Upon leaving Saint-Chély, the ascent was formidable. But after 45 minutes of this, I arrived at a splendid plateau, with a gorgeous view.
The level plateau made walking very comfortable. It was a dirt path, with no rocks. When I say rocks I don't mean gravel -- I mean boulders of 6 inches to 3 feet. After that I entered a forest with the optimal track for a hiker: a dirt path with no ruts, and leaves covering the dirt to make it even softer. It was wonderful.
Several miles in while I was taking a break and getting refueled with a piece of quiche, a German pilgrim passed me. He was from near Munich in Bavaria, and this was his second tour on the Camino. Wow.
But since every day has its challenges, this day would be no different. The path seemingly wanted to test the pilgrims by having them go up and down like a yo-yo. There was a killer descent just to cross a small stream. That was followed by a killer climb. To calm myself I turned on iTunes. Just as I reached the top of the hill, Blood, Sweat & Tears' "Spinning Wheel" came on. That song could be the theme of this first week, what with the words, "What goes up, must come down." Again, I believe this was God trying to keep me in good humor.
While the stage was only 9 miles, it was a very tough 9 miles.
I finally arrived at the "Couvent de Malet," a convent on the outskirts of St. Côme (St. Cosmas). This magnificent piece of architecture was begun in the 13th century.
I don't know if it was because I'm a priest, but I got a private room with a bed with real sheets. No sleeping in a sleeping bag tonight! I took this as part of the glory of the Lord. If we don't see His glory in the little things, how will we find it in the bigger?
A few comments on the shower. Now I could write a book about bathrooms (in fact I wanted to write a coffee-table book about small half-baths), but the bath attached to my room deserves special mention. By the look of the fixtures it has been recently renovated.
The shower functions normally enough, but there's no enclosure for the shower in the bathroom. Therefore all the water from the shower goes all over the room, even getting the toilet paper wet.
Since the floor is made of linoleum, it is extremely slick. It's like taking a shower on an ice rink. A squeegee is provided to get all the water to the central drain, but this whole process could be avoided with an enclosed shower and a curtain or shower door.
I should made a disclosure that I'm not a fan of linoleum.
I was told at check-in that I would be having supper with the community. That was the real treat of the day. Sister Marie Robert came and brought me to the dining room at 7 o'clock. It turns out that there are only three sisters remaining in this Ursuline convent (the Ursulines were founded by St. Angela Merici), and only 15 remaining in the whole community.
So it was just sister and I for a delicious, home cooked regional meal.
Over dinner we lamented the lack of vocations among the young. It is so sad, because generations of young Catholics are growing up without knowing what joy a religious sister brings, or how great the fraternity of the priesthood can be.
