Today was no highday....
It started with packing a soaking wet tent. Trying to carefully untie the inner tent so that not too much condensation drips down from the outer tent, trying to rub the outer tent a bit dry on the inside and outside ... Fortunately, it stopped raining so I could pack everything slightly damp .
A little after ten I was on my way, via a forest road. After about four kilometres, however, the top of my left foot hurts When unrolling. Therefore, I decided to take the shortest possible route to Habay-La-Neuve to take. That was via a county road, not cool for walking, but fortunately not a busy one.
Other than a packet of biscuits, I had nothing left to eat. At an eatery in Habay-le-Vieux I wanted to get something to eat, but it was a little after 2pm and the kitchen was irrevocably closed. Even a sandwich was out of the question. So I had a drink and massaged the aching foot a bit, which eased the pain afterwards.
At Habay-la-neuve I first went to Carrefour. I suddenly needed to go to the toilet rather urgently and asked if that was possible. Absolutely impossible because of Covid. And no café in the vicinity, the shop manager himself indicated. They apparently prefer you to have the on the spot in your trousers does... I didn't, luckily there were plenty of boskes behind the car park. I thought toilet visits were not actually allowed to be refused....
Meanwhile, it was four hours passed and stomachs began to rattle in earnest. All nearby eateries were still closed until six o'clock. The tourist office was open and I asked if there was anything to eat in Habay-La-Neuve. No, but I could order from the Pizzeria from 5pm. I was given the phone number.
So I first walked two kilometres further to Marc's garden and would have a pizza ordered there. I call the pizzeria, order a pizza... Désolé, pizzas can only be collected... Luckily, I had bought a loaf of bread in Carrefour and still had a tin of mackerel filé.
The only bright spot Today: at Marc have I all comforts. There is a sitting area behind his house with seat, sink with hot water and toilet....
And I am not alone there. The house rabbit visits regularly.
Forest beyond Habay-la-Neuve
A little after nine, I left in the direction of Martelange/Radelange.
First back to the toilet-free Carrefour to stock up on provisions. I also carried quite a lot of water because there was no opportunity to replenish along the way and so walked heavily loaded, but the left foot did not protest.
For the first 10 km I followed the path beside the little river Rulle. Just outside Habay-La-Neuve, which forms a nice reservoir. Around it, the path was busy walking and cycling. Many runners also passed me. When I see them walking with light steps, I actually get mega-anxiety to go walking too instead of trudging through these woods with heavy backpacks....
After the reservoir, I met two cyclists and one hiker: a thirty-something from Leuven who had come down here for the day to do a 20-km walk. In the beautiful Heverleebos in Leuven, it's walking over the heads on Sundays. My hike inspired him; he gladly accepted the flyer.
The second half of the tour ran through the Vallée de la Rulle' nature reserve. It was very rewarding, with alternating forests and clearings and no more steep climbs. I made only 260 altimeters in total. Except for the occasional plane, absolute silence, just some cricket chirping on grassy patches and the occasional bird. Definitely recommended for hiking enthusiasts. I took a lot of forest photos.
This morning I had phoned the campsite in Radelange to enquire if they gave food in the tavern, but the campsite closes for the season on Monday. So I could only stay there for one night. Since the foot was holding up well and I would like to take a day's rest on Monday, I walked to Beau Rivage campsite in the next village, Wisembach.
There I received a very warm welcome. And my meagre meals of the previous days were more than made up for by a delicious Spanish omelette with fresh greens.
Camping Beau Rivage Wisembach
When I arrived here yesterday, it quickly became apparent that the neighbouring villages no grocers to be found.
Until Tuesday evening (hopefully arrival in Bastogne), I can't pull it off with my stash from Habay-La-Neuve.
Petra from the campsite will drive to Arlon to do some shopping and was willing to bring something for me. Since today Monday is a rest day for me, I don't have much to do and asked if I could ride along. That was absolutely no problem.
On the way, we drove through Martelange, the municipality where the western side of the carriageway is Belgian territory, and the eastern side is Luxembourg territory.
What transpired: In Belgium there are row houses, in Luxembourg almost exclusively cheap petrol stations, one after the other. And they all have good to do. Tank tourism On the border. United Europe? Not exactly a picturesque village, Martelange...
I hope that operators prepare in time for the 'modal shift' that is hopefully coming (moving away from fossil fuels and switching to a more ecological transport system than mainly cars in private use).
Martelange
It was a grey morning, but thanks to an overnight breeze, my tent had stayed dry. That made packing a lot easier.
The first 7 km of the walk were via a Ravel over an old tram bed. Pretty monotonous but good to pick up some pace as it was a long trek up to Bastogne. The info panels in every village across the history of trams broke through the monotony. For instance, there was a sad story of an old farmer who was crushed to death when he went to inspect his cattle in the morning because he was deaf and had not heard the tram coming around the bend. The conductor and local community were heartbroken....
Afterwards, the GR151 upwards through a mainly rural area with wide vistas, but also a very fresh wind. It did not get warmer than 13° today. For the first time, I put on the hood of my windstopper vest to protect my ears from the wind. During the heatwave barely a fortnight ago, it was sometimes 3x warmer.
Then I had to cross a grass path right next to the motorway with traffic racing by. To finish a little calmer, I followed a second long Ravel to near the garden of Julien, the Welcome to my Garden host family In whose garden I camped.
On Tuesday, I received bad news From my neighbour. A terminally ill girlfriend who had moved into my flat since I left because of something more comfortable than hers, was told by her doctor that she was out of treatment is.
In Bastogne, I let this hard news sink in for a night. I am one of her two confidants and decided that I should be there for her at this stage of her life.
I got my step march for Street Nurses ASBL thus interrupted. If my personal and the Covid situation permits next spring, I plan to finish the remaining Bastogne-Antwerp section when the campsites reopen for the new season. The total mileage Antwerp - Bastogne in counterclockwise direction was 756 km.
16 September: Opening the door at Diamondway Buddhist Centre in Tallinn The centre's meditation sessions are open
