Day 8 : Nasbinals to Saint-Chély-d'Aubrac

 Day: 8, Miles Today: 10.2, Miles To Date: 79.64

Where are the deep thoughts?

That’s the same question I have?

Actually, I think the first week on the Camino taught me to let go of control. Just get up and walk and see what the day brings. That was a hard lesson. 

I believe the next 2 weeks to 2 months might be more about emptying myself and wearing away my tough exterior to make way for wisdom to take root. 

I heard Fr Mike say to be patient, but don’t procrastinate. I think those are good walking orders. 

It’s all downhill from here

Today I crested the highest elevation on the French part of the Camino until I reach the Pyrenees. That’s the good news. The bad news is that there is a lot of downhill from here. And down hill is the toughest part. 

Here I am at the back of the line lumbering up the hill. This is the easy part!

Then at the peak. Still smiling. (Ignorance is bliss!)

Finally, here is a look at the down hill that went on forever. You can see how the path is filled with big rocks. But you can’t get an idea of how steep it is from this picture. 

Funny time at dinner tonight

At dinner tonight, the owner of the Gite picked 3 pilgrims to be King Michelle, Queen Nina, And Princess Susan. Complete with crowns. We had to give the toasts. Lots of laughs all around. 

Camino Life: Trip Planning & Distance

Trip planning is very difficult on the Camino. You’d like to be carefree and just walk until you’re ready to stop. But the reality is that you need to book your bed 2-3 days out.

There are many planning tools available. The Miam Miam Dodo book is the bible for the trails in France, but it’s all in French. I have a copy and wish I had brought it. I might buy it again anyway.

There are also a lot of phone apps. But they tend to concentrate on walking in Spain, with less options for France. I’ve settled on 2 that I use. They have the distance between each city and the contact information for all the lodging options.


But the real challenge for planning is distance. Each mile can feel very very different depending on:

• Paved road vs trail vs muddy path
• Elevation change. Up hill is hard, down hill is a killer.
• The weather. I’ve been blessed with great weather so far. Things would go much slower in a heavy rain. But you don’t typically take a day off for rain. 
• My knee. That’s the big unknown from day to day. 

And all that affects pace. 

• 3 mph is wonderful. It means I am on flat ground, not worrying about foot placement with each step, moving well, and feeling good. I also cover a lot of ground. 
• 2 mph means the trail is tougher, but manageable. 
• 1 mph is the worst. The trail is miserable, everything hurts, especially the knees and ankles. I have to pay attention to every step. But the worst part is that it completely saps all my energy. Every mile after that is hard, even on good roads. 

So I try in general to aim for 10 miles per day right now. But that could be too easy or way too hard. The elevation guides in the book and app are helpful, but only go so far. 

Which leads to the final step: where to end. Mile 10 might be in the middle of nowhere. The closest Gite might be at 7 miles or 13 miles. Or the perfect spot could be right at 10 miles and fully booked already.

So trip planning is a lot of guessing and hoping. So far, so good.

I have some days in Holy Week that just won’t work out like I want. Every day is way too short or way too hilly or way too long. And that wouldn’t normally matter, except that I’d like to celebrate Easter at the Cathedral in Cahor. We’ll see how that works out.

Buen Camino!