Day 25: Plus Beaux Villages de France

Day 25 Lectoure, France

Statistics: distance walked: 3.5 miles/5.6 km, steps: 7,458, elevation climbed: 130 feet
Slideshow:

It's a day off from walking. We all jump in the small rental car and drive to La Romieu. La Romieu is a “Plus Beaux Villages de France.” This is a designation given to the most beautiful towns and villages in France. I highly recommend if you're going to France Google “Plus Beaux Villages de France” and plan your vacation around those villages, you will not be disappointed.

La Romieu is a charming village with double steeple towers. it has a small cloister. Village has a history of cats. In the midieval times, the cats saved the village by eating the rats with the plague. The Town square has many cat statues on the buildings to honor the cats.

We just happen to be in the town for veterans honoring
The town’s fallen veterans. In France, war memorials honor In fallen from World War One. There's a second war memorial honoring the resistance fighters from World War II.

We drive to two more villages-Castelnau-sur L’Auvignon and Fleurance. Neither of them is really worth visiting again

We are all tired and retire early for the night.

Day 24: The Happy Couple

The Happy Couple

Day 24: Lectoure, France

Statistics: 6.0 miles/ 9.8 km, steps: 12,625, sunny, 70 degrees
Slideshow:

My mom for the past couple of years has spent a couple weeks on a small charming Cathar town, Cordes sur Ciel, in southern France.

I met them at the city wall portal. The town is having a flea market sale in the town square. We take a stroll through the market.

I buy strawberries and simple sugar crepe. The Strawberries are the best I've had in years. Amazing. They taste so good.

Living in Hawaii, i'm asked ”What do I miss from the mainland?” Without a doubt there's only one thing I miss besides my family and that's fresh fruit. Fruits are shipped green to Hawai'i and then irradiated to accelerate ripening. These Auvillar strawberries are to die for!

I spent the whole day with Mom & Fletcher. They’ve been dating for a couple of years. They look so happy together. I don't think i’ve seen my mom so happy. Mother's Day is this coming Sunday.

We drive To Lectoure to meet clive and maya. We have a nice dinner in the gardens of their hotel. The countryside is beautiful. We drink wine as the sun
sets. A good day!

Day 14 to 15 Eden's Garden

Day 14 & 15 Eden’s Garden

Statistics: 6.2 miles/10 km, steps: 13,657  elevation climbed: 360 feet
The next day driver drives me to Cahor. It's a quiet ride as neither of us speaks the other’s language. We arrive and it is 0°C - it is cold.

The Gite Papillion is in the middle of the city. It is in a very old building with five floors with a spiral staircase. We are on the top floor and the bathroom is two stories down.

Eden, owner of Gite is an interesting fellow. He lived in China for 12 years and married a Chinese national and has a two-year-old baby girl. He was a fashion photographer in China.

Since he returned three years ago, he's taken over the operation on his mother’s Gite for nine months of the year nonstop. He is a one-man army. Does reservations. Cleans the place. Makes dinner. And breakfast. It's a full day. In the morning his two phones ring non stop.

We meet Suzanne, a pilgrim from the Gold Coast of Australia I think from Bisbane.She's married to a Frenchman, but she walks by her self because her husband has difficulty walking. She's loves walking.

Elainor a Brazilian Doctor of Pathologist ,spends 2 monthes volunteering at the Gite. Interestingly, she's never walked the Camino, but loves volunteering.

We see Ingrid from Munich who we last saw in Le Sauvage. She's decided to turn around at St Jean de Pied Port. return back to Bavaria walking to her front door. She works at BMW in the administration.

I try to go daily walk to stretch the legs but it only aggravates the knee jury. It's almost impossible to find ice cubes in Europe. There’s a small store nearby and
It actually sells ice! Voila, now we can reduce the swelling. Elevation and ice!

We decide to go to Lauzerte tomorrow. I will go by van and Maya and Clive will walk for 2 days.

Sidebar: The History of the Le Puy Route

SIDEBAR

Le Puy or Via Podiensis route

Le Puy or Via Podiensis route is one of the four main pilgrimages through France heading towards Santiago, the home of the tomb of St. James.

The Le Puy route was used by pilgrims coming from France, Germany, Austria, Poland, Czech and Slovak republics. It joins with two other French routes from Paris and Vézelay. The fourth route from Arles has its own way over the Pyrenees.

Pilgrims have been traveling to Santiago de Compostela from Le Puy for over a thousand years. Godescalc, Bishop of Le Puy was one of the first pilgrims when he went there in 951 AD.

The pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela was most popular between 1,000 and 1,500 AD, even though numbers have dwindled at times due to political, social and cultural factors there has always been a steady flow of pilgrims.

The Le Puy route stretches from Le Puy-en-Velay to the Pyrenees talking the pilgrim through hilly regions, over rivers and streams, through beautiful countryside and through rustic villages. Eventually joining up with both the routes from Paris and Vézelay. Then meeting the Frances route leading to Santiago.

Day 22 - 23 The Hill

Day 22 - 23 Auvillar

Slideshow: https://youtu.be/OfKSbQ8j2vs
Day 21 walking distance: 10 km
I take the van to Auvillar. The landscape is lake flat. Would have been a great easy walking day. It would have been a great stage for day one . As we near Auvillar I see the distinct shape of nuclear steam vents. It reminds that France is very reliant on nuclear plants for power. They might have the most nuclear power plants compared to other European countries.

After dropping my bag off at the Gite communal Auvillar, I decided to do test hike and see where I am. I walk down the hill and across bridge and then back. It's about a 10 km walk. It feels pretty solid but there are some pins.I feel fine with an hour came back. The results are encouraging.

Clive and Maya arrive and they have a fantastic day walking along the water on the tree lined path. We check into the Gite. We are all impressed with this gite. It is the best Gite we have stayed at so far, but the wifi doesn't work…

Our roommate is Patrick who we saw in Moissac at the cloister. Patrick is a 61 year old Frenchman living 40 km from Geneva. He is currently spreading the word of the Saint Germain foundation. He is taking a detour to Auch and Lourdes for the cathedrals then he is going to Santiago.

We eat dinner and invite Patrick to join us. It's a great dinner among pilgrims.

I can't sleep so I go into the common space above the kitchen and play solitaire. I wake up at 3:00 am to a security flood lamp shining a light on me. Hmm. I wonder if police or the manager may be coming over? Of well. Time to get up. It's raining. I wander back to the room and slip under the blankets.

Day 23 distance walked 10km
At breakfast I share some videos with Patrick of our travels and he’s impressed. He loves the recordings of Conques and Moissac singing.

I decide to walk a couple jog kilometers with Clive and Maya. I walk down the other side of the hill down a muddy trail. We say our goodbyes at the highway underpass.

It's raining but a just a little cool. I sit here for Patrick to come by and take his picture. I then wander
Back to town and search in vain for wifi. Of well. Sometimes there's wifi and sometimes there's no wifi.

I am the first person to check into the Gite. A couple hours afterwards my room mate takes her mattress into the room with her friends. Yay I have my own room!

I make some pasta and have a late dinner. I sleep more than usual.

Injury update: I feel encouraged after two days of walking hills around Auvillar. No swelling and the pain has been reduced. I can't wait so full days.

Day 20 - 21 The Cloister

Day 20 - 21 The cloister

Moissac
Slideshow #1: https://youtu.be/8SvAa0orB2o
Slideshow #2: https://youtu.be/txYTtSrAEJo

Day 20 Distance walked: 10 km
Maya and I take a van from Lauzerte to Moissac. It's a short uneventful ride. Moissac is pronounced‍ moaiatv Arrive at the hostel and the Internet has been down for days. We walk to the town center, We check out the cathedral in the historic part of the town. The Cathedral is amazing. Built in 1063 by the Romans.It has the oldest cloister in the world built in 1100 AD. And then we try to find Wi-Fi but no luck.

Walk 10 km without problems. Clive walks by himself today and walks 32 km. He arrives at 5:00 PM after a beer with Wakeen and Marion from Luxembourg.

We head to the pizza place on our the main square. It's closed but will open in 10-15 minutes. We decide to checkout the church. It's 6:0 pm and I recall Rom saying the nuns sang for the 15 minutes a 6:00 pm. Perfect timing they started singing ok ready. Their voices are so high. They sing 3-4 songs thyen one of the nuns gives a sermon.

After dinner, Head over to the tourism office where there's free Internet. We loiter outside as we download and upload files and pictures.I find it's easy to give up many luxuries except wifi. In Europe its pronounced ‘wee fee’. We have become pretty good at finding free wifi. Usually the tourism offices have free wifi and also bars.

Day 21 Distance walked 10km
The next day we explore the cloister of the Abbey. It's an Unesco world heritage site. It's the oldest cloister in the world constructed in 1100 AD. That's 917 years old! Like other cloisters each column has a different capital. The capitals tell different biblical stories.

We visit the church first. There is someone playing the organ. It turns out that the church organ is famous and many people try to get opportunities to play. We listen to five songs then head to the cloister.

The cloister is outstanding. It's hard to tell it is 900 years old. 64 capitals of the columns are in fairly good condition except during the French Revolution someone took a hammer and hit most of the capitals. It's such an incredible space I spend a couple hours enjoying It.

At dinner I sit next to Gabriella. She is From Switzerland and in her late 60s. She always wanted to start a restaurant so she did she was finally 61. Her ex-husband was an architect. She turned 60 she decides to take time to do things always dreamed of doing, and not wait for what’s going to happen to next.

We are staying in Gite called Ulteia owned by an irish couple - Aideen and Tom. There are very nice. It seems almost every Pelerin Gite in France is very nice. Definitely recommend this Gite!

Injury report: so it's been about 10 days since I injured my right knee causing me to have to stop walking and hop skip the route to stay near Clive and maya. The knee is still in a little pain but there's no swelling and recovery is happening but slowly. I have started walking again, a modest 10 km over flat Terrains . Doesn't seem to affect my recovery.

Day 16 to 19 - The French Cafe

Day 16 to 19 - Lauzerte

I take a van from Cahor to Lauzertez. The driver speaks a little English. I use my Google translate to ask some questions and have a small conversation. The drive through the countryside is just beautiful. The farmers are busy preparing their fields for the summer. The drive is too quick. Lauzerte comes in to view. A small town perched on top of the hill with commanding views. The road up the hill slowly reveals the city, one layer at a time up the hill slowly reveals the city one layer at a time. The town features stone houses and a recently installed cobblestone roads.

The first day is very flavorful and exciting as it Market day in the town square and there is a wonderful singing Guitar player, Calumbi, strumming French Cafe Type music. The square is full of vendor, And the whole town is in the square. The crowd loves the music. Theres still an hour before the Gite Communial opens. I head to a little park in the edge of town and sit on a bench. After an
hour head to the Gite and I run into Eric, a French pilgrim also checking in. The Gite manager, Corrine checks us both in. Then stamps our pilgrim credentials.

I opt for dinner which turns out to be an incredible meal of a delicious legume soup, bread, and rice & chicken zmain course and chocolate pudding. I sit across from Eric Voss who is walking for 1 week and started in Conques. We talk through dinner and continue talking in the study. He is a 50+ French chemical engineer married to a Vietnamese wife of 30 years. He speaks excellent English. His son just graduated from a Pestigous French college for pharmacy and his daughter is through 6 years of med school and has 3 Years left. He Works as a safety Engineer at a French carmaker. I give Eric a Camino card and tell him to visit us. He recipicates. It would be great to see Eric again in Hawaii. Go to sleep.

The next day is pretty uneventful . I spend most of the day creating a video of Market day.

On the third day, I switch hostels to Gite Figuro. Dinner is the highlight of the day. We sit across from two 50+ year old Americans-Judy and Meg. They met at a small liberal arts college in Ohio over 30 years ago.They do a week or two of the Camino every year. So far they have done 3 trips. They both loved the Racomador alternste.

Judy is a Steelers fan form Pittsburgh moved to Atlanta. Judy decided when she hit 50 she would do the Camino. Judy speaks French. Meg moved to Mexico, owns furniture company that makes furniture out of reuse and Copper. Meg speaks Spanish. They're walking short distance tomorrow due to the rain and then taking a shuttle to Lectoure for a day at the spa. There's a discount rate for pilgrims at €35. Then they're flying Home.

That night we stay in a room with two French pilgrims- Donny the Auto mechanic and his friend. His friends foot is the worst I've seen as blisters. He to see a doctor and maybe take a week rest before continuing.

On the fourth day, we switch to a hostel that is just about to open. We have the whole place to ourselves. We just take easy day and restock supplies and do some Internet stuff.

Day 11 to 13 The Swollen Knee

Day 11 to 13 The Swollen Knee

After 5 days of my right knee being in pain, it's time to stop and rest. I will take a van two days walking distance to Limogne en-Quercy and check in to the Gite. I will wait there for Clive and Maya and reassess my knee in two days. It's only day 11 of 89 days in Europe, best to be patient.

My driver is Jeremie. He's in his 20s and drives from March to November then off-season he trains to be a guide for spelunking in France and dog sledding in Norway. Who would have guessed? How many dog sledding spelunkers do you meet?

I get the last bed in Limogne en-Quercy. It's Monday and the town is closed for business except a bar and a small grocery store.

I limp around town and buy some groceries and some magic ointment called Osteophytum from the pharmecia. It has a herbal remedy call Arnica in the cream. I fill my backpack food for less than $20. I return to the Gite.

Just a note, pharmacies in Europe are almost like a clinic, where you can get some pretty powerful drugs over the counter that would require a prescription in the USA. The only challenge is the language barrier, as mentioned earlier, I took 8 times the dosage for magnesium since there were no directions in any language on the packet. Highly recommend a translation app like Google translate and download French for offline usage.

While we are on the subject of apps, another app that is essential is Pocket Maps which replaces hiking GPS devices. You download a hiking GPX file (GPX or Google Earth format will work) of the Podiensis route and import it to Pocket Maps. Google maps does not work without cellular or wifi, while Pocket Maps will work. This will taking a wrong tu

The first night, my roommate is Marie who I met in Conques at the dinner at the Abbey. She’s French and she speaks good English. She's a primary school teacher focused on 3 to 4 year olds. She's on a sabbatical for 6 months walking to Finisterre or Muxia. She has a good heart and has had some bad luck with her credit card which hasn't worked for a couple of days. She's hoping it can be fixed today at the post office which is also her bank. Isee her later in the day everything is worked out well. She's gotten some money from from the bank and shedecides to stay another night.

I lighten my load and mail 2 pounds of stuff home. I leave about 2 pounds in the Gite as a donation for other walkers to use. I reduce my pack weight a total 4 pounds. My pack should weight about 16 pounds, but I buy some foot cream.

As much as possible I keep my legs elevated usually sitting up against a wall with both feet high on the wall. While ice and elevation is a good idea It is very hard to find ice in Europe. Europeans don't use ice in drinks.

The Gite only as 11 beds. Most are taken by a theater group which is preparing to do a production in the town. There's a director, female and male lead role all staying here. On the wall in the dining room are a collage of theatre posters from the different events last year or two in the town. Impressive how a small town with so few people can get such incredible culture and art. Turns out funds for these opportunities are funded through the national government.

The second night, Clive and Maya arrive wet. They walked in the rain all day. They decide to stay two nights in Limogne. I will end up staying 3 nights here. My knee is still sore, so this is a good thing. I hope it improves tomorrow. We spend the rest of the evening planning where we are going to go next.

For dinner, we had our first warm meal in a while. We prepare a pasta with sausage, tomato sauce and cheese in the Gite’s kitchen . Even drink a wine from Cahor.

After dinner Clive and I talk to two 50+ year old French ladies walking a week or two in their multi year quest to finish the Podiensis. They are very interested in my knee and ask a bunch of questions. It turns out that one of them has also had an ACL knee reconstruction. Medical terms are difficult to translate so we use Google translate on our phones to communicate, which is kind of funny.

The third and final day in Limogne is spent exploring the town shops, checking our email, arranging for transportation to Cahor and accommodations for two nights.

The knee is better but still has some pins and needle type pain in the interior of the joint. It’s most likely some cartilage damage from the past that got aggravated. Only time will reset that injury and more rest days should be the ticket. The knee feels a better. Cross my fingers that I am walking soon…

We finish the final night in Limogne cooking pasta and playing darts at the local bar.

Tomorrow We head for Cahor and free internet.

Day 10: Walking Backwards

Day 10 - 3 Kilometer radius

Figeac to Beduer

Statistics: 23 kilometers( 13miles), 28,829 steps, elevation cand hanged: 800 feet, 5-10 pilgrims, 60-75 degrees, sunny blue skies

Slideshow: https://youtu.be/CTRglz9dIL8

Today is an easy day… at least that's what we thought. We gather our stuff and pack them into an assortment of bags with tie strings. Then toss them in our backpacks. Usually the heavier bags go in the bottom. Pull the backpack top drawstring close and we are ready to start walking.

I have been taking two doses within a 90 minutes span to be able to walk. This morning I decide to take two doses at the same time and I hope that my right leg will wrk quicker than having to wait for 30 - 45 minutes. It's works like a charm.

For the past 3-4 days my right knee has been in pain. I usually get this type of knee pain after a harder or longer exercise but it always goes away after actually couple days. I Have been taking Advil, tyernol and a creame called zoltaire, but the symptoms persist. Unfortunately it's gotten a little worse. Today if it improved I will continue and if it gets worse then it's time to take a 2-4 day break.

The day begins with a steep climb from Figeac located in the bottom of a valley. I reach the top and the path turns into a nice paved road with a car every 15 minutes or so. The weather is just perfect - 65-75 degrees and clear blue skies. The countryside is stunning.

Around noon, we reach the charming town of Faycelles. This town has really made the town streets and buildings very nice. We stop here for lunch. It's baguette bread, Apricot jelly, Swiss cheese, pate, and Coca Cola. It's a nice lunch then we are off on the Chemin de Saint Jacque. The path leaving town has some information on some ecological projects along the path.

Our Gite is 3 kilometers away. We fantasize about the carrot that keeps us moving. For me I lust for sugars like soda. Use to be I would lust for pizza.

As the day goes on my right knee gets worse and worse. Well we should almost be there. It's been about an 2 hours and Clive says it 2.7 km away. Something's not right we walked more than 0.3 km in the past 2 hours. I ask Clive for the map and I see why - Chemin de Saint Jacque does a 3 km radius around our Gite! We decide to take a path that cuts straight to the middle of town. Unfortunately the path ends in a farm field, but we're committed so we walk across a farm field. About half way there a farmer in a tractor sees us and appears to ignore us so we proceed. We make it to within 500 meters of the road when the farmer drives past us and he smiles and waves. Phew it worked out ok, no angry farmer!

We are still 2 km away and my knee is really uncomfortable so I start walking backwards. Needless to say I walk 2 km backwards. Beduer is not really a town but a 20-30 buildings. It's a quaint little rural farming town. But we get there and Clive carries my backpack for the last kilometer.

Just a stunning two stone building complex with a view to die for. We check in, shower and do laundry .Wow what an incredible Gite run by Nadia and Phil.

I decide to rest for two days by getting a ride two days walking distance ahead to Limogne-en-Quercy. Just gotta give my knee a break. It's a battle of willpower and determination. Even with a Parkinson's right leg, left cramping calf and a right knee pain I am determined to make it to the end. I am not going to injure myself but I am not going to quit either. A lot of the battle with Parkinson's is not giving in. Don't let your self say “ I can't do that.” You don't really know until you try. And trying is half the battle. If I can make it with all my issues then you can too. Lastly I, would like to give a lot of credit to my traveling companions Clive and Maya. While I would make it to the end if I was traveling by myself it sure is nice to have support. Clive and Maya are awesome. Love you guys!

At 7:30 pm, I go to dinner with two French men - Bernier and Jacque along with our hosts. It's a delicious 4 course meal - appetizer chips, salad, main course of vegetable soup chicken legs, ribs and barbecue sausage. Wine is served all night. And desert is Ice cream and a fruit pizza. We eat outside in the great weather and beautiful sunset. After dinner, Phil invites us upstairs for aperitif. We watch the French presidency results and the everyone is excited that Macron won. Two weeks for a runoff between the top 2.

I retire for the night and fall asleep quickly.

Day 9: The Sunset

Day 9: Decazeville to Figeac

April 22, 2017

Statistics:21 kilometers(13 miles),29,838 steps, elevation changed: 800 feet, 30-40 pilgrims, 50-65 degrees, sunny blue skies

Slideshow: https://youtu.be/CTRglz9dIL8

I awake to discover that my body is still expelling magnesium. I start my morning routine organizing my bags that go into the backpack. We eat in our room - bread, apricot jelly, cheese, yogurt and chocolate.

This morning Maya and I are both sore so we decide to take a ride to the halfway point. The ride is fast. It's a beautiful sunny day in the 60s. I take my first dose of mede at 730 am. We don our backpacks and we are motoring!

The morning walk is gorgeousas a path winds through farm fields. As the path winds through farm fields a couple of times it is covered, like a tree tunnel.I took my second dose of medicine at 9:30 AM.
We stop for lunch at 1:00 pm under a tree sitting on a rock wall. Perfect by soup, couscous, spicy chicken and tiramisu for dessert
Good cooking makes me really tiramisu so off to sleep!

Day 8: The Magnesium Effect

The Magnesium Effect

April 21, 2017

Day 8: Conques to Decazeville
Statistics: 24.3 kilometers(15 miles), 42,128 steps, elevation changed: 1,830 feet, 30-40 pilgrims, 50-65 degrees, sunny blue skies

Slideshow: https://youtu.be/Ypdwx5rdT_s

I wake up early and start the daily preparations of quietly packing gear. I decide to take my medications early to avoid the Parkinson's symptoms. After packing leave the room and head to the courtyard of the monastery to retrieve my hiking boots. “It's probably 30 degrees, warmer than yesterday but still cold. Put on the boots. Check the front door to make sure it doesn't lock behind me. Then head out to a spot I could get free wifi. Halfway there my left leg cramps. I do some stretches and turn around to head back to the room.

I search my things to find the magnesium supplement for cramps. It's a powder that says to mix with 1 liter of water, but it tastes so foul I mix it with a half liter.

I alternate eating bread and chugging magnesium water. After finishing the magnesium, I feel a sudden need to go to the bathroom. When I reach the bathroom, I am surprised to purge my stomach contents in the toilet. I later find out I took 8 doses instead of one. Of course the cramps disappeared. The side effect of overdose is diarrhea. By the end of day, i go to the bathroom a dozen times.

We finish packing and head out to the bakery for breakfast and lunch. Leaving town is a steep descent to the valley floor. At the bottom, you arrive at the magnificent “Roman” bridge from the 17th century.

A very steep climb begins on the other side. It's a super steep climb for about 30 minutes until you reach the Chapelle Sainte-Foy where a beautiful view of Conques awaits you. There's only like 12 chairs and the altar has hundreds of pieces of paper from pilgrims. Here tradition has it that each pilgrim rings the bell and if they are lucky they will hear the reply from the monks in Conques. Well wasn't on our side so we continue climbing another 45 minutes .

I take my second dose of medicine at 9:30 am. The views near the top are just stunning.At the top the trail is on the road. My foot starts to drag so I take my third dose at 10:18 am. I walk backwards for 30 minutes but legs are still not working. Take a break then take s fourth dose of medicine at 12 noon.Within 30 minutes, walking like a champ.

It's A beautiful day. We pick up speed and walk 5 km an hour for the next two hours. We walk into a small town that has a wonderful outdoor café we eat lunch and talk to a couple from Colorado.

Then walk on it after about 45 minutes we reach a. wonderful church with The most amazing Stainglass windows.

After a long day we reach Decazeville but we have missed our . turn so we have to take a long roundabout route that adds 5! km to the route..It's an industrial town.

The Gite owner is super nicer. We go to the supermarket and buy food for dinner and breakfast.

Day 3: The Big Cramp

The Big Cramp

Day 3: Saugues to Le Sauvage

Statistics: 40,367 steps,15.1 miles/ 24,3 km, cloudy day, elevation climbed: 1,970 feet, 40-55 degrees, 20-30 pilgrims en route.

Slideshow: https://youtu.be/Y_2BrFhnl6g

It's Easter! And Saugues is a very quiet town. At 8:45 am the town is still sleeping since the church service is at 11:00 am.

For breakfast we ate the typical fare… lots of bread, jams and cheese!

As we passed through the town square I decide to get some cash at the local bank ATM. Disaster!!!! Like hungry pilgrims for breakfast it swallows my card!

Oh well, nothing can be done on Easter.

We head to Le Sauvage. It's colder than yesterday, much colder! it's probably 30 - 40 degrees. I didn't plan for it to be this cold. My left leg has an awful calf cramp. I stretch both calves, then walk. This continues til we reach the outskirts of Saugues.

9:30 am Only 40 or so minutes into the walk. The right leg with Parkinson's is fine, but the left calf has a lock-down cramp that grinds me to a standstill; a painful standstill. I lay on my back and Clive does some soccer stretches. The pilgrims stream by in groups of 3 - 5. All inquisitive.

It can be debilitating to have a disease like Parkinson's then have another health issue that compounds the difficulty. This is the number 1 challenge for Parkinson's patients. it’s so easy to quit. It's a slippery slope. Once you give in, it's twice as hard to reach your goal. Be smart but persist!

10:00 am A pilgrim stops and offers a natural treatment which I take in the form of 3 little pills under my tongue. I think it's a plant extract from licorice, but I am not sure. Couple more groups passed by. Almost the last person is Christian From Leipzig of the former East Germany. Christian offers some magnesium powder that is fast acting anti cramp. I take my first Parkinson's medicine.

10:30am It's not looking great! We start to consider taking a ride when the cramp all of sudden fades. We hustle to make up some time. Almost immediately the right leg stops working. A second dose of medicine and we continue to walk.

We make some good time and around 1:00 pm we pass through a 20-house town. Midway, there's a house that has picnic tables and sells sandwiches and drinks. We stop and eat some bread, cheese and chocolate. This day is all about eating.

Then some fun… A little puppy comes out to play. It bites everyone's ankles, socks and pants. As we embark at 1:30 pm i take my third round of medication.

The rest of the afternoon is about staying warm and walking on paths alongside open fields with long vistas,

3:00 pm I take my 4th round of medications, the path enters a forest with an occasional babbling brook. Eventually it enters an evergreen forest planted for forestry purposes. After a couple kilometers the path leaves the forest and has a dramatic long vista to a distant large house. We check our maps and the distant house is our lodging for the night. The meanders taking some wide arcs before reaching the Gite (pilgrim hostel)

We check in and meet Brigette from Munich Germany. She's resting in the dormitory room with 6 beds. We talk to Brigette for a while. She's walking the Podiensis then the Del Norte to Santiago. She's curious about the Del Norte so we talk story for a while before dinner,

I take my final medication before to walk well and dampen any tremors. It's a communal dinner with two long tables seating about 15 per table. It's a four course meal table. It's a four course meal starting with a Pea soup. Then the main course is a potatoes au gratin and a beef stew meat, which is delicious. The third course is a cheese and yogurt course which I elect to have yogurt. The last course is a rice pudding is so yummy after a long day of walking.

During dinner I sit next to Christian from Lipzig, Germany and Kieran from Luxembourg. Both speak excellent English. The meal is wonderful and the company is great.

I retire for the night.

Day 2: The Climb

The Climb

Day 2: Monistrol to Saugues

April 15, 2017

Second Stage of Via Podiensis: Monistrol to Saugues
Statistics: 20.1 kilometers(12.52 miles), 26,545 steps, elevation climbed: 1,830 feet, 20-30 pilgrims, 40-50 degrees

Slideshow: https://youtu.be/nanNhiotfBY

10:30am Late start: Take first dose.
we feel terrific after a long first day. No blisters and things look bright.
10:50am Start the big climb. Today is short but a steep 600 meter/1,958 foot climb over 3 km. This is slow grind. One foot in front of the other. I use walking sticks which I usually set to 4. A steep hill is a 3 and a descent is usually a 5. Well this mountain is a 2! It's walk 10 steps and rest a second. Slowly walk up.

Right foot tends to drag ascending. Meet 'Pilgrim Peter' from Amsterdam. He has walked 3,000 km of Camino paths, visited numerous Unesco World Heritage sites and part of the Appalachian Trail. The AT hikers gave him the name ‘Pilgrim Peter.’ He’s a secondary teacher from Amsterdam.

11:20am Take second dose. A shorter interval between first and second dose is necessary to get decent medication concentrations in blood. This is especially true when training or working out.
Talk more with Christian from Lipsig, formerly East Germany. He use to be a technical writer. Run into Mike the Berliner. Walking a week of Podiensis. A 69 year old Berliner doing the Podiensis. For 70th birthday going to Hawaii and New Zealand.

1:30 pm Summit mountain. It's cold and stays cold the rest of the day! Take 4th dose. Right leg works great for rest of the day. I walk for a kilometer before I stop and put more cloths on. It's very cold and the wind is blowing.

Walk most of the day with Priscilla from Perth. Poor thing, she’s got a virus that is making her cough a lot.

4:00 pm Arrive in Saugues. My legs are exhausted. I lay down and fall asleep for a 30 minutes. There's a Carrefoure super market which I limp to with Maya. Buy chocolate, summer sausage, Swiss cheese and fruit juice. Back at the Gite the summer sausage tastes like an old sock….yuck. The cheese and bread taste mighty fine.

6:00 pm Take 5th dose for motor control for dinner.

7:00 pm dinner at the Gite. Eat with Priscilla and Joan. Joan is a teacher from Oregon. She's done some Caminos and trying to finish the Podiensis but her schedule is tight.

Day 1: The Big Day Arrives

April 14, 2017

First Stage of Via Podiensis: Polignac to Monistrol
Statistics: 32.2 kilometers(20.0 miles), 42,475 steps, elevation climbed: 1,810 feet, 10-15 pilgrims,45-60 degrees

Slideshow link: https://youtu.be/j_ACUEpbTjI
The big day has finally arrived. It's 7:00 am in the morning. I am stretching outside our accommodations. I do one set of LVST Big stretches. I feel ready and I am anxious to get going.

After months of preparation, it's time to walk longer daily distances than I ever did in training. My goal is to take my medications as prescribed.
Clive, Maya and myself huddle and Clive says a nice prayer asking for a nice trek. I have been thinking of this moment for months. I tell everyone I love them as family and this trip is both singular and family. We each have to walk but we do it together as a family.

At 7:30 am I take my first dosage and we start walking. Almost immediately my right leg starts dragging. I continue to walk with my foot dragging.

After 45 minutes since I took my medicine: I continue to walk with a dragging foot. I stop and stretch. After another 10 minutes I take my medicine.

8:55 am After 30 minutes my feet are moving. We walk for approximately 2 hours without any foot or walking problems. The path is through open fields.It's early so no crops are planted.

10:55am. I take my third dosage. I continue to walk very well. Making good time, averaging 5+ km/hr.

I stop at 2:00pm.I take a fourth dosage. I have one more dosage to follow my doctor's presecription.

Our goal is to reach St. Privatiers Alliers then get a ride to Monistrol which is 5 km down hill. We have reservations at Monistrol.

5:00pm We have covered a lot of ground and we get close to St. Privatiers Alliers. I take my last dosage which gets me to my goal and we complete 32 kilometers.

It's amazing day for me. I only had difficulty for 1 km or less. I am ecstatic. The preparation really paid off.

Dinner is included and we meet Priscilla from Perth Australia. She’s in her mid twenties and a doctor in training. She's walking to St Jean Pied de Port. She did Camino Frances in 2011.

We hit the sack. First day complete!

Suck it up, buttercup!

April 9, 2017

As the plane door closes, there's an
announcement “this flight is going to Phoenix if this is not your destination you need tog disembark now.”

It sinks in, I am embarking on a 2,000 kilometer trek from the Pyrenees to Rome. It suddenly gets very real. I go over my ‘honey do list’ one last time in my mind, checking off the list ..all the lights off in the house, check and took out the garbage, check. It will be 90 days until I have to be domestic again. 90 days in a different bed every night. I adjust my position in my seat and curse the lack of legroom.

My mind is quickly adjusting to the new transient reality. Always moving. As slow a walker as I am, every step is progress and I get closer to the finish line. The idea of walking 2,000 kilometers was a pipe dream until now. Challenging myself makes me feel alive, because I don’t know what lies ahead which is exciting but I do know that I will finish one way or another. It’s ingrained in my pea brain from doing years of triathlons. Like that sign at the top of the bike mountain at Ironman Canada “Suck it up, buttercup!”

The plane rambles down the runway at a fast clip and lifts off the ground. Time to get moving....