Again many positive developments. The website is optimized for the chapter Mama Alice sponsorship. The flyer that will be distributed in the nearby villages, to support Mama Alice per walked km., is sent to the printer. All kind of preparations about my trip and Mama Alice are getting ready. I learnt how I can maintain my blog on the I-pad and how to put pictures on it. The tent poles and pegs are still missing, but they have been ordered. A bivakbag was purchased. That is a sleeve in which you put the sleeping bag, so in case the dog with his filthy paws is entering the little tent my sleeping bag does not get dirty. I tried out if all luggage could be compressed and loaded onto the horse in two backpacks. The bags were covered by a horse rain blanket. And then we went for a walk again today: 32 km, from 10 till 17 o’clock. With my since yesterday new meindleshoes. I didn’t use tape and yet no blisters. If this continues, I am far too early at Cape North in Norway. I even can hang out like wild instead of harshly finishing my kilometers.
During my lunch break, somewhere near Baneheide, I met a couple women, I guess about 60. Don’t you sit on him, one of the ladies asked. Oh no, I do not, I replied. Because of the symmetry in the conversation, I asked her if she ever sat on him. Her girlfriend replied, “das war EINMAHL” (that’s long ago). How does SHE know? It seemed wise to me to keep my mouth shut, at least on regard to this subject. Anyway one of the couple just returned from Lapland. Of course I immediately asked her many questions about how to cross Lapland by horse: all the bridges, log roads and swamps. According to the lady it should be possible. Well, let’s hope . Furthermore, I was still worried about entering Norway with horse Leon and dog Tosca. I will be laid back quite a lot if I have to change my plan to cross the entire 2500 km. route through Norway to Sweden. This I still have to figure out now. A lot of work. Already heavy snowfall in september was reported from Lapland, so I have to reach Cape North before z15 sept. That is 1 month ahead of my planning. That also implies I might have to walk an average of 30 km. a day instead of 25. Friends who want to join me shouldn’t be scared. I’ll make sure there are buses, taxis and other means of transportation. And when people walk along, I will walk less, making up for it afterwards. There is still plenty to do.
For example finding riding schools, centers Equestres etc. along the route where I can leave horse Leon at night or in the case of a casualty. Here at home I need practicing the horse having tied tied his legs together. This is important in case I must camp in the moors, heath or open field without a tree to tie the horse to. Does not seem very attractive if in the morning I crawl out of my tent and discover friend Leon has chosen a wild horse herd over his loving boss. Oh yeah, I forgot that this morning near the German village of Orsbach, near the worldwar II Sigfriedlinie, I met a lady who as soon as she began to speak German, proved to be Dutch. She walked her dog. Cute dog, I said. Yes, she is mostly a greyhound. I did not recognize the least bit of greyhound in this dog. Oh, yeah nice, I answered. Oh, you’re using a shock device, she remarked. Now the conservation got dangerous. No, I said. I hardly ever used it, but in case Tosca will not listen, for example if she is are chasing a chicken, a deer, or a herd of cows, then I will. If such bad behaviour is tolerated 3 times, she will always keep doing it. She: I hope that you use the vibration function and not the tic. Of course, I said. Yes, she knew people who unleashed two German shepherds simultaneously in the field and then only could makevthem listen with teletacts. First they should have learnt to obey their boss, she thought. May be that’s exactly what their boss was doing, I thought. But I believe the lady is right. A dog will learn nothing with a teletact. You can only punish him. Rewarding good behavior and punish bad behavior, that’s my conviction. Some people tried to make me believe that bad behavior should be ignored. Well, often that is difficult, for example my previous pony, a stallion, often tried to jump on my shoulders and tried to bit in my butt. And Joep, my dog bursts into me with his dirty, muddy paws when I get out of the car. And should I ignore if he continuously barks? Theory is fine. But look how they treat their own offspring, to get them in line. Interesting debate, which is now extended to the education of children. From now on I keep my mouth shut.
24 sept. 2014 website, meetings, flyer Mm. Alice, tent
