May 25: Hills and Heat

The heat has been unrelenting for the last week. Fortunately, our walk today was only 23km. After 2 back-to-back days of 28km, this was a relief. On the downside, we still set off early, to catch the best of the day’s “cool” (a relative term to loosely describe temperatures below 25 degrees). This, together with the lack of places to stop, grab a drink and a sit in the shade, meant that we arrived at our destination by 12:30, 2½ hours before our gîte opened.

We took literal sanctuary in the church, which was an arbour for quite a few other pilgrims who came and went: lying out on the pews; one had her boots off, feet up on the wall. We texted our host to ask whether there was potable water in the hamlet. She responded that the tap in the cemetery (used for tending the graves) provided drinkable water. So, we sheltered from the relentless sun in the church, sucking down (warm) cemetery water – and unbelievably grateful. It’s probably impossible for symbolism to be lost on you while you are on camino!

In today’s photos you will see a montage of my sweaty face. These are unflattering, for sure. But, there seems no more authentic way to express the heat than by actually sharing the drips rolling down my cheeks and off my chin!

Aoue is a beautiful hamlet, with well-restored, pebble dash houses, all with a uniform of rich red doors and shutters. I’m not sure whether its prettiness offset the steep climb (1km off route) to get here! It was a hilly end to a hilly day.

Aoue has a large communal gîte, which is, perversely, unwelcoming to non-stayers; a closed pizza place (permanently closed, and for sale); an enormous handball court; a town hall and a church.

There is also a private gîte, which is where we are staying. Run by a lovely couple, with no English, we are fortunate to be sharing the accommodation with an Australian couple (there are 2 rooms for rent). Between the four of us, and our hosts’ goodwill, we can communicate and even make jokes together. However, it was very nice to have an English-only space this afternoon and at our communal table. We had a series of long, “camino” conversations. Because, we could without excluding anyone and because we were all in our native language. It was, strangely, refreshing on an emotional/communication level, to be able to freely express one’s thoughts and just understand other people doing the same. It was quite a powerful exchange, and very welcome after 5 weeks of language challenges.

And, once we had been welcomed into our rooms, showered and shared a beer, we sat in the evening shade in the garden. We were made so very grateful – by the exertion; by our own tiredness; by the taste of chilled water; by the shade… It is the recognition of how little (and, conversely, how much), we need for a truly blessed life.

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Inspired by our 2024 Camino Francais, Karen has a periodic podcast called "I sent you a bloody boat", personal thoughts on faith by a person who believes in thinking. Also, known as "The Reluctant Christian". You can listen to it on Spotify and on Apple Podcasts at: