Paco On Tour

Day 8: Philippeville - Oloy-sur-Viroin

Very good sleep in a nice bed… always grateful for that. The landscape keeps on evolving into much more remote settings, larger forests, fewer houses, more rivers, more pasture grounds than cultivated fields… Overcast all day, although no rain until the last half hour. Gets cold when I stop for more than 10 minutes but it is OK whilst I am walking. Reached Dourbes (my initial objective for the day) at around 13:30 had one last steep hill to climb (and is was noticeably steep) before coming to the next valley where Olloy is. Lots of mud through the fields and the boots have stopped looking new now :-)
The compass Mike gave me is turning out to be very useful indeed, especially these days the sun was nowhere to be seen. It helps deciding the direction to take at doubtful moments and it is always reassuring to see that I'm headed south or southwest most of the time. I keep on thinking it gets me closer to spring quicker :-) although I do not for a moment regret setting out at the end of winter, it will make the approach of spring all the more welcome and remarkable.
It started pouring down as I came into Olloy - nice dramatic entrance, but without much importance since I knew I would be staying here. Once again Providence was by my side and I just caught the person responsible for a large youth-hostel leaving the building but not before I convinced her to let a poor wet pilgrim (that would be me) spend a single night at the empty building, and what is more I asked about an internet connection, and here I am at the office of the establishment making the most of it ! Although a simple slow modem once again, so now chance of uploading photos. Will do so as soon as I get the chance. It feels a little strange to have a whole building set up for 70 plus people all to myself, everything seems over-dimensioned. But I'm glad I've got a warm sleeping bag, the heating went off at 18:30 and it has been getting steadily colder… Anyway, I'll get the stamp of the place on my Credencial and I'm right on the path for tomorrow.
Today was the last whole day in Belgium, tomorrow I cross the border and I feel the test/preperation period is pretty much over. My body has got pretty much to the rucksack and my legs don't get too tired after 5-6 hours walking, so tomorrow the real thing starts (again!) :-) Next stop will be Rocroi, a (in)famous battleground for the Spanish and French where the Spaniards were essentially kicked out of the area after a couple of centuries presence… I'm no expert, but we'll see what there is left of all that. In any case going into France is already a small victory for me…

Thanks to all of you for your support and comments, keep them coming in and sorry if I can't reply to all of you directly ! Oh, one last thing I've decided to spend the night at Reims (a large city on the way) so my planned itinerary has changed somewhat. I've updated the table down at the beginning (find it here) I'm planning to arrive to Reims on Saturday so if any of you want to make a day out of it I would love to meet you for lunch/tea/dinner :-)

Day 7: Walcourt - Philippeville

Left Walcourt just before 9:00 with a cloudy sky, although the sun was trying to come through at times. No rain which was the main thing. Fewer and fewer villages now, fields and forests.
Puse los pasodobles que llevaba en el iPod y me recordaron a la abuela, los veranos en Valencia, las Fallas, en fin, muchos recuerdos, además eran buena música para seguir mientras andaba. No los puse todo el camino, pero fueron fuente de recuerdos.
Arrived at Phillipeville in good order, the town was apparently built by the Emperor Charles V (known as Charles I in Spain) who was actually born and brought up in Ghent ! Phillipeville is in fact named after his son Phillip II although little remains from his time. Too many wars and battles in this area for that, the church maybe - probably rebuilt. Didn't find the Chambre d'Hôte I was given in Walcourt and ended up spending the night in a hotel, a little over-budget but the only thing available, so not much choice really.
Made my way to a little library with a semi-private internet connection which I used as long as I thought permissible. No photos uploaded, that will only really be realistic with a fast connection. Watched England get beaten by Ireland in the Six Nations - relatively good match with a great Irish try. Dinner and to bed. Too cold to investigate the town anyway.

Day 6: Abbaye d'Aulne - Walcourt

Awake by 6:30 and on the road by 8:30, which was good. An overcast day at the very beginning although not raining, just yet - that was about to change. Off to a good start since I was directly on the path, but it was quite a bit colder without the sun and it started raining intermittantly by 9:30 and got steadily worse as the day continued. I stopped at Ham-sur-Heure, originally the place I was going to spend the night at tonight, and had some lunch - a sandwich and a yoghurt on the steps of the church - glad I wasn't staying here. It is nice enough but difficult to find a place to sleep.
I got quite cold eating outside and the temperature just seemed to drop a couple of degrees more. The rain got worse and my semi-water proof trousers were starting to get quite wet. Time to get the full equipment one. Gore-tex trouser covers and gloves with impermeable gloves on top. Feeling wam and glad I got the equipment, but I was crossing quite a few woods with muddy paths today, and pretty much got my lower trousers (both!) and my boots certainly, completely covered in the stuff.
A good walk today at close to 25 km, took me around 6 hours. Walcourt is an old town on top of a hill overseeing the valley, with an impressive Gothic church and central square. I got into tow and went off in search of my stamp. Found the priest who was quite welcoming and finally got a nice stamp from a church. He indicated a cosy Chembre d'Hôte just on the Grand Place towards which I headed straight away. I got a nice little room in the attic of an old home overlooking the church and the main sqaure.
Took a few photos along the way these days but I'm going to have to upload them another day - only a modem here and they are getting a little impatient with me around - I told them I wanted to check my site and mail, and I've already been here over an hour typing away :-)

Cuando llegue a mi habitación encendí el movil y tenia dos mensajes de mis hermanas diciendome que mi abuela Enriqueta había muerto esta mañana y que el entierro sería al dia siguiente. No me pilló demasiado por sorpresa ya que había estado mal desde antes de Navidad y sólo estaba empeorando, pero de todas maneras me afectó bastante y estaba naturalmente triste. Hace poco más de tres años estaban mis dos abuelos españoles contentos, dentro de lo que cabe, con muchas historias que contar y experiencias que compartir. Hoy ya no está ninguno de los dos. En fin, una verdadera perdida para mi y toda la familia.

No podré asistir al entierro, espero que lo entiendan, práticamente imposible llegar mañana a la hora de comer a Alicante… Hablaré mañana con todos.

Day 5: Chappelle lez Herlaimont - Abbaye d'Aulne

Woke up at 7:30 today after an early bedtime last night. Had breakfast with the family, made a couple of small sandwiches for the way - which would come in very handy - and set off just before 9:00
No more lovely sunshine today. A grey and covered sky in the morning rather in keeping with much of the post-industrial area I would be going through today. Not a criticism but obviously a part of the Belgian landscape, like any others. Not unlike similar previously coal-producing areas in the UK in fact, in need of renovation and new activity.
Once again, the pack was not really heavy the first couple of hours but later becoming noticeable. I keep on thinking of what can come out, but whilst I could send some things away (like the camera, the iPod, etc) they are the little luxeries (spelling ??) that do make a difference. Whatever. Today the hills started to kick in a little bit more, and I noticed that I needed to strech more and maintain a better up-right walking position, both of which I did.I decided the previous day to move on to a further town that I had initially planned for. I would aim for the Abbey d'Aulne, on the canal, although unsure whether there would be anywhere I could spend the night, nor if there was anyone at the Abbey itself, since it is largely in ruins (which turned out to be quite true).
Passed an old castle on the way to to Leernes - originally from the time of the Crusades. After which I had to deal with a more than narrow part of the path where a farmer had decided to take part of the land of the path for himself and left a godd solid barbed wire all along his fence... I couldn't fit very well and at the very end of the narrow stretch slightly ripped my rain jacket (which had been rather expensive) a litttle distressing for about 10 min after which I thought of all the things that could really go wrong and how insignificant a little rip in my jacket (whatever its price) really is.
During the last hour of the walk, just before reaching the Abbey, I did start to worry a little more about if I would find a place to sleep or not... to my great delight as I was coming down the hill to the canal by which the Abbey was I saw a nice sign of a Hotel just on the waterfront. So that was my night solved. Providence - or whatever you may want to call it - saving the day once again. No idea why this esteblishment was not indicated in my guide, but at this point it didn't really matter.
Had a good shower after the long walk and went out to get my stamp, which I did at na Hospice just by the Abbey, and have a look around, although not for very long since the temperature was just above freezing and it looked like it would rain a little.
Tried out the 'blonde' and 'brune' beers of the Abbey, which were quite good (ADA is the make, in case you were wondering) and a plentiful dinner, although the quality could have been a bit better... The place is clearly more of a summer resort than visited in the beginning of March, but it was fine by me :-) Got to bed quite early again (some kind of rythm emerging now) after seeing a little of the news on the TV (in the room of the hotel of course... what luxury :-) Ready for another cold and longish day tomorrow.

Day 4: Feluy - Chappelle lez Herlaimont

Just a quick word to say how very difficult it has been to find aplace to connect to the internet !! I am more than lucky to have found a little library in Phillipeville that opens on a Saturday afternoon... not quite sure how long they will let me stay!
Anyway, to day 4... Left Feluy at around 10:00ish after a delicious dinner and copious amounts of wine which made me sleep all the much the better. It was a late start by what should be normal standards but the sun was blazing in the sky again and me taking off my rain jacket after about 30 min walking because I felt warm quite quickly. The path led me pretty much towards Charleroi along the canal linking this old industrial / mining city with Brussels. I still haven't mastered the art of following the paths signs and got lost a couple of times, doing probably 3 km extra and crossing muddy fields. My body is starting to get more used to the effort, and the first couple of hours are fine, do get a little more tired afterwards though. Still keeping an eye on the two semi-blisters which try to emerge/develop on each of my feet.
The last couple of hours - 15:00 to 16:30 or so - were getting to be a bit too much I went to the city centre of Chappelle lez Herlaimont - essentially a outer suburb of Charleroi - towards the church in order to get my stamp. I hadn't had any lunch at this point and was feeling quite hungry. To my surprise there was a couple just sitting outside a small side door of the church eating some sandwiches, the girl mumbled something to her boyfriend in what seemed to be Spanish and I asked her if it was. Incredibly she turned out to be from Valladolid and had recognized me as a pilgrim to Santiago! She had come over to see her boyfriend from Lille and had taken a Ryanair flight to Charleroi and they had stopped on route to eat some (late Spanish) lunch. They offered me some bread and cheese together with a banana. Talk about providence !! The priest was also at home and he offered me a drink and we chatted a bit whilst he signed my Credencial for the day - no stamp this time either unfortunately.
I eventually made it to Fabienne's (the new Belgian host) at around 17:00. The area is all a little grey in this part of the country with quite a few older industrial sites and large mounds of refuse from the coal mines - ejected earth and the like. The people on the street were particularly less welcoming than in the smaller villages, but I supposed it is to be expected from suburbs near larger towns... anyway, I would lie if I didn't admit I was wanting to get back to proper nature again. Today I also took out my iPod for a bit of musical company along the route. Attempted to start out with some Bramhs and Schubert but after a while switched to good old Eric Clapton to keep me company on the way, and that was surprisingly (maybe) prety cheerful.
Had a quick dinner with Fabienne and her family and was pretty knackerd out by 21:45, in any case there was a long programme on TV about the Detroux afair here in Belgium (trial coming up) which was very depressing and being just in the Charleroi area as well, not terribly inspiring. Anyway, had a good night sleep this time in my sleeping bag - took it out to test its warmth qualities and it passed with flying colours...

Day 3: Ittre - Feluy

Another great day weather-wise. Sun shining all day, most of the walk along old canals, fields and small forests. Set off after a great breakfast at around 9:45, so taking it pretty easy. Warmer than I thought it would be. The first two days of excitiment/novelty are giving in to a little more tiredness and fatigue. Pretty normal but it meant I was looking forward to a relatively calm walk over not too long a distance. took a few photos on the way, but not that many, there is so much fields and canal photos one can take :-)

Got to Feluy which is actually part of the larger Seneffe commune just before 14:00. I stopped a couple of times along the way today, unlike yesterday, and had bought a good piece of chocolate which came in handy at midday...

Saerching for my daily stamp turned out to be a bit of an adventure, there is a large 18th century church here in Feluy but the priest lives miles away, so I finally got his second in charge to sign my 'Credencial' although no pretty stamp was available. I'll try tomorrow... I had thought about poping into the large building of the Notaire here in the village but thought he might charge me a hefty charge for the privilege.
Only one cafe in the village square and I managed to get some meatballs with tomato at a Spanish time... not delicious too. Doubt there was much real meat... Hopefully further south it will be better. Nevertheless met the typical village characters at the bar, all very characteristic in their own way. Life in the village is certainly colourful sometimes.

Came along to Alexandre and Caroline's home at around 16:00, situated in a lovely spot in the centre of the village near the canal, so really on my way. They were even so kind enough to call friends of theirs that live at my next stop tomorrow to see if they could put me up, which they will ! At this rate Belgian hospitality is going to become something of a grandoise thing for me. From friend to friend, and all thanks to Isabellle and her parents on the first day.... Couldn't have began better.

Looking forward I am know focusing on Rocroi, the first village in France (in about five days). By the time I get there I should be pretty much used to the walking and the rucksac and all and focus a little more on other things. After that Vezelay will be the next target, with Le Puy en Velay far in the distance. Santiago is littel more than amirage at this point... I'll be going through Reims and Auxerre in the next month, but I'll write more about it when they are nearer. Looking around internet connection is probably going to be quite a bit harder than I imagined, up to know I've been satying with people who have a connection at home, but as soon as the gites and hostels become more common the daily update might become a little of an utopia. In any case I've posted nex fotos on yesterdays link (see the end of yesterday's entry).

I'd be happy to hear any comments you have on yesterdays experiment of mixing a paragraph in English with one in Spanish. I'm trying to keep some balance, maybe full entries in one language or another might be an option. Translating the same entry is really too long and impractical... Take care.

Day 2: Alsemberg - Ittre

Well 2 down, 111 to go :-) First day walking alone. Had the best send off possible from Isabelle's parents, great breakfast in a magnificent house and just along my route. Isabelle gave me forward instructions to get to her childhood friends who just live outside Ittre - again hospitality from day 2 - amazing, and me thinking I would be sleeping all alone in dark damp hostels which might even be closed ! Set off in (another!) clear and crispy morning, sun out from the first minute, chilly but it is suprising how quickly the body can warm out when it is out for a walk... I could notice the lighter pack from almost the first step. Thank goodness Arne and Agatha took away those almost three kg of 'extra' stuff I had for som reason deemed indispensible - like that third T-shirt or fifth pair of shoes, or CDs with programs for the camera and the iPod, even the sleeping matt went - a good 450 g got rid of, and let me tell you, at the end of a long day with over 14 kg on your back, 450 g is like a lady's full shopping bag at the end of a sales day - no offence, but you get the picture.

En fin, que me puse a andar y la verdad es que el camino era muy bonito, a solo 25-30 km de Bruselas y cualquiera diría que más bin 250 km. Un lago, un bosque, colinas, nieve por todas partes llegue sin problema a Braine-le -Château a eso de las 12:30. justo entrando al pueblo y en frente de un molino de agua, me encuentro con una chica (hasta entonces las otras tres persona que habia visto eran mas bien mayores paseando sus perritos) que me saco una foto (menos mal porque las que me saco yo solo son horribles) y resulta que era colombiana de Bogotá, i mean what are the chances of that! nos saludamos y yo seguí mi camino, sin darme cuante que no llevaba nada de comida y en poco más de media hora me iba a entrar una mini-pajara... anda que lo que me falta por aprender ! pasé mi primera ermita de verdad, comme il faut, en un bosque solitario... Bueno,no completamente solitario - un poco más abajo en el valle (a unos 500 m de mi) escuchaba un caballero cantar arias a pleni pulmón (en francés) con buena voz, pero un pelin raro un lunes por la mañana a 3 grados - en fin gente para todo, y después dicen de los peregrinos !

I got to Ittre, my final destination just before 14:00. The terrain is starting to be more hilly, went through a open field just before entering the village with almost no path, obviously some parts are more popular than others... Was absolutely starving when I got in and sat down in a good brasserie at 14:15 (more like a Spanish eating time) and had a good piece of meat and a couple of beers, after which I felt almost new. Went to the (lovely) church at Ittre in search of my daily stamp but found the priest neither there nor at his office... too bad, managed to pop into the Maison Communale and get a stamp from there. Mission accomplished ! Also went to a small supermarket to charge up on food so I didn't get the same 'masssive hunger experience' in the future !

A las 15:30 salí de Ittre - que entre otras cosas, dice mi guia es el centro geográfico de Bélgica - de camino a la casa de Nathalie y Patrick, amigos de Isabelle. Pensando que su casa estaba más lejos en el mapa que tenía y haciendome un poco el listo cogiendo lo que yo creía era un atajo acabé tres km en la dirección contraria. Para entonces habia puesto un poco de música en la iPod, tampoco me voy a habituar pero como en realidad ya había terminado de andar (oficialmente) pues pensé que me pondría de buen humor. Los últimos tres km de retorno, caminando de nuevo loque ya había hecho (por equivocación) no me pusieron de buen humor. Y las semi-ampollas del dia anterior tampoco estban mejorando con el recorrido '2 al precio de 1' en fin, di gracias cuando finalmente llegué a la casa de Patrick y Nathalie, que es - como ayer, una delicia.

With a warm shower, clean clothes on and some water I felt like new (again!) and enjoyed chatting to both Patrick and Nathalie about my plans for the trip, their activities (Patrick is pretty much continuing to build the house inside single handed - and it looks great and with many personal touches) Dinner was brilliant with a couple of their friends fromjust down the road (my objective for tomorrow) and almost as soon as they came in they were arranging for a place for me to stay tomorrow night and gave me the name and address immediately, so thanks to the great hospitality i am finding that will effectively be my third night of great welcome ! never thought i would be so lucky. They also suggested a quicker and just as pictoresque route for tomorrow which will save me between 8-10 km to get to where I want, which my feet will certainly be grateful for.

At the end of the evening i managed to reply to most of the e-mails i received during the day (loads in response to my final partinf message) and write this entry, although it is 12:40 and I am really looking forward to a good night's sleep ! On the other hand I'm not quite sure when my next entry will be. Ittre, which is a medium size town does not have any internet cafe and this may be more common alog the way than I realized... in any case for know here is a link to the photos taken yesterday and today.

Today's and yesterdays PHOTOS click here

Day 1: BXL - Alsemberg

Sali !! Ya estoy en el Camino, primera etapa realizada - la semana pasada fué de infarto - no tuve ni un momento para escribir una entrada aqui en blog, me levantaba a las 7:00 de la mañana y tenía que pensar en todas las cosas que hacer para cada día y parecía que nunca había suficiente tiempo... y mi intención de escribir cada día evidentemente fue por la borda en cuanto la quería hacer ! En fin, después de haber llegado in extremis a sacar todas las cosas de la casa para que el nuevo inquilino pudiera entrara más o menos bien, entregar el coche vendido el jueves por la mañana, organizar el seguro para la vuelta al mundo, despedirme con mucha tristeza de Laurence el sábado (ayer) y mil cosas más conseguí meterme en mi saco de dormir en casa a las 2:30 de la madrugada de hoy y despertarme a las 7:00 (otra vez !) para ir a ver a los amigos con los que había quedado para el desayuno de partida en el Pain Quotidienne de la rue de Tongres !

Estaban diez amigos y amigas - genial la verdad, desayunamos a gusto el sol empezó a salir y aunque no hacía más de tres grados y todavía se veia la nieve que había caido en dias anteriores cre que todos teniamos ganas de salir - yo desde luego. Pude conseguir una firma (aunque no el sello - no tenian) en la Iglesia al lado de casa para mi Credencial de Peregrino (a ver si en Santiago no se van a creer que salí el 29 de febrero desde mi casita en Bruselas !). El caso que cuando nos pusimos a andar Agatha, Arne, Oliver y yo ya eran casi las 11:00 de la mañana, y yo que quería haber empezado no después de las 9:30.... bajamos al parque de Tervuren, enlazamos con el Foret de Soignes y después de cruzar la Ch de Waterloo y una horita y media de más caminar llegamos a Alsemberg. A eso de las 16:30 - al final casi cinco horas andando. La mochila pesaba una barbaridad... mucho más de lo que pensaba - me dolían los hombros ya a medio camino y las piernas y rodillas tampoco lo agradecian.

Por otra parte el paisaje la mayor parte del tiempo fue magnifico, sol, cielo azul, nieve por los bosques. Pintoresco. Alguna foto hicimos...

Llegamos a la casa de los padres de Isabelle (una amiga del trabajo desde donde escribo ahora) y nos dieron de comer genial, nos tratarón realmente bien. Una delicia después del primer día de andar. Justo antes pude conseguir (con la ayuda inestimable del holandés de Arne) un sello en la Iglesia de Alsemberg - esta vez sello de verdad... menos mal :-) Hemos estado hablando de todo y de nada - se fueron Oliver e Isabelle con su familia y despues Agatha y Arne y me quedé charlando y cenando con los padres de Isabelle. En fin, super-listo para una noche de reposo total. Hoy si que duermo más de cuatro horas, por la cuenta que me trae !

Sorry for writing all in Spanish but I did want to thank all of you from here that have given me so much support, help and energy to get this ball finally rolling - you a all too numerous to list here but be sure that I keep you in my mind and thank you very sincerely. It has been incredible having so much help all along the 'pre-departure' period. I'm really sorry if I haven't been able to get back to you or contact you in the last week, but I promise it was incredibly more hectic than I would have ever have imagined.... I will do my best to get back to you all personally during the next few days.