The first definite mention of a non-Spanish pilgrim undertaking the Santiago pilgrimage concerns a certain Godescale, Bishop of Puy. Traces of his journey have been found at the monastery of Albelda, in the Rioja region, where he stopped in 950 AD. Eventually the great Marian sanctuary became the departure point for all the St. James pilgrims from Central France as well as those from Eastern Europe.
The inhabitants of Puy en Velay are called 'Ponots' or 'Podots' in reference to the old Latin name for the town, Podium (from the town's volcanic outcrops). And so, the 'Route from Le Puy' has become the Via Podiensis. Today the the route follows the entire GR65, and in 1975 was the first Way of St. James route to have been opened in France.
