Day 15: Stage 12: Bénévent l’Abbaye

21 km, sun, cloud, rain😑 15°

Change Is In The Air!

It turned out last night that my room was not bed with dinner and breakfast, but rather a room with breakfast. No problem as I had a good supply of food with me, and after a long day, I didn’t really feel like going out for dinner.

Today was a relatively short stage again brought on by difficulties finding a bed along this section. I had originally planned to walk further, but the next village has been sold out for weeks. This set me up for a slow morning with a nice breakfast. I think it’s the first time on this walk that Annemarie approved.😅 She tells me that she is busy training and getting ready to leave in a week. Hard to believe that she will be here on the ground walking with me and just 10 days.

I left my quaint little hotel at 8 o’clock knowing that I had a bunch of time before I was due to arrive at my next destination. Things look pretty nice as I walked through the centre of town looking for the route out.

But I could tell things were changing. Clouds were beginning to move in, but I did get a bit of a sunrise shot this morning.

I decided that I better take another classic Camino shadow picture of yours truly before the sun disappeared.

There was definitely a different feel in the air. It was cooler and the wind was coming from the west which was a change from the last couple of days.

A change in the air 
Electric wires chaffing 
The sun disappears 

It was ok, but it just felt different.

I see some very good size packs along the way. Some people are camping so they need more stuff while others just bring too much stuff. Clearly some Pilgrim decided they were carrying just a little too much and ditched their sleeping mat by the side of the road!😅

The walking was pleasant. I moved along fairly slowly because it wasn’t going to take me that long to reach my destination.

I reached the first village.

And the church was open! This seemed to becoming a thing. It almost feel like I was on Camino or something, right?

I kept walking, but the skies began to look a little more ominous. It probably doesn’t show up in the photograph, but there was a long squall line in the distance. And the clouds were moving my way.😵‍💫

But still the rain held off and that was alright with me. My pastor several small villages like this. The local people were quite supportive and waved and wished me a Bon Chemin. It’s beginning to feel like a Camino after a slow start. One of the women at dinner tonight who is from Paris, said that the area we’ve walked through the last 250-300 km is well known as kind of a sparsely populated very rural area of France. That explained a lot. Why we were unable to find a bed very easily and why there were no places to stop for food or rest during the day. She said it should get much better from here on in. That’s good news for Annemarie!

I stayed more to the roads today because there’d been still too much mud and I didn’t want to arrive at my next place with wet muddy boots.

And what is it with the French sign people? This is the second time I’ve seen a village name hung upside down. I checked the back and it was properly bolted on. Maybe too much good French wine at lunch?

As I was passing this lake the rain arrived. I stopped and put on my pack cover and my rain jacket. As I was about ready to walk away, I looked again and saw that the rain was coming in heavy waves. I just got my rain pants on in time!

I came to a road barrier, but it had been pushed aside. I continued on up the road until I came to a more permanent barrier.

Deciding that it didn’t look adequate to keep me out, I stepped over and continued. It quickly became quite apparent that the road was blocked because they didn’t want vehicles crossing due to the vibrations.

It was an earth filled dam that I guess the local authorities were a little uncomfortable with. The road was also blocked at the other end. I couldn’t help, but wonder if this was the moment that the dam was going to give way? Of course it didn’t, but the thought did cross my mind.😬

I walked seven very wet kilometers, and arriving at my destination at noon I knew there was no way I was going to get into my accommodation yet. So Mr. Google told me that there was a pizza restaurant in town and that it was actually open on a Sunday! Such good fortune. so that’s what I did. I went out to lunch.

Costanza will be happy to know that the pizza was OK, but not as good as those I experienced in Italy. However, the owners were lovely and looked after me in my wet and weekends state,

From there, I checked out the huge church and Abbey. There was lots to see in there, and for the second time today the church was wide open to the public with an emphasis on pilgrims. There was a stamp for my credential in each church. I was very surprised, but pleased. Finding a stamp on this route every day is not always successful.

Rob told me that I should put a picture of my room in the blog. I don’t know what he was thinking, but maybe it was the brightness of the room?

The blog is late at my end tonight because I was invited for drinks with other pilgrims. Hil and others I’ve met are here, and it was a nice to hear stories of walks that I’ve enjoyed and others that I have considered walking. Patricia, the woman from Paris, worked for two weeks in a monastery I stayed at in Conch back in 2026 when I walked from Le Puy. She had some very interesting observations on that route, specifically just how busy it’s become. This seems to be the case everywhere, and I’m so happy to have started this process 12 years ago. some of the Caminos are becoming overwhelmed. Fortunately, there is still a few out there that are a little under the radar.

And finally, some good French cooking! And even a good dessert.

But I haven’t forgotten that today is mostly about Mother’s Day. I’d like to send out warm and loving wishes to all the mothers in my life spanning three generations. Congratulations and I hope you have a wonderful day! I wrote a little haiku for you before the rain hit.

Mothers never far 
Always caring always there 
Like perennials 

Happy Mother’s Day!🎉❤️

Bon Chemin!

Geoff