El Camino - Chemin de Saint Jacques de Compostelle

One of the ancient pilgrim routes to Santiago de Compostela in Northern Spain runs past Aubazine, so we set out to explore the path where it leads to a nearby peak at Puy de Pauliac.

It was very humbling to walk along a path that pilgrims used 1000 years ago and which probably hasn't changed much across all those years, leading through woods which are almost totally chestnut trees, we walked through fallen leaves,  chestnuts crunching beneath our feet.

Occasionally stone cairns marked the route as it rose to higher ground.
 

We were trying to figure out why the pilgrims had bothered to climb to the top of the Puy when they might more easily have followed the contour line and saved the ascent, but when we arrived at the summit it became clear the view was awe inspiring, with views across the surrounding hills of the Limosin, Dordogne, Auvergne and Lot regions.

Erica has been talking about walking the El Camino for some time, we've been trying to figure out how to she can do it around all the other commitments we have.