Walking with a friend

 "The world is round

so that friendship may encircle it."

~Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

When I walked the Cluny route in 2012, the first two days I had company along the way. A French friend who I had met on the Camino in Spain in 2008, offered to walk with me. Cluny was in his home region of Bourgogne, and he wanted to be sure I knew how to follow the waymarks. The important markers on this route were scallop shells, and the 'fingers' of the shell showed which way you had to walk.

He had told me that I would find the Cluny route far more lonesome than the route south from Le Puy- and he was right. I treasure the time we spent walking together. He taught me many things as we walked, such as how to recognise church tower windows that indicated a church affiliated with the monastery of Cluny, and the names of wildflowers we passed. It was a precious time.