Le Puy-en-Velay

Met the Pages for lunch at Lyon Part-Dieu. Brian put me on the train for Le Puy. As I changed trains at St. Etienne I met another pilgrim Rob Owen. Rob is 65 and on retirement plans to walk all the way to Santiago in one hop.

Departure morning weigh-in

Carrying nearly 10kg- was aiming for 6kg, being under 10% of my bodily weight (66kg).
7kg on the back, 700g in money bag, 2,300g in clothes and shoes.
That cuts my daily range from a theoretical 60km max to 45km.
Well I suppose I wasn't planning that sort of distance anyhow.

Eve of departure weather forecast

Monday Le Puy-en-Velay Partly Cloudy / Sunny High: 15° Low: -1°
Tuesday Monistrol d'Allier Partly Cloudy / Showers Windy High 17 Low 6
Wednesday Saint-Alban-sur-Limagnole Rainstorms High 10 Low 2
Thursday Aumont-Aubrac Showers High 7 Low 0
Friday Espalion Showers High 16 Low 2
Saturday Estaing Showers High 15 Low 2
Sunday Conques Showers High 14 Low 4

Better make the most of Monday and Tuesday.  Wednesday with thunderstorms at 1,300m (4,200 ft) doesn't sound like a picnic.

Google Maps

I have created a route map for the first week in Google maps

Four days to go

Just looked at the long range forecast now available for the first five days of my walk. Rain!

Monday      Showers High 13C Low 1C 60% Chance Rain

Tuesday      Showers High 17C Low 2C 60% Chance Rain

Wednesday Showers High 13C Low 2C 50% Chance Rain

Thursday     Showers High 13C Low 2C 60% Chance Rain

Friday         Showers High 13C Low 2C 30% Chance Rain

Going to have to pack some waterproof clothing..... and something warm.

Five days to go

Just five days to go now before I start on a 1538km pilgrimage on foot from Le Puy-en-Velay in France to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. I plan to walk the French section in four separate weeks between April and August and then to complete the Spanish section in one go from August to October.
On Easter Sunday 8 April I fly to Lyon St Exupery and then by train to Le Puy-en-Velay. The pilgrim's mass is at 07:00 on Monday. Then with the first stamp in my credenciale I will set out for seven days of walking. Starting in Haut-Loire I quickly pass into Lozere and then into Aveyron. My plan is to return on Monday 16 April from Rodez airport. Depending on my rate of progress I plan on getting a bus from Espalion or Conques to Rodez for my return.
The contents of my backpack are now being carefully tuned to ensure the minimum weight for carrying over the 150 to 210 km of this first stage.