Day 2 - St. Gilles-du-Gard

I left for St. Gilles-du-Gard early before my two gîte-mates had awoken.  I was eager to get a start on the day as it was to be a fairly long walk and the weather had been warm.  It actually cooled off as I walked because of the light rain.

Oops--one trail-marker less to follow...

Instead of the "historic" route, I took the one by "le Petit Rhone," not realizing that there were two variants of the latter option-- the Lepère version and FFRandonnée version--each on opposite sides of the river. Needless to say, a few more balises (trail-markers)  would have been helpful. Just before St. Gilles-du-Gard I got lost as a post with the GR stripes had fallen down so I flagged down a car and the couple driving offered me a ride to the outskirts of the town. I knew that if I headed to the historical town center, where the the oldest church was located, all would be well.  And it was.

The walk overall was tranquil and pleasant, but went on forever--some 25 km--not something I was really up to doing. At first there were dog-walkers, joggers, a couple of bicyclists, and a lone hiker walking in the opposite direction. When it started sprinkling, and then finally raining, they all cleared out, and I was alone.


I located the old church without much difficulty, although there was some construction going on around it. This otherwise peaceful village houses the tomb of St. Gilles, his reliquary hidden for centuries to escape the pillages of protestants during the French Wars of Religion. St. Gilles, or St. Giles the Hermit, was a  Christian hermit saint from Athens, Greece who lived in the forest near Nîmes at the end of the 7th and early 8th centuries.

the church was completely ravaged in 1794 during the French Revolution

My gîte, was a quirky, funky place, hosted by an equally odd Belgian fellow named Serge, but the view from my window of the Abbey church of St. Gilles was fantastic, especially when illuminated at night.

view from my window

" Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. " Psalm 73: 23-24.