Bodhi On The Way: The Trek Begins; Volcanic Plateaus, Sweeping Forests, and Descents into River Country: LE PUY to St. Côme d'Olt (29 July to 7 August 2015)

As they say, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. And so it was, on a grey and rainy day in late July, that we headed out of Le Puy...

Proof that we're going the right way!

Fresh off a yearlong bike tour, at this point Bo was still asking "Where's Mammy's bike? Where's Daddy's bike?"

A sight back on Le Puy-en-Velay.

Oh, is that all?

Just a few km out of Le Puy we were on a remote dirt track in semi-wild hills.

Here we tried out the trekking kit, our first time using it. Definitely changes the game a little.

Late in the afternoon Mammy and Bo survey the horizons.

Our first night of what will be more than 100. Under pine trees in volcanic flatlands.

Bo gets his feet going the following morning.

We had our first sighting of donkey travel in St. Christophe. In France, this is very much a part of adventure travel, especially for young families, and as we would learn, is heavily practiced between Le Puy and Conques.

The striking church at St. Christophe, built with volcanic stones...

... as are the houses in this area.

This family had four kids and a donkey.

Bo on the trail of the donkeys.

Our first days of walking featured delightful scenery.

This however was more than we had bargained for! (Pictured is the descent towards St. Privat d'Allier).

Our research had shown that about 80% of the Way of Le Puy is possible for wheeled vehicles, with several places being maybes, and several being no-go's in any case (for safety reasons mostly). The problem is, the maps don't clearly show these places, and the guidebooks are not always specific... which meant that we had to go on word-of-mouth and intuition, and plenty of trial-and-error.

St. Privat d'Allier, perched above the Allier river gorge.

Our arrival at St. Privat concluded the first etape (stage) of the Way of Le Puy, a reason to celebrate, as it meant our crazy system might actually work!

Our campsite above the Allier river gorge, mist rolling through in giant waves on a spectacular morning.

It helps when your toddler adores camping!

A French pilgrim with a classic style: scallop shell, baguette, and bedroll (with a second baguette inside) all bound up together.

Breakfast break in Monistrol-d'Allier.

Statue of a reclining Mary Magdalene in Monistrol.

Bo gets friendly with the church volunteers.

A view back over Monistrol.

Monistrol is notorious among Le Puy pilgrims for a steep climb that begins out of the gorge. Here we teamed up (Bodhi slept for the whole climb!) with Katy pulling and Jeff pushing.

We nearly thought we were seeing things. This guy is pulling TWO trailers, the forward one with their two daughters, and the rear one with all of their gear. And we thought that WE had it tough. This family, from near Paris, with whom we would meet up down the road aways, was the only one we would encounter travelling with this method until we were near Santiago, just to let you know how rare it is on the Camino!

Bo loves these kind of footpaths... vast panoramas, twists and turns in the path, not too steep, not too rocky. At this point in our walk, he was hiking between 2-4 km per day on his own.

Another fantastic campsite, requiring no effort. If you feel tired, or its getting late, you simply stop where you are and there is great camping nearly everywhere.

Bo and Katy on the descent to Saugues, set on broad plains amongst rolling hills.

In Saugues we were welcomed by this lady who has been officially greeting pilgrims for many years.

This pilgrim points the way as we depart Saugues.

Bo finds this track suitable for his balance bike.

This was probably inevitable!

Bo and Katy in delightful woodland...

... as we climb up towards Le Sauvage.

Our campsite in spruce forest at 1300m elevation.

Max from Lille hiked with us for a couple of days.

Le Sauvage in the distance.

At Chapelle St. Roch Bodhi was back up to his hippie ways.

We found these horses just hanging out in the forest.

This style would be hard to duplicate. Bo feels the power.

Celebratory antics after Bo conquers a long steep climb, this side of St. Alban.

Sunset as seen from camp, near the village of Chabanes.

Mid-summer morning on sun-dappled forest floor.

Bo was motivated by this South African bicigrino (pilgrim on bike), one of the first we encountered on our walk.

Katy tops a long climb weaving in and out of fir forest.

Midday pause in Aumont-Aubrac with some hiking pals from Lille.

In Aumont we ran into this family again. Here are Alexandre and his two daughters, Margot and Faustine.

Hiding from a morning rain.

Can't get any more free than this.

A heated staring match.

Purple mountain heather had us thinking of northern England.

It's like a drought-plagued version of the Pennine Way: stone walls, sheep and heather, just missing the deep green hues.

Roc des Loups (Wolf Rock). A fine place for a ride. Early mountain bike training for a 2 year-old.

Not so fine for our Chariot! Massive boulders and uneven track led to a busted bolt in the Chariot's frame! We did a field-repair with industrial-strength cable ties and kept on.

Stopped before the cathedral in Nasbinals, scene of our first full day off.

Katy and Bo next to Caroline and Margot and Faustine.

We stayed in the municipal campground on the edge of Nasbinals.

18 month-old Faustine and Bo.

We joined forces out of Nasbinals.

An unsuitable track for our vehicles forced us onto the road for a stretch of 8-9 km.

We topped our high point in France here, Col d'Aubrac at 1340m.

As fate would have it, Caroline's cousin runs a summer lunch venue in this old barn, serving up a famous local dish called Aligot.

Made with a certain type of cheese and loads of potatoes, the idea is to have long stringy strands, both soft and elastic, which requires a seriously-physical stirring session. Jeff lends a hand and would call it anything but easy.

Served alongside fresh-made sausage, this is aligot.

The festive atmosphere at food-time.

Approaching the nearby medieval village of Aubrac, which was founded as a pilgrims' hospital and monastery. Once a dangerous remote wilderness, Aubrac was founded in 1031 by Adalard of Flanders, who had been beset by brigands while passing through the area on his way to Compostela.

Mural seen in the church at Aubrac, depicting pilgrims on the left and the famous Aubrac cattle on the right.

Bo at the start of the descent to St-Chely-d'Aubrac.

A good look at Aubrac cattle.

Dropping down through deep woods...

... to arrive at St. Chely.

Bo got psyched when he saw this pilgrim.

This lovely old lady welcomed us and presented us with our first scallop shells.

Leaving St. Chely, Bo took a dip beneath the Pont des Pelerins (medieval pilgrims' bridge).

We camped aside Alexandre and Caro and family in a field.

The following morning Jeff entertained the girls with some Americana songs.

Bo sandwiched between Faustine and Margot.

Faustine hitchhikes on the Chariot.

Very intact Roman road as we enter the village of L'Estrade. Pilgrims in medieval times used Roman roads exclusively as they were the surest way to travel.