Monday January 12 th 2015 Chatelus de Marceix. About 22 km.

We have become tough: Today “only” 22 km., So no hurry. Last night I worked till late checking on my ipad today’s route, looking for accommodation addresses, updating my blog a bit, so again I stayed up too late. This must be compensated for, so I do not wake up when the roosters start crowing, but I slept until 7.30. Tosca must have been restless under her roof. The dog is like the boss. She had maneuvered her rope in a way that she could not reach her warm blanket. Luckily she could spend the freezing night on sawdust and according to her incessant running today, the cold night didn’t bother her. I had breakfast together with landlord Pascal and lady Colette , some nice talking. She is of South African-Portuguese descent and is a British national. He has French nationality by one or both parents, but he grew up in England. Both were lawyer in London, worked long days and saw their children very little and wanted to change this. Now they have a huge estate with castle here in France, though I think it requires huge investments, not yet mentioning the costs of maintenance. While we had breakfast, a gardener-planter entered. He was ordered to plant several hundred trees around the castle. And … it was an emigrant Dutchman. It is fascinating to constantly meet people who dared changing their ways, or were seeking, or frustrated, or wanted to go away from something. And I? they ask me. What are your motives to walk 7.500 km in one year, away from home. I have a whole story: there is not just one single motive. Firstly I now have the chance at the end of my professional career, I was looking for a challenge, it had to be original, a bit of a special performance and not too dangerous. So no new peaks like climbing mountain tops, but still something adventurous, back to basics, down to earth and last but not least, Mama Alice. But unlike a daredevil, after a year I will be safely back in my own family nest. That’s a lot safer than what they, emigrants, dared and also a lot safer than the situation of the street children of Mama Alice. By the way, people who didn’t contribute to Mm Alice yet are not allowed to read actually. The opening page explains how you can contribute to Mamma Alice in Peru. So Allez, hein!
Anyway, I never left as late in the morning as today, viz. 10.30. In the forest most of the road was frozen until evening. But it was a beautiful day. The road was easy to find, although very much up and down, but doable. Sometimes I came back on the route to Santiago and sometimes I was looking for an alternative route through the back roads. The route Saint Jacques, so to Santiago, ran over a slippery, very narrow, wooden bridge over a small river. Holy sh.. (neat huh. Actually, I’m not that fine), I wish I would have stayed on the street roads. I let Leon go, hoping he would walk by himself over the bridge and what happens? My dearest Leon walks calmly through the river to the other side, following me. If all the partners were so docile, life (maybe) would be much more pleasant (or boring?). I tied horse Leon to a pole (see photo) to go back and take pictures of the bridge. When a few 100 m. ahead we had to cross the creek a second time, using a similar bridge, I was a lot more confident. I still enjoy the beauty of this region. Resembles the south of my region Limburg, but all the traits of the landscape are more than home: the hills above the bushes bigger, more streams, more beautiful historic towns and villages, quieter, more sun. Only one thing is unfortunately less here. The Limbo – inhabitants are missing !! Hahahaha.
To a great extent I’m over my dip of the last few weeks. Well, just imagine, being away from your wife, family, friends for months, X-mas, New Year, friend Jan gone, lady Constance back home, son Servé away, then your horse lost four or five times in a week, phone does not work, Gonnie and Niek away again, several times police intervention, for example, on New Year’s evening; some other evening arriving at the wrong abbey. But then again, there are many lovely people here, at home, via SMS, phone, blog reactions, especially sister in law Lilian who lately has been my guardian angel, helping me to find shelter for the night and thus the light will shine again. Horse and dog hear me whistling and singing again. Whether they are happy with me is the question.
And little by little our first afternoon shadows started following us, in the Chatelus Merceix, a tiny spot of a few hundred inhabitants. No shop, no bar, no wifi, but the delicious accompanying peace, a pasture for Leon and a garage for Tos. I have a room in a small bed-and-breakfast with in the same corridor two Frenchmen, who spend a few days here because of their work for the SNCF. So finally I hear the TV again. A lot about the attacks in Paris at Charly. Only real idiots do things like that. Then my kind of idiocy, walking, is much better, n’est ce pas? Anyway, so here no bar, no store to buy food for Tosca. But I still found a little package of dissolution soup, which I fortunately had forgotten, a hunk of stale bread, which was actually meant for horse Leon. This morning I ate an old package emergency meal of yesterday’s landlord Pascal, that he had gotten from an airline during a sudden halt. And so we get our tommies filled. This morning the Dutch horticulturist at Colette and Pascal’s had a bag of dog food in his car. Pascal gave me some of that. And thus we get around. Not always the biggest luxury but stale bread has no less nutritional value than fresh bread, so no complaining.
Having no companion, my thoughts are mainly busy with how to find the route, watching my scrap of paper on which I noted the place names, trying to evade dangerous stretches of road, can I release Tosca yes or no? Checking the route by GPS, what time is it, what is our pace, who will join me walking and when and where am I. When I will continue my trip after having been home for a week or so on holiday in March, should or shouldn’t I take those animals further along after having been home? Furthermore, I enjoy the natural environment, think of those who are dear to me and I think mainly associative because I always get distracted. Anyway, I now have more understanding for people living in constant uncertainty about whether they get to eat today or tomorrow, or whether they will have a roof over their heads next night. If such people steal, they are punished by the rich.
In the 1800s in England the poor were banished by the English aristocracy to Australia as punishment for swiping a piece of bread. Totally degrading. Now I have more understanding of problems in our times , especially street children , refugees, people in refugee camps. One great misery , insecurity , no future. And thus my thoughts move from one topic to the other . One of the things I teach is that kindness and cordiality are not expensive and are very grateful.
Now it is 9 am. in the evening. Animals have a good shelter here , I take a bath and lie in Morpheus ‘ (?) arms. Tomorrow to Marsac , very short route , but there are shops , undoubtedly somewhere wifi and then finally I’ll have time for those things . Unfortunately bad weather predicted. Who gives a damn. Voilà .

We have become tough: Today “only” 22 km., So no hurry. Last night I worked till late checking on my ipad today’s route, looking for accommodation addresses, updating my blog a bit, so again I stayed up too late. This must be compensated for, so I do not wake up when the roosters start crowing, but I slept until 7.30. Tosca must have been restless under her roof. The dog is like the boss. She had maneuvered her rope in a way that she could not reach her warm blanket. Luckily she could spend the freezing night on sawdust and according to her incessant running today, the cold night didn’t bother her. I had breakfast together with landlord Pascal and lady Colette , some nice talking. She is of South African-Portuguese descent and is a British national. He has French nationality by one or both parents, but he grew up in England. Both were lawyer in London, worked long days and saw their children very little and wanted to change this. Now they have a huge estate with castle here in France, though I think it requires huge investments, not yet mentioning the costs of maintenance. While we had breakfast, a gardener-planter entered. He was ordered to plant several hundred trees around the castle. And … it was an emigrant Dutchman. It is fascinating to constantly meet people who dared changing their ways, or were seeking, or frustrated, or wanted to go away from something. And I? they ask me. What are your motives to walk 7.500 km in one year, away from home. I have a whole story: there is not just one single motive. Firstly I now have the chance at the end of my professional career, I was looking for a challenge, it had to be original, a bit of a special performance and not too dangerous. So no new peaks like climbing mountain tops, but still something adventurous, back to basics, down to earth and last but not least, Mama Alice. But unlike a daredevil, after a year I will be safely back in my own family nest. That’s a lot safer than what they, emigrants, dared and also a lot safer than the situation of the street children of Mama Alice. By the way, people who didn’t contribute to Mm Alice yet are not allowed to read actually. The opening page explains how you can contribute to Mamma Alice in Peru. So Allez, hein!
Anyway, I never left as late in the morning as today, viz. 10.30. In the forest most of the road was frozen until evening. But it was a beautiful day. The road was easy to find, although very much up and down, but doable. Sometimes I came back on the route to Santiago and sometimes I was looking for an alternative route through the back roads. The route Saint Jacques, so to Santiago, ran over a slippery, very narrow, wooden bridge over a small river. Holy sh.. (neat huh. Actually, I’m not that fine), I wish I would have stayed on the street roads. I let Leon go, hoping he would walk by himself over the bridge and what happens? My dearest Leon walks calmly through the river to the other side, following me. If all the partners were so docile, life (maybe) would be much more pleasant (or boring?). I tied horse Leon to a pole (see photo) to go back and take pictures of the bridge. When a few 100 m. ahead we had to cross the creek a second time, using a similar bridge, I was a lot more confident. I still enjoy the beauty of this region. Resembles the south of my region Limburg, but all the traits of the landscape are more than home: the hills above the bushes bigger, more streams, more beautiful historic towns and villages, quieter, more sun. Only one thing is unfortunately less here. The Limbo – inhabitants are missing !! Hahahaha.
To a great extent I’m over my dip of the last few weeks. Well, just imagine, being away from your wife, family, friends for months, X-mas, New Year, friend Jan gone, lady Constance back home, son Servé away, then your horse lost four or five times in a week, phone does not work, Gonnie and Niek away again, several times police intervention, for example, on New Year’s evening; some other evening arriving at the wrong abbey. But then again, there are many lovely people here, at home, via SMS, phone, blog reactions, especially sister in law Lilian who lately has been my guardian angel, helping me to find shelter for the night and thus the light will shine again. Horse and dog hear me whistling and singing again. Whether they are happy with me is the question.
And little by little our first afternoon shadows started following us, in the Chatelus Merceix, a tiny spot of a few hundred inhabitants. No shop, no bar, no wifi, but the delicious accompanying peace, a pasture for Leon and a garage for Tos. I have a room in a small bed-and-breakfast with in the same corridor two Frenchmen, who spend a few days here because of their work for the SNCF. So finally I hear the TV again. A lot about the attacks in Paris at Charly. Only real idiots do things like that. Then my kind of idiocy, walking, is much better, n’est ce pas? Anyway, so here no bar, no store to buy food for Tosca. But I still found a little package of dissolution soup, which I fortunately had forgotten, a hunk of stale bread, which was actually meant for horse Leon. This morning I ate an old package emergency meal of yesterday’s landlord Pascal, that he had gotten from an airline during a sudden halt. And so we get our tommies filled. This morning the Dutch horticulturist at Colette and Pascal’s had a bag of dog food in his car. Pascal gave me some of that. And thus we get around. Not always the biggest luxury but stale bread has no less nutritional value than fresh bread, so no complaining.
Having no companion, my thoughts are mainly busy with how to find the route, watching my scrap of paper on which I noted the place names, trying to evade dangerous stretches of road, can I release Tosca yes or no? Checking the route by GPS, what time is it, what is our pace, who will join me walking and when and where am I? When I will continue my trip after having been home for a week or so on holiday in March, should or shouldn’t I take those animals further along after having been home? Furthermore, I enjoy the natural environment, think of those who are dear to me and I think mainly associative because I always get distracted. Anyway, I now have more understanding for people living in constant uncertainty about whether they get to eat today or tomorrow, or whether they will have a roof over their heads next night. If such people steal, they are punished by the rich.
In the 1800s in England the poor were banished by the English aristocracy to Australia as punishment for swiping a piece of bread. Totally degrading. Now I have more understanding of problems in our times , especially street children , refugees, people in refugee camps. One great misery , insecurity , no future. And thus my thoughts move from one topic to the other . One of the things I teach is that kindness and cordiality are not expensive and are very grateful.
Now it is 9 am. in the evening. Animals have a good shelter here , I take a bath and lie in Morpheus ‘ (?) arms. Tomorrow to Marsac , very short route , but there are shops , undoubtedly somewhere wifi and then finally I’ll have time for those things . Unfortunately bad weather predicted. Who gives a damn. Voilà .

The lord of the castle? In the kitchen with Pascal and Colette