Pyrenees Pilgrimage: Walking Across France

L. Peat O'Neil waved goodbye to the Washington Post newsroom to hike alone from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea through the Pyrénées Mountains. She walked the French pilgrimage paths of Saint Jacques de Compostelle near mountain castles where the Cathar heretics were under siege by Papal armies. Along the way, O'Neil sampled the local wine and collected recipes which are included in the book. Her adventures range from a hospital stay for a broken wrist to interviews with survivors of the Nazi Occupation. And that close encounter with wild boars cavorting tusk-to-tusk in a highland field on a rainy evening -- were they playing or fighting over territory?