles from Le Puy, we passed a field with a herd of Charolais cows. The bull with great bulging muscles, looking like he really hit the steroids, but after that the cows were the normal brown cows or black and white cows. Mild and docile looking, except all cows are land sharks in cow clothing -- each year cows slay 20 times more people than do sharks. And those black and white cows? Orcas! When you're walking the Camino you need to be careful around the predator cows.
Donkeys and more donkeys. Just before Conques, the minute we got near one donkey it started braying as loud as ever he could. It was amazing how loud he was. He quieted down when we talked to him. True story -- the donkey just wanted to be acknowledged. I grabbed a handful of lush grass to give to him. He didn't want the grass, he just wanted conversation. After that, I would carry an apple or two to give to the donkeys. They (and there were a lot of them) would almost always walk up to their fence for a short, friendly chat. Once I gave one a handful of peanuts -- it ate one and shied away (What the hell is that?) --- So I tossed them on the gr
ound as I didn't want to eat donkey slobber peanuts. It then decided they were actually good, so it searched out every nut. We also passed a few ponies, but 
they were definitely outnumbered by the donkeys.
The cow dogs were usually border collies, but there weren't nearly as many cow dogs as we saw in Spain. As we neared the mountains more Great Pyrenees dogs showed up, but we didn't get to meet Django.
CULTURAL, GREAT AND SMALL: Air kisses. We didn't understand the protocol. It goes Left, or Left/Right, or occasionally Left/Right/Left. Who determines what? If you go for the LRL, and the other just goes for LR, you're liable to clash glasses or noses. The couple of times we got involved, we each went for the LR, and pulled away, hoping we didn't offend.
Holes in the sidewalk: They aren't as frequent as they are in Spain, but we think the descending stairs that start in the middle of the sidewalk, with no warning marks or railings are odd indeed. Perhaps they are Darwinian, designed to thin out people who walk around staring at their iphones.
Nearly every gite would greet new arrivals with a glass or two of verveina (verbena) -- the syrup mixed with cool water. Refreshing every time and a civilized way to end a day of walking, whether the walk was easy or diffic
ult.
SOME ART: The religious works were expected, the other works we saw, such as the cats around La Romieu, or the modern nudes at Lazerte we didn't expect. Before during and after the town, Saugues, a large collection of chain-saw sculptures were displayed along the road. With not a single Smokey The Bear, or Bigfoot among them.
Before Lazerte the trail passed a field (1/4 acre) with a series of junk sculptures. We couldn't tell if they were a trenchant comment on modern art, or an example of outsider art -- we opted for outsider art, but it was a close call. (the field also had a clearly neglected, derelict Italian plum tree with perfectly ripe fruit -- we indulged) -- (we picked fruit or berries only if we were completely confident the owners wouldn't care)
There were many other examples, great and small scattered along the route. And, of course, architecture: buildings major and minor with details worth seeking out. (photo: Lectoure)
MUSIC: A minor part of the walk. I've mentioned the organ recital in Conques, but otherwise there wasn't much. Even Barcelona was lacking. We walked up and down La Rambla but there were very few buskers and the ones there weren't very good. One guy in Parc Guell was killing it with a dobro -- easily good enough to mask his so-so singing. youtube.com/watch?v=tB5_XbNA6QI
Finally, for anyone accessing this blog from Portland Chapter (APOC), or Way of St James-Via Podiensis-Chemin du Puy-en-Velay, I will no longer post a notice of new entries. I'm thankful for those of you who have read this, but unless or until dw and I walk another Camino, and I write about it, I feel it would be inappropriate to post my subsequent blogs on a Camino Facebook. I will continue to post on my Facebook and Twitter sites. Thanks again.
A POEM: This Is Just To Say (William Carlos Williams)
I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox
and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast
Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold.
TODAY'S BOOK: Lives Of The Artists, Volume I (Giorgio Vasari) It's dull in spots, but over all a very good read. Popular for 500 years, the book concerns the artists Giotto through Raphael -- the big names in Renaissance art (Vasari coined the word "Renaissance") -- and is the primary source for those artists. Vasari's entire Lives Of The Artists covers 150 different artists, most of whom I've never heard of and will never read about.
TODAY'S WORDS: In honor of our braying friends: Dapple, Sancho Panza's donkey (Don Quixote, Cervantes) and Modestine, Robert Louis Stevenson's donkey in (Travels With A Donkey) (His walk through part of SE France.)
And so it goes. DJA
"At the same time, since all things are new, you see only the beauty i
n them, and you feel happy to be alive." (Paulo Coelho) "What a joy walking is. All the cares of life, all the hopeless, inept fuckwits that God has strewn along the (dandd) Highway of Life, suddenly seem far away and harmless, and the world becomes tranquil and welcoming and good." (Bill Bryson)
I'm dyspeptic enough that I lean toward Bryson, but take your pick -- they are saying the same thing.
ANIMALS: While we saw more wild animals than we did in Spain, we were again surprised at how few we saw. We saw a couple of deer, a ton of squirrels, a dead badger and a dead wild pig, and one giant snake (not a python giant, but far too giant and too alive for dw -- perhaps a yard long). We saw a group of five wild pigs that ran across the road and several orange slugs. In the region of miles of corn, we didn't so much see as hear mourning doves. They sounded like flocks of owls with laryngitis except they didn't do anything to thin out the squirrels (rodents in a nice suit) -- so we got annoyed by the doves hoo-hoo-hooing all the time. The area restaurants and gites need to feature squab on their menus.
Five miles past Miramont we saw a giant frog sitting in the road. I pushed it with one of my sticks but it wouldn't move so I used both to lift and roll it off the road lest it become a frog pate'. I asked dw if she wanted to kiss it to see what would happen. No words, but I got a grim glare in response. (dw loathes frogs). But after all, why would she kiss a frog when she already has a prince charming (I modestly admit).
The first day, only a few miles from Le Puy, we passed a field with a herd of Charolais cows. The bull with great bulging muscles, looking like he really hit the steroids, but after that the cows were the normal brown cows or black and white cows. Mild and docile looking, except all cows are land sharks in cow clothing -- each year cows slay 20 times more people than do sharks. And those black and white cows? Orcas! When you're walking the Camino you need to be careful around the predator cows.
Donkeys and more donkeys. Just before Conques, the minute we got near one donkey it started braying as loud as ever he could. It was amazing how loud he was. He quieted down when we talked to him. True story -- the donkey just wanted to be acknowledged. I grabbed a handful of lush grass to give to him. He didn't want the grass, he just wanted conversation. After that, I would carry an apple or two to give to the donkeys. They (and there were a lot of them) would almost always walk up to their fence for a short, friendly chat. Once I gave one a handful of peanuts -- it ate one and shied away (What the hell is that?) --- So I tossed them on the gr
ound as I didn't want to eat donkey slobber peanuts. It then decided they were actually good, so it searched out every nut. We also passed a few ponies, but 
they were definitely outnumbered by the donkeys. The cow dogs were usually border collies, but there weren't nearly as many cow dogs as we saw in Spain. As we neared the mountains more Great Pyrenees dogs showed up, but we didn't get to meet Django.
MONUMENTS: On a sad note, each village and town has a monument to casualties of war, originally for WWI with added plaques for WWII, Indo-China and Algeria. It is difficult to imagine the devastation WWI, in particular, caused. One village, Sauliac, was representative: The village had about 25 houses and looked like it was a similar size in 1914. The monument had a list of 14 names for WWI, including three sets of brothers. Never forget -- engraved in bronze and stone. Sad beyond words.
Holes in the sidewalk: They aren't as frequent as they are in Spain, but we think the descending stairs that start in the middle of the sidewalk, with no warning marks or railings are odd indeed. Perhaps they are Darwinian, designed to thin out people who walk around staring at their iphones.
Nearly every gite would greet new arrivals with a glass or two of verveina (verbena) -- the syrup mixed with cool water. Refreshing every time and a civilized way to end a day of walking, whether the walk was easy or diffic
ult. 
SOME ART: The religious works were expected, the other works we saw, such as the cats around La Romieu, or the modern nudes at Lazerte we didn't expect. Before during and after the town, Saugues, a large collection of chain-saw sculptures were displayed along the road. With not a single Smokey The Bear, or Bigfoot among them. Before Lazerte the trail passed a field (1/4 acre) with a series of junk sculptures. We couldn't tell if they were a trenchant comment on modern art, or an example of outsider art -- we opted for outsider art, but it was a close call. (the field also had a clearly neglected, derelict Italian plum tree with perfectly ripe fruit -- we indulged) -- (we picked fruit or berries only if we were completely confident the owners wouldn't care)
There were many other examples, great and small scattered along the route. And, of course, architecture: buildings major and minor with details worth seeking out. (photo: Lectoure)
MUSIC: A minor part of the walk. I've mentioned the organ recital in Conques, but otherwise there wasn't much. Even Barcelona was lacking. We walked up and down La Rambla but there were very few buskers and the ones there weren't very good. One guy in Parc Guell was killing it with a dobro -- easily good enough to mask his so-so singing. youtube.com/watch?v=tB5_XbNA6QI
Finally, for anyone accessing this blog from Portland Chapter (APOC), or Way of St James-Via Podiensis-Chemin du Puy-en-Velay, I will no longer post a notice of new entries. I'm thankful for those of you who have read this, but unless or until dw and I walk another Camino, and I write about it, I feel it would be inappropriate to post my subsequent blogs on a Camino Facebook. I will continue to post on my Facebook and Twitter sites. Thanks again.
A POEM: This Is Just To Say (William Carlos Williams)
I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox
and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast
Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold.
TODAY'S BOOK: Lives Of The Artists, Volume I (Giorgio Vasari) It's dull in spots, but over all a very good read. Popular for 500 years, the book concerns the artists Giotto through Raphael -- the big names in Renaissance art (Vasari coined the word "Renaissance") -- and is the primary source for those artists. Vasari's entire Lives Of The Artists covers 150 different artists, most of whom I've never heard of and will never read about.
TODAY'S WORDS: In honor of our braying friends: Dapple, Sancho Panza's donkey (Don Quixote, Cervantes) and Modestine, Robert Louis Stevenson's donkey in (Travels With A Donkey) (His walk through part of SE France.)
And so it goes. DJA
I did not know cows are due special respect. One tends to disregard them. It looks like there were some Miniature Donkeys which are particularly adorable. Very enjoyable commentary throughout. Thank you.
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