les romieux chemineraient à la romieu en cours de route à santiago en espagne

What does the pathway of the Chemin look like?  Does a pèlerin walk a path, or does he or  she walk pavement, or both?  The walking route does change from day to day.  Some days will have more pavement than dirt, and vice-versa.

Pavement is not good.  It is hard on the legs. Sometimes I would walk on a rough grassy shoulder, risking a twisted ankle, in order to avoid the hard cement of the pavement.

Often the path will be a combination of a path and a dirt road. It might be a road that cuts through farm land, for example.

The route between Lectoure and La Romieu is such a Way.  One would often reach high ground, scan the horizon, and see for several miles a route that winds its way into the distance. (Click on any photo to see it larger and in more detail.)

DAY 24 de Lectoure à La Romieu (peut-être 19km) sur Le Chemin de Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle.

What I remember of the path, midway in the the journey to the end, is of rolling landscapes and dirt roads that slice through fields and shoulder paths and the difficult walk on the road itself, the hard pavement. If one happens to climb, it will often be for a short distance.

On this day  I will pass through Espasot and Marsolan, both hamlets, and the Chapelle d’Abrin, which sits at a junction for another pilgrimage route from Rocamadour and Moissac.

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Finally, I arrive at La Romieu. Its name is taken from the Romieux pilgrims who passed through the village on their way to Santiago. (Click on any photo to see it larger and in more detail.)

As usual, after arriving I find my room for the night,  trying to arrive in the early afternoon, so I will have time to walk around the village, visiting neighborhoods, looking for a restaurant where I might eat dinner later.

I have mentioned earlier that many of the small villages along the Chemin have churches which seem too large for the size of the villages  These cathedrals suggest their importance during the middle ages for the pilgrims. The 14th century Collégiale in La Romeiu, built by Clement V, one of the Avignon popes, is another example. (Click on any photo to see it larger and in more detail.)

One can go inside and wander around. Don’t be discouraged or influenced by the notion that one church looks like any other. They are extra-ordinary, each one. (Click on any photo to see it larger and in more detail.)

What might a chambre d’hôte look like? I stayed at Le Presbytère de la Romieu,which was situated in the heart of La Romieu and across from the collégiale Saint Pierre dated from the 14th century and classified by UNESCO as a patrimoine mondiale. (Click on any photo to see it larger and in more detail.)