Today we started a bit late due to the weather (again). All in all it wasn’t a bad weather day. Some rain and a bit of wind and slightly gray but not bad really. Here is the view from our window.

We had a better day today until we got to kilometer 11 expecting a cafe ( which said it was open) only to find it was closed. The next possible cafe was 8 kms away. We walked out and immediately Noël started having pains in his hip. We stopped a few times at benches, bus stops just for five minutes to give the body a rest. To be fair my feet were hurting and my Achilles tendon was protesting.

After walking some ways Noël comments that the pain in his hip seems to have come from his mind and the disappointment of not being able to sit at the cafe. The mind can be a powerful influence on how the body is feeling.

We finally found a cafe open it was packed when we walked in and like always we became the center of attention with all our rain gear and packs and walking sticks. It was so loud but one of the locals engaged us in conversation. The owner looked a bit overwhelmed and Noël commented “miss grumpy”. But when she came to our table and asked what we would like Noël asked if she preferred Dutch or French? French she said quickly with a smile.

He conversed with her in French and with the locals in Dutch. The locals looked a bit world weary. But they were very interested in our journey even sharing experiences of their own. As we left one of the locals shouted “Madame!” Which caught my attention and I turned around to see him offering me a fist bump. 😌

Noël commented as we left first impressions are not always right.

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