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Language & calling ahead

M

mmrdng

New Member
I am planning to walk the Le Puy Route in June. I walked the CF last year, and found that I--and others--relied on my Spanish speaking abilities quite a bit, not least when dealing with doctors and pharmacists. I do not speak any French, however. How stressed should I be about that?

I note that many contributors have suggested calling ahead to make reservations for the night. I am concerned about that given my lack of French. I'd be curious to hear what other non-French speakers experienced.

Any recommendations, pro and con, on the Alison Raju guide?

Many many thanks.
 
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I carried a French-SIM cell phone on my walk from LePuy last September, and I don't speak French (apart from mangling a few phrases) apart from culinary terms. You are quite right ... calling ahead is a very good thing to do. You will find many helpful French-speaking pilgrims (some from France, some from Canada), and the Tourist Info offices will also help. MMD indicates which lodgings speak (some) English. I typically made 3-4 days' worth of reservations at one sitting, and this would typically take 20-30 minutes altogether.

When your helper has got the lodging on the line, be sure to get directions to the establishment. It significantly reduces the wandering-about-town-lost part of the afternoon. Once I had to call the lodging to come get me (talk about mangled French!) as the MMD directions were nowhere close.

Be sure to get a charger while you're at it.
 
Making reservations was the most stressful part for me. My French is poor, the phone booths are always in full sun, and the French can cram an entire sentence into a single long sound. I was the most successful when the response from the other end was "oui, non, complet, d'accord."

A fellow pilgrim helping with the call is the best solution, and using a cell phone is good because it keeps you out of the baking sun. If you speak a little bit of French, ask first if they speak English. The answer will probably be "non." But you have established that you don't speak much French! Try to get single word answers, as I mention above, and do not be afraid to ask them to speak more slowly -- "plus lentement, s'il vous plait." I understood the most when spoken to as if I was a third-grader.

You will survive, so don't worry about it, and have fun.
 
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Hello!
Went from Le Puy autumn 2009 and I do not speak French. Had french in school 45 years ago but did not remember much. Because of the languageproblem I sent some mails before I started to book places to sleep. If you look at the http://www.chemindecompostelle.com you will find gites where they speek English.
I noticed that the touristoffices were very helpful. They make calls for you. If you have a cellphone( buy a prepaid French simcard in Le Puy), you can ask frenchspeaking pilgrims to call for you. Or ask the host at the place you stay to call for the next.
Think June might be a busy time, so it is smart to book a day or two ahead. The gites are often filled up with French groups with a follwcar bringing their luggage and lunch.
Make yourself a list of French words and frases that you will need, foodwords f.i..
The main problem will be not being able to communicate with other walkers. You might share a meal with a big group of frenchspeaking who do not include you in the conversation, but I also met lots of people who tried to communicate. If they find out that your French is worse than their English they often turn to English.
About guidebooks, I used the Miam D. and the Alison Raju. The first is simple and best about places to stay and so on. A R, read the description for the day and kept it in the backpack while walking. Both are heavy so I tore out pages of no use and after each day. Also carried ordinary maps which I never used. The maps in MD was good enough.
Randi
 
I heartily agree: the maps in MMD are quite sufficient ... if and only if you manage to stay on the desired route. However, in France all the main GR routes are marked with the identical red-and-white balises, and there are quite a number of points where the routes cross. And so it came to pass, in Aumont, that I ... I took the one less travelled by. It was a lovely older road, and I was thoroughly enjoying the afternoon. Until I realized I was not seeing fellow pilgrims. And then recalled I had descended quite a long slope that I would have to climb if I wanted to retrace my steps. So I decided to go onward. I was very glad to have the topo map and a pocket compass in hand. Eventually, late in the day and having covered some 10 kms more than I had planned, I reached Saint Chely. It was quite an adventure and a memorable day.

One other note about the MMD maps: So I'm done with the map and the lodgings-list for Day 1, and I dispose of those sheets. Except that the map for Day 2 is on the reverse of the lodgings-list for Day 1 ... so be careful! (I took a razor and pulled the sheets for the section I was walking, which was half the book.)
 
The tourist office is a good place to go, but if you want to practice your French, go to:

http://www.learnfrenchbypodcast.com/guide.php?id=53

It is an intermediate lesson, titled

"I'd like to book a room for this evening, please..."

We used the FFRP guide because we like real topo maps. The Alison Raju book was of little use. Most of it is trail description, and the route is quite well marked.
 
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Hi, My wife and I walked from Le Puy to Moissac Sept/Oct. '09. We used MMD and Alison R.'s guide book. MMD's maps are sufficient. Maps in A.R.'s are not good at all. We took some of the 'variante's' in the MMD and they worked out great. A.R. had good info, especially historical, but too much detail about the route and not enough practical mileage info. MMD is invaluable. We had a tiny bit of French but had the hosts/hospitalero/gite owner call ahead each day to reserve the next night for us. They were really helpful. Some days we got the Tourist office to do it. We are returning Apr 25 to walk from Moissac to SJPDP and then on to Estella to volunteer as Hospitaleros at San Miguel from May 15-31. I would book a hotel in Le Puy, have them book your first night, then leave next morning after 7:00 am Mass. May is one of the Chemin Le Puy's busier months. Lot's of French walkers and vacationers, not necessarily Pilgrims/Pelerins. Rely on other Pilgrims and the gites to help with language. You'll be fine. Dayton and Karen, London, Canada
 
We used the FFRP guide because we like real topo maps. [/quote]

Looking ahead to 2012, what is this? Where do I get it???

Thanks,
Nancy
 
Camino Ready, Backpacks, Boots etc
3rd Edition. More content, training & pack guides avoid common mistakes, bed bugs etc
You can ask to owners of the gite where you are to call for you and make your reservation.
if you need they will also give you good adress.
This is a service that we give to pilgrims.
André (Owner of a gite on Le Puy road)
 
Thanks Andre!

If one reads this thread, and the "rude Spanish Bartender" thread, they will see why we do so many kilometers in France. Stereotypes of French formality and reserve melt away on the chemins.
 
Let us pick up your suitcase once you arrive in Europe....
...and ship it to Santiago for storage. You pick it up once in Santiago. Service offered by Casa Ivar (we use DHL for transportation).
In this big choir of "calling ahead" I just wanted to put in this little tune: It is posible to walk in France without booking ahead, and June (at least the second half of it when I have walked) is not the most crowded time.

You will manage well in one way or the other.
Bjørg
 
Thank you all for the guidance! I am taking French classes now, which should be just enough to say "I am sorry but I don't speak French" politely. I've booked a hotel for the first night so that I have a place to start recovering from jet lag.
See you on the other side!
 
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