A Tiny Statue Of Saint James

Climbing up into the woods above Yenne, I looked back on the village through the early morning mist. You can see that it has a wonderful situation, nestled beneath ranges of hills and mountains...

I soon reached Notre-Dame-de-la-Montagne (Our Lady of the Mountain). This chapel had won a prize for its renovation work. The sun quickly burnt off the mist and the temperature soared again...

From this belvedere I drank in stunning views of the Rhône valley...

The path that day - from Yenne to Saint Genix - was a strenuous one, traversing huge forests high above the Rhône. No sooner had you descended one slope than you were faced with another steeper one. The path was stony too, which was hard on the feet. At least the trees provided some welcome shade from the sweltering sun. I identified box, birch, oak, walnut, sycamore and sweet chestnut. More stone crosses punctuated the route...

Here's quite a new one, erected in 2008, and inscribed with the totemic Camino watchword: Ultreia! You are all expert shell-seekers by now, so I'm sure you've spotted the coquille on the shaft of the cross...

I stopped for a bite to eat at a wooden hunting lodge in the middle of the Bois de Glaize. Some pilgrims were already there, and others arrived soon afterwards. Where do they all come from? This hunting lodge and the stone cross below were two of the inspirations behind my poem 'A Prayer'...

This wayside cross, these offerings / Of stones and flowers crowding the base, / This niche / Jammed with a tiny statue of Saint James...

This could be a representation of Saint James or Saint Roch - the two are often pretty much interchangeable in these parts. Both saints are guiding lights of the Camino.

After a final hour-long slog - which took me almost to the summit of Mont Tournier - I skirted the peak and made a gradual descent out of the forest and into a gentler landscape of farm and pasture - many fields grazed by the familiar brown and white, or light brown, cattle. Just look at those impressive limestone cliffs at the head of the valley...

I finally arrived at the hamlet of Grésin, which lies just before Saint Genix, my day's destination...

Yenne Interlude

I climbed up to the chapel of Saint Romanus...

... where I encountered these three pilgrims...

They didn't have much to say, so I bid them 'bon courage' and moved on...

On the other side of the chapel I began a steep, slippery descent down to the river valley. I was glad I had my walking poles. The views were simply breathtaking...

The pathway cut through fields of maize...

... leading me to the delightful small town of Yenne...

... where I spent the night at the Clos des Capucins, an ancient abbey dating from the 17th century. Nowadays it's a residential seminary with meeting rooms, excellent bedrooms and a canteen. I paid just over €40 for demi-pension accommodation which included a large, individual bedroom, en-suite, with a power shower and a peaceful view overlooking a grassy courtyard, a superb four course dinner with wine (it was actually more of a restaurant than a canteen, with waitress service) and breakfast the next morning. Not bad, don't you think? And, ah, the cuisine! It seems the French are genetically incapable of producing a bad meal. I ate at a table with two other pilgrims, and we had a great time. The photo shows the old part of the seminary. There's also another building - modern but sympathetically constructed - out of sight on the left, joined to the abbey by a connecting corridor...

I liked Yenne very much. Here's a collection of roofs which caught my eye...

... and here, at a café table in the centre of Yenne, I'm enjoying a beer with four other pilgrims...

There were lots of pretty corners like this in the backstreets...

... and in the church I found a coquille, carved in wood, under a seat in the choir stalls...