At 7 a.m., I was on my way. Mrs. Myriam Van Reeth had prepared my breakfast the previous evening: all I had to do was press the button on the coffee machine, and within minutes, I had delicious coffee along with fresh bread and homemade jam.
I first headed to the Alyscamps, the large necropolis on the outskirts of Arles, where many graves date back over 2,000 years. This is where the Via Tolosana, or the Voie d’Arles, officially begins. The route has been slightly altered because pilgrims initially had to walk alongside a busy road, which was extremely dangerous for both pedestrians and cyclists.
Arles: Alyscamps; the bridhe over the Rhône when leaving the city
I crossed one of the large bridges over the Rhône, seeing the low cruise ships in the distance with many tourists still sleeping under the somewhat gray morning sky. The route continued along a dike and then back via an old bridge over the Petit Rhône, which is closed to car traffic, allowing only pedestrians and cyclists to pass. The next 20-25 km were completely flat, taking me through the Petite Camargue, where I saw a lot of water, rice fields, some trees, and extensive vegetable farming. I stopped briefly at the farm of Mr. Anseoui (a local first name!), an older man who was just about to start his pump to water his vegetables from one of the many irrigation channels. He and his wife, along with one of their children, grow zucchini, peppers, tomatoes, and melons, which he takes to the market to sell.
The old bridge over the petit Rhône; the vegetable fields and Anseoui, the farmer
After an hour, I arrived in the old center of St. Gilles, a small town named after one of the important saints of the 8th century, who performed many miracles. Toward the end of his life, he lived as a hermit and was fed by the milk of a deer. He is always depicted in paintings or sculptures with a deer standing beside him. Later, many pilgrims traveling to Santiago passed through to partake in the miracles. A beautiful, larger church was built in the 12th century on the same site where the first church had stood in the 7th century. The current church is dedicated entirely to St. Gilles, and the western side is particularly beautiful Romanesque. From left to right, you can see the entire life of Christ depicted in a frieze at the top. Below are apostles, evangelists, saints, and scenes from the Old and New Testaments. A pedagogical panel outside the church helps visitors understand everything.
The church of St Gilles. The tympanum and a detail of the portal
The sculptures suffered greatly during the religious wars in the 16th century and later at the end of the 18th century during the revolution. A portion of the eastern side was also demolished, and the current church is smaller than the original. There is still a part of a small side tower from the former church, covered in graffiti—a practice as old as time, as people have always wanted to leave their mark. Roman elements, such as columns and stones from old Roman villas, were also reused on the western side of St. Gilles. Beneath the church is a very large crypt. The village also has two authentic Romanesque stone houses from the 12th century, which is rather unusual. These houses were made of stone because they were craft or trade houses, often owned by wealthy families. Many other houses were made of wood and have completely disappeared over the centuries.
St Gilles: details of the portal of the St Gilles church and one of the Romanesque houses
After more than two hours, I continued my journey toward Vendargues along the old Camino. I wasn’t paying attention and didn’t notice that my Google Maps had frozen, so I continued straight on a road lined with many cypress trees (a symbol of eternal life or death) and all kinds of fruit trees: the plums were ready to be harvested, while the apricots and cherries had already been picked. Unknowingly, I had taken the wrong direction. Salvation came in the form of a friendly cyclist, Jean-Pierre, who put me back on the right path: toward the water tower of Générac, then to Beauséjour, and I was back on track.
I stopped in Beauséjour to do some shopping; it was the Feast of the Assumption, and all the shops were closing at 12 p.m. I just managed to slip in on time. To get to Vendargues, I had to pass through Lunel, which partly consists of a new town and, a bit further on, an old town, Lunel Viel. Magda mentioned that there had been unrest in the new part of town, so I should be cautious. Nevertheless, I decided to take the N113, which cuts through both parts of the town. At a red light, I cautiously asked a rough-looking man for directions to Vendargues. He kindly told me to follow the N113 through several villages with names ending in "-argues," and I would be there. He was right; an hour later, I rode into the sleepy or siesta-bound village of Vendargues.
On the way to Vendargues
At the end of the route, I had to cross or pass under a maze of highways to and from and around Nîmes and Montpellier, using bridges or tunnels. It wasn’t a pleasant area, but suddenly I was back in the countryside and quickly found the pilgrim house run by a biologist-researcher who leads an online project with research institutes in France and the USA on biology and the environment. The pilgrim house is near the arenas where the region's favorite sport is practiced: plucking the "cocardes" (flowered rings) from the horns of young bulls. Apart from this, there isn’t much of interest in the village.
A young couple in their thirties arrived at the same time as me: Sylvia, a math teacher at a collège (ages 13-15), who had also been an Erasmus student in Birmingham, and Julien, a trainer for adults in various companies. Later, one of their friends, François, a Master in the History of Art Sciences, joined us. He works as an assistant auctioneer in a Sotheby’s-like company. Each year, they set aside a week or 10 days to walk a section of the Camino. They walk, and when they get tired, they take public transport or hitchhike, as they did today.
The pilgrim house in Vendargues . Sylvia and Julien
Everyone rested while a heavy thunderstorm passed over the area, pouring down tons of rain. Emmanuel, the biologist and host, approached me about the signs on my bike: he lost a brother, David, 30 years ago in a cycling accident when he was 16 years old. His parents and siblings still relive it to this day. At 6 p.m., the host offered us an aperitif, and we had a pleasant chat about various topics. Then we prepared dinner: a tasty omelet with eggs from the biologist's chickens. The couple had bought a melon, and there was yogurt in the fridge for dessert. We did the dishes together, and around 8:30 p.m., everyone went to sleep. Encounters on the Camino can be incredibly enriching. These young people are traveling only for the challenge of living differently for a week. In a few days, they’ll take the train back to their home, to do it all over again next year.
Emmanuel, the host. The bedroom and living room at the pilgrim house
Comments