2017-09-13 Saint-Privat-d'Allier - Saugues (20/45 km)

Leaving St-Privat-d'Allier you could not but admire the beauty in the setting of this place. Very steep hills and looking down towards the valley below. The river has cut down in steps about 500 m in the rocks below the surrounding highlands. And the result is astonishing. After a lot of up and downs I reached Monistrol-d'Allier at the very bottom of the valley. There I met a young man of about 25 - 30 years of age. He had walked all the ways from Czechia on his way to Santiago.

I needed some morning coffee, but was soon after that up in the steep trails that took me up from the river level of about 600 m to the 1.100 to 1.200 m of the Margeride high plateau. At places very beautiful. Passed a splintered gang of french pilgrims with day-packs and the like. The were checked by a responsible man that showed up to me 3 times during my walk up the hills on the way to Saugues. The route from Le Puy is very popular. All types of people walk it for shorter or longer distances.

The Mageride is poor farmland with a lot of stones and sheep mixed with occasional forests. Traditional houses were built by stones. The area is known for the story about the "Beast from Gévaudan" (La bête du Gévaudan). It is based in what happened around 1767 up here, when the area was haunted by this beast, maybe it was a mad wolf. There is a museum of this beast and te story around it here at Saugues.

Well I ended up early in Saugues with its spectacular entry. I decided  to stay since I have had a cold chasing me since I left home. And today I didn't feel better so I decided to stay here in Saugues trying to calm the cold a bit. I got a room on top of a bar since I did not want to stay at a Gite.

El paisaje es espectacular con un rio 600 m abajo el nivel de los altiplanos “Magerides”. Este resulta en rochas y colinas muy escarpados. Este “Chemin de Compostella” esta lleno de gente de todos los tipos. Encontré un hombre joven de Chequia. Había andado a pie todo el camino de su país y continuara hasta Santiago. Que hombre. Ahora estoy en Saugues una pequeña ciudad en los altiplanos. Intento curar un resfriado que me había perseguido la última semana.