Yesterday was hard. I’ve experienced some difficult days on Caminos but yesterday was probably one of the worst and challenging walking days. The weather was so challenging. The route okay. But by the time we decided to stop we had at least 2-3 kgs of extra weight because of the water. And our gloves and feet were soaked because of the rain, sleet, snow. I was beginning to feel numbness which was a bit scary.

We had a very relaxing afternoon at our gite. No wifi but a nice fire which was good because everything was soaked.

Our friends didn’t start arriving until 5 and the others around 7. They went a different way and started a bit later so slightly better weather. Still a grueling day. I was super tired and feel asleep by 8:30. oh and it snowed overnight!! But it was fine!

Today was so much better. It was still challenging but sunshine and joy. Today instead of the howling wind we heard birds singing, the rivers rolling, roosters crowing, cows mooing, jonquils blooming, trees rustling…whew that was so nice.

I want to share something I’m learning on this crazy, fun journey.

I have been a recovering control freak for a few years now. It’s been a slow process but after my first camino I discovered letting things go. Sometimes it is physical things and sometimes it is religious, spiritual, mental things.

The opportunity to say good bye to being overly in control is liberating. The opportunity to embrace joy even in hardship, peace in the midst of chaos, fun in the midst of misery is freedom beyond measure.

Thank you for coming along with us on our journey!!

This will be a very short post. And I only got 3 photos. But unfortunately no WiFi so I can’t upload them here. It’s just one of those days.

We started out in a drizzling rain which immediately became a downpour with howling winds again. The rain changed to an icy mix and then snow. It was all horizontal again today. We made it 8 kms when we arrived in Aubrac. Nothing was opened but Noël found a pilgrim shelter next to the church. It wasn’t really warm but it was out of the cold and snow. We decided we didn’t want to risk going on so started trying to find a cab or Uber or something.

I finally suggested calling where we are staying and see if she could pick us up. She was very willing and gracious. So we only made about half our distance today but in that weather we are very happy with our decision!! Currently in our gite, some other pilgrims will be here too, later. And we are warming up and thawing out by the fire. And trying to dry all of our very drenched clothes and equipment.

I promised family yesterday that we would be smart and that’s what we think our decision was. The wind was throwing us around like I’ve never been thrown around by the wind. And since we decided to stay out of snowdrifts we were on the road. Watching very carefully and diligently for cars as well as not being blown out into traffic was exhausting.

One of the important things about being a pilgrim for me is knowing your limitations and being reasonable.

Hope you are well.

Unfortunately I have new cute dog story for you today!!!

We spent the first half of the day in fairly pleasant weather conditions…yes I’m talking about the weather…it was gray, cloudy, cold and a little bit windy but pleasant.

The second half of the day we were hit with a blizzard. The snow was coming down and being blown so hard it was horizontal. I felt like a weather person reporting from a hurricane the wind was between 80-100 kmh. We could hardly keep our footing. We had to stomp through some knee deep snow, and the path was next to barbed wire and then wind nearly blew us into it.

It was so cold and wet, the road was rocky and difficult to maneuver, the wind and snow so heavy that I just had to stop. Noël didn’t realize I had stopped and when I started again I just burst into tears. Noël turned and saw that I was struggling. He stopped. And when I reached him he just embraced me. And then got a pair of dry gloves out of his pack. A km later we got to a place where the trees blocked the wind and snow. Noël opened his jacket and lifted his shirt so that I could warm my hands.

I’m so grateful for this journey and for Noël who encourages me as we go.

We made a deal that if conditions are this bad again that we will spend more time evaluating our options!!

Again thank you for joining us on this journey!

When we started out this morning I had already noticed a dog darting across the road, enjoying exploring. And as we started walking he followed us. We kept expecting him to turn around at some point, but he didn’t.

We were on a busy road but clearly he had respect for the cars. As we made a turn we noticed a couple of workers and asked if they had any idea who the dog belongs to? They did not.

The turn had us going up a steep ascent. The dog ran circles around us as we climbed. Again we kept expecting him to head back home. He did not. We noticed on his bright green collar there was a number. But as much as he wanted to walk with us he wouldn’t let us close.

When we got to the top of the hill we called the owner of the place where we stayed last night and asked if she knew. Nope. So Noël said if anyone comes in looking for a dog he is with us.

On the downside of the hill we were coming toward a house and a little jack Russel terrier came towards us. Our new canine companion stopped in front of us and did not move. Noël was able to get the phone number off his collar. The owner was so happy to hear from us. We were 2,5 kms away so he said that he would be there in 5 minutes.

Two other pilgrims passed us and all of the sudden the dog took off. Noël ran after them and the dog asking them to not go farther. The dog headed towards a busy road, but then we noticed he jumped into a van, the van of his owner. Whew. That was a very exciting start to the day.

The rest of the day was filled with ascents and descents and no open cafes. We met a couple who are walking from Le Puy to Conques and had a nice conversation. There was a dry and covered picnic table along the way so we had a little snack.

One other thing…with less than 5 kms to go we were making our way up a very steep incline when a four wheeler came down. We moved out of the way. Not a lot of room to get out of the way. We continued only to hear him coming back up and there was nowhere to move. And he got stuck for a minute which allowed us to scurry up the hill much faster then we wanted to go. Oh well.

It was another good day…16 kms from Saint Albans sur Limagnole to Aumont-Arbrac.