Day 4 - Bridges and Beasts on the GR65 : Saint-Privat-d'Allier to Saugues
Bridges and Beasts on the GR65 Pilgrimage along the Via Podiensis Today was another sunny day, which turned out to be quite warm. We left the gite around 7:30 AM and began climbing rather steeply out of the village of Saint Privat d'Allier. As we progressed up the narrow track, which was bordered by beautiful and fragrant yellow flowering bushes, we had great views of the town and valley behind us. Day 4 on the Via Podiensis Soon after leaving the village, we came to the Chapel of Saint James and the adjacent ruins of a tower, which were perched high atop a rocky outcrop overlooking a valley and a town. The chapel was very small but had a lovely stained glass window depicting a pilgrim, and it was quite magical inside. As we looked out over the vast landscape, we didn't yet realize that we would be walking down into the valley below and then back up the other side! As we descended into the valley, mostly on paved roads and gravel tracks, we kept a close watch for lizar...