In 1878, the Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson crossed the Cévennes on foot from the village of Monastier sur Gazeille in the department of Haute-Loire, to Saint Jean du Gard with his donkey Modestine. They both walked slowly for 12 days over nearly 220 km.He is a pioneer of itinerant walking. Some even say he invented the first sleeping bag.

Inspired by Stevenson's atypical journey, I set off to follow in his footsteps in July 2020 during the health crisis linked to the coronavirus, while waiting to be able to resume my way to Compostela where I had left it in Spain.

Follow me for this new adventure in a still preserved nature. I lengthened the route a bit, starting from Puy-en-Velay to reach the town of Alès 10 days later.

To make you want to follow the path of Robert Louis Stevenson, I present to you a short extract from his famous book "Voyage avec un âne dans les Cévennes": 

"As for me, I travel not to go somewhere, but to walk. I travel for the pleasure of travelling. The important thing is to move, to experience more closely the necessities and embarrassments of life, to leave the soft bed of civilization, to feel under my feet the earthly granite and the scattered flints with their cutting edges. But keeping a bundle on a packsaddle against a gale from the icy north is not a quality activity, but it does help to occupy and build character. the present shows so many demands, who can care about the future?

Robert Louis Stevenson

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"The important thing is not the destination, but the trip itself"

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Buen camino :-)

Lionel de Compostelle

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