Day 15

Starting from the church at La Coquille, where pilgrims would get their scallop shell as a symbol of the pilgrimage to Santiago, we followed the Voie de Vezelay through a lovely forested area for about 2.5 miles before it turned on to more asphalt. So we turned back to make our loop. A couple of interesting things happened: a woman wished us "bon courage" which means good luck, as she knew we were on the Way. This is the first human encounter we've had as "pilgrims." Yesterday, as we were walking a forest trail, there was a note in a private yard introducing the dog, an English bulldog, by name, and saying that he barks a lot, but is very gentle. Another acknowledgment that there are pilgrims on the trail. Today, on the forest path, I was following boot tracks of a pilgrim ahead of us, but we have still not actually encountered any in over 70 miles of walking. Finally, as we ate our picnic lunch in the park next to the church in La Coquille, we wondered how many pilgrims over the ages had sat there to rest and refuel. Well, another great day!