F023 Way of St. James (Camino) Monistrol-LaClauze

We set off through the town, steeply up to the Chapel of Madeleine, built into the cliff high above the river.  We were heading into the area of the (in)famous beast of Gevaudan, and soon the signs started to appear,  warning tourists of impending souvenir shops.  This was also the day where we first met some other  features of the area that kept cropping up - an open stall for shoeing bullocks, and a local delicacy made of mashed potatoes and melted cheese, which each host in the following days insisted we should try.    Again. And again. We also met sheepdogs disguised as sheep, trained to warn off pilgrims, and a  selection of interesting statues.    Saugues, a former 12th century stronghold, was also well worth a visit, being the  traditional meeting point for pilgrims coming from Auvergne. As with many places in the area,   it had a "Tour des Anglais", a square keep dating back to the Hundred Years War, as a defence  against hordes of pillaging 13th century English.