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Buy Full NotesClaude Tranchant is a French lady now living in Brisbane, Australia. On her 64th birthday, she set off to walk the way of Saint James (le pélerinage de St Jacques de Compostelle), covering over 2,500 km through France and Spain, crossing the Pyrenees to reach Santiago de Compostela. All alone. Oh, and she had never hiked before! Her physical journey soon became a spiritual and a humane one too. Find out more about the St James’s Way pilgrimage, the fears Claude had to overcome and how she changed forever along the way.
Part 1 of this interview located in episode 78.
Episode Timeline
Part 1
Claude’s backpack: content
Why Claude wrote a daily diary
Water supply on the walk
Part 2
Very basic comfort!
The pilgrims’ radio?
Claude’s injury
Part 3
Encounters on the road
Mixed feelings at the end of the road
Part 4
Writing Boots to Bliss
Inspiring people…and walking some more!
Vocab List
ampoule (nf) = blister
borne (nf) = distance marker, kilometer marker
bouche à oreille (nm) = word of mouth
calepin (nm) = notepad, small notebook
faciliter les choses = to make things easy/easier
genou (nm) = knee
journal (nm) = diary
orteil (nm) = toe
sac de couchage (nm) = sleeping bag
se faire mal = to hurt oneself
semelles orthopédiques (nf) = orthotic inserts, arch supports, orthopedic soles/insoles
tapis de sol (nm) = floor mat
têtu,e = stubborn
Questions:
- (Part 1) Why did Claude write a diary?
- (part 2) Where was Claude when she injured herself? Which body part was that?
- (Part 3) Give 2 reasons why Claude was scared at the end of her pilgrimage.
Answers:
- For her children to have written notes of her in case anything happened to her.
- She was going down a slope in the Massif Central and hurt her knee.
- After 100 days connecting with herself and nature, she was scared of going back to a materialistic/consumerist world. Also, she had changed so much that she feared there would be a big gap and misunderstanding between herself and those she knew.
Links & Resources
- Website: facebook.com/BootsToBliss
- Get “Boots to Bliss” on Amazon
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