We arrived in Pons, the start of our pilgrimage following the Route St Jacques de Compostela. Here we found the Hôpital des pèlerins. 1,400 kilometres to Compostela, 475 kilometers to Paris. We were en route.

We arrived at Saintes, following small roads with a picnic at Gallo-Roman ruins at Therac.

At Santes, pilgrims for hundreds of years had stopped to visit the tomb of the first bishop of Saintes, St. Eutrope. His ancient simple tomb is in the crypt, now a few bored tourists wander past – perhaps unaware or disinterested in this plain slab of stone, but centuries ago as monks sang the office in the nave above, here hordes of hungry, bedraggled, dirt poor pilgrims would have filed around the tomb.

Pause, Gabriel, then, for a moment in history, cease the journey forward. Having said that, I got hot and exasperated climbing the hills south of Saintes in searching Fancouvertes, and arrived at the camp site exhausted with putting up the tent.