Le Puy-en-Velay.

I have arrived in Le Puy, with its spectacular chapel perched on a cliff. This is my halfway point, and I will celebrate with a few extra posts. I am relieved to be out of Isère - heavy industry, breeze block houses, nuclear power plant and vinagery Rhône wines. Haute-Loire (Auvergne) is far preferable. Over these past few cloudless days I have followed dappled fairytale pathways up to the highest point (Rafay, 1276m), then down over gentle hills punctured by the rocky outcrops of ancient volcanos. Here are solid houses of authoritative rocks, slate roofs, and faded blue-grey shutters. Pleasing.

World Cup blues.

The department of Isère feels remote - there are days without cafés or shops. The weather has been beautiful - misty mornings and moody sunsets. I was feeling pretty upbeat, until I watched the rugby World Cup final; now I just wish I were Richie McCaw. I was ruminating on this in the woods today when thumping music alerted me to the remnants of a Halloween rave: a few wide-eyed celebrants recovering in an abandoned house from the night before. They offered me a beer and I joined them, briefly. I completely forgot about wanting to be Richie McCaw, until now.

I have arrived in Geneva...

...and will cross into France today. I am now exactly a third of the way. That is a sobering thought and I try not to dwell on it, but to remind myself that all medieval pilgrims would have had to walk to Santiago and then back. In my first blog post, I wrote that I hoped this walk would make the world feel big again; well, it has certainly done that. But my progress is speeding up, partly because I have overcome my anxiety and am back to sleeping outside, and can therefore make use of early mornings and late evenings.

First light snow.

The major way in which this journey differs from what I had imagined is in how rarely I now sleep outside. Nights out are not restful - it's cold, the inside of the bivvy bag gets wet, there are people and cars, and I always feel like I'm trespassing - it's not like in the mountains. But the cost of nights in b&bs and hotels is adding up. Two days ago it snowed for the first time. I was happy, even after 6 hours - it made this feel more like an adventure, and less like a long and expensive dog walk.

Landscape, erotica, pornography.

It is easy to appreciate the beauty of nature in sunshine, but a finer sensibility is required in mist and rain. The colours of blooms and leaves can be more intense when seen from up close - whether because they do not have to compete with bright sunlight, or because plants are happier in the rain, I don't know. Landscape and sky are softer - appropriate subjects for the pale ink brush of Zen. There are parallels with the difference between erotica and pornography: misty landscapes, like erotica, work by hints and suggestions, while in sunshine, as in pornography, everything is revealed.

Wattwil - Neuhaus - Rapperswil - Einsiedeln - Schwyz - Sachseln - Brienz - Interlaken.

The week did not start well - constant rain, a swollen ankle, jet lag and a general malaise. I had to wear flip flops for a few days and was sliding around like Withnail with his feet in plastic bags, and scarcely more cheerful. But then you can't have high points without low points. Things have picked up again now - clear skies and beautiful autumnal foliage, what the Japanese call 'kōyō'. This evening I watched the sun set on the Eiger; despite the immense distance still ahead, I feel I have made some progress since l left Salzburg back in August.

Brienz

Kōyō

The Eiger

Japanese diversion.

No posts for a while, owing to the fact that my route took a diversion via Japan, on a holiday that I had planned a long time ago. If the relish of life derives from contrast, then I am fortunate indeed: the Grand Hyatt in Tokyo, and the hot spring resorts of Hokkaido, could not contrast more with damp nights spent under hedges in Switzerland. And the polite and supremely respectful Japanese are the polar opposite of the rambunctious but often rather unaware Lebanese. But today I pick Finny up from his Swiss kennel and continue the walk to Santiago.