Arriving at the outskirts of Saugues, before entering the wooded trail, this carved statue sees you off.
Mostly trails like this, amidst trees, not on pavement. So different from the Caminho Portugues, parts of which I loved and too many that were paved and citified. When I think of the Caminho Portugues, though I mostly remember the beautiful areas: small villages, Roman roads, individual vineyards and gardens.Honor system for buying a Pilgrim scallop shell Tower, the castle Keep, built on a granite rock in La Clauze. This is all that remains of a medieval fortress. Having no foundation it’s an architectural feat, especially for the time. It was not open to the public.This is about the size of the entire village. They dot the countryside, miles between them. Imagine us walking through that pine forest – because we did. Not far from Domaine du Sauvage now, the only place stay in this windy and wild secluded area.Little house on the Haute-LoireDomaine du Sauvage area – 3rd place for mom’s and dad’s ashes. It was really windy. I put some in the palm of my hand and let the wind carry them.
The Auberge du Sauvage is dormitory style only. We had 6 beds in our room, a toilette and 2 showers just close by. I didn’t sleep well. Or so I thought. Then discovered the next morning I’d slept through a raging thunderstorm. I only heard one clap. I’m so sorry I missed it.
A plus the afternoon of arrival, weceere having a drink and struck up a conversation with a French couple. Oh, the power of alcohol to uninhibit the tongue. We had a long conversation about politics and social issues. In French! It was a blast. Vive la France! Vive le vin!
Shared Illusions 