strannik, pathika, pilgrim – we are all sojourners on this earth
First day with the chariot – and it was raining. I worsened the situation by going out in the morning with only my raincoat and no umbrella, only to discover that the water-repellent finish that “sheds light rain and snow” must consider light rain a bare drizzle, as I was quickly soaked, and cold.
Continue reading “day 14 – apr 9 – Arras to Bapaume (Sapignies)”
Why Maastricht, you may be wondering? Maastricht is the closest town to Margraten, where the Netherlands American Cemetery is located. In 1945, after surviving the Battle of the Bulge, my mother’s older brother, George (and my father’s best friend), was killed by shrapnel. He had been billeted with a Belgian family who later communicated with my grandmother, and we always thought he had been buried in Belgium. But I was able to discover online that his grave was in fact in the Netherlands. I found this very strange until I discovered that the two military cemeteries, one on either side of the border, are only 20 minutes apart by car.
I had wanted to come here for some time and never had the opportunity. I considered that this detour was just that chance, and took it.
Continue reading “day 13 – apr 8 – maastricht and margraten and back to france (arras)”
Europe! You can get anywhere on the train. But of course that means you have to get to the train station.
Continue reading “days 9, 10, 11 and 12 (Apr 4,5,6,7) – to the netherlands!”
On Monday morning, as soon as the workshop opened, I called the company, Radical Design. They confirmed that I could have what I had begun calling “the chariot” shipped very quickly to France for 15 euro. As I did not want to wait longer in Guines, I had resolved to make one more walk with the pack and had made a reservation in a hotel for the next stage in the small town with a great name of Tournehem-sur-la-Hem. I gave the company that address and at 11:00, set out on my walk to Tournehem, not via the official route, which would have involved a fair amount of forests and hills, but with Google maps via the small country roads that were mostly flat.
Continue reading “days 6,7,8 (mon-wed apr 1-3) onward… and a Necessary Detour”
The next morning there was a lovely mist but it quickly changed to brilliant sun! I opened the curtains on the Place des Heros. I had already decided that it made no sense to make a huge L-shaped detour to walk to Wissant, over sand dunes! with this pack! Adding both an extra day and 30 extra kilometers. Yes, Sigeric had landed at WIssant, but that was the port then. Now it was Calais, so that was good enough for me. Plus the alternative route from Calais to Guines was along the canals, almost completely flat, and only about 12 km. That sounded great to me.
Continue reading “days 3, 4 and 5 – calais to guines (mar 29,30,31)”
When I woke up it was at first hard to imagine that I was going to do this all over again. But sleep is the great restorer and after a few minutes I decided I would not work first (as planned) but would get moving instead. The idea of being out in the country in the dark again was not appealing.
Continue reading “day 2 – march 28 – shepherdswell to dover”
i say we, well, because that’s what my mother used to say (adding, “in a cloud of dust”) and also because it’s me and my trusty navigatrix on komoot, the app i found at the last minute that can handle off-road paths and has voice navigation, which i was desperately seeking. to avoid having to consult my screen every few minutes. it worked well, although i often found myself, to my surprise, obeying her nasal, robot commands, “turn left now” with a verbal acquiescence, “ok, i will,” as if we were having a conversation.
if i had written this before i started, it would have been a long ramble. now it doesn’t make sense to rehash it all. but i will cite a few salient points.
I thought I might say a bit about how I got to this point. This pilgrimage did not leap into my head as a fully-grown idea. Over the course of several months or more, I had been reflecting on what direction my life should take since my husband of nearly forty years had died and my son, soon graduating from college, would be on the way to a life of his own.