The Le Puy Route

I met friends from prior trails, David and Kenton, at the Paris Airport on August 16, 2021, and we made our way to central eastern France, the small city of Le Puy en Velay. I had talked about the wonders of France so much that they insisted I take them as neither of them spoke French. This trail is a Camino, connecting up with other Camino trails which all end in Santiago de Compostela in northwest Spain. The trail itself has the name Via Podiensa or Grande Randonnee (GR) 65. It is one of the most popular trails in Europe, having taken pilgrims to Santiago since the year 950.

This is my third time to walk in France. In September/October of 2018 I went solo and walked from Le Puy to Moissac, about 4 weeks. In 2019 I went in September and walked Figeac to Moissac, 10 days on the “Cele Valley Route,” one of the most beautiful places I’ve been. This year I decided to walk the entire route, 450 miles, from Le Puy en Velay to Saint Jean Pied de Port. I walked from Saint Jean to Santiago in 2017, which created a desire in me to walk more trails in Europe.