Dawn has gold in its mouth (Dutch saying that rimes). Bright blue skies but cold wind. Nose blocked at one side. Is this an emerging allergy or cold? Beware. Noël admitted that he had the beginning of a koeëte näeske (rhinitis) and a sore throat last week. Possibly I caught it from him. And today there is, as they say in Belgium, a stiff breeze.
Tosca slept comfortably in the straw in the wind. See picture. For the dog-interested, I’ll continue about Tosca. I give her food three times a day: in the morning a little bit, at about two o’clock a little bit and in the evening the full bite. She eats almost one kilo a day. Frolic she likes most, probably because it contains a lot of fat. I notice that at the lighter-colored turds. Yesterday she added a captured mouse to her diet again and I went there for three pieces of pizza in the evening at. Sometimes she gets bread with leftovers from me like rests of cheese, old sausage or occasionally an egg. Furthermore she gathers rests along the road, like thrown away sandwiches, chips, or sometimes cows figs. I vary in the kind of food that I give her. Between arriving at 4 pm or at half past four I let her wait outside a few hours, if it is not raining, on a sidewalk, in a garage or carport, or in a wood store. In the course of the evening she will then enter the bin and she goes to her night shelter. That shelter should be wind and rain free. She is lying in straw, on a blanket provided by the host / hostess, on a mat, or sometimes on a piece of cardboard. Carton or blanket are usually torn apart the next morning and that’s the main reason for me to rather not take her inside. Two muzzles she had bitten apart in one night in the beginning of my walk, in Spain. An annoying trait of her is that she barks a lot, eg. To playing children, to cats and to other dogs, but at night she usually is quiet. She looks very healthy, shiny fur and during the day and in the afternoon she often has left enough energy, to pull sharply, when on a leash. When she walks freely she often is hunting for mice, small game and deer. She certainly runs 35 km per day, may be more, half of the time not on the leash. Tosca mostly drinks at natural waters, sometimes significantly polluted. Up to now, without any problems. Will the saints’relics that I carry with me also protect her?
As Noël and Lee will arrange my tonight’s lodging and will inform me on the go, I can walk carefree. Always humming or whistling, in a good mood. I packed my backpack differently, so I feel less pressure on my r-shoulder. The sensitive feet, because of the blisters after I restarted walking a couple of weeks ago, are much better. I’m using no tape anymore. Myalgia I feel zero,zero and although I feel tired in the evening, walking goes fine and without physical problem. I strive to expand the distances, over 30 km. Should anyone want to walk along, fear not, because for you I will reduce the distance back to 20 or 15 km a day.
It appears that the E 1 – common European long-distance trail sig saws and chooses beautiful routes. I follow that trail as little as possible and cut off whole pieces. That’s also why I proceed clearly faster than planned. Now I’m about 16 days ahead of schedule, and probably the next few weeks that will be more. For the shipping of pony Leon from Denmark to Sweden or Norway I had planned a 1 week delay, but by now I’m much more ahead than that one week. Near the end of the week I’ll cross the German-Danish border. Maybe I’ll be in Oslo early May. Before I’m going to cross the Danish border I memorize once more that I walk for the organisation Mama Alice, founded by Frederique Kallen from Hoogcrutz – Noorbeek, which organisation supports street children in Peru. Please think of her and give a donation. On my homepage is a reference to Mama Alice, also with bank and account number.
Noël and Lee inform me about camping in Nortorf: do you want in the tent for 11 E without breakfast or a room in a hotel for 21 E with breakfast. Well, weather forecast for tonight 2 degrees C and predicted chance of rain. They chose for the room and I happily agree. Tonight Greek, Italian, or Turkish, I do not know anymore. I check in with Tosca at 2.15 pm. Eating, washing clothes, polish my own body, blog writing on draft and hope that the immigrants restaurant has wifi. Noël and Lee take a nap, or bunny-nap? I will ask them when they wake up because they want a hot nightlife which on Monday will be the talk of all of the cottage Nortorf. This will be their last night, so it promises to be wild. Except for tractor pulling in May and a traditional spring fire there is nothing here to hang out much or to get crazy in the nightlife of the Lutheran Nortorf. The population here will remember our presence for a long time, if it were up to Lee and Noel. To avoid disappointing expectations, I’d better go to sleep at 9 pm. We’ll see how things will turn out..
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