We got up and out of the house by 8:00. Noel’s brother and sister-in-law came with us. It was fun having Patrick and Sabine with us.

We had planned on stopping after about 5 kms and then decided that was too short and there was a cafe at 10 kms. We have noticed on camino that kms/miles are different than what is often in the book. It was almost 14 kms before we stopped. And boy was it welcomed. And the little cafe was great.

On our way we saw a beautiful and very old church:Olv Van Stoepe. I’m still researching it but in 2022 it celebrated 600 years. We got some candles and lit them in the little capella on the grounds.

Our plans were to go straight to Sint Bavos or in Dutch Sint Baafs. But decided to come straight to the Ecohostel…it’s a boat and very comfortable. We rested a bit before Patrick and Sabine headed home and we headed to Sint Baafs to get a stamp for our credential, which we did!! Immediately afterwards we got caught in a thunderstorm and hail storm. Check out facebook for this video.

Then from there we headed by shuttle to the decathlon. My new raincoat absorbed water rather than repelling it. Noël and I had the same jacket his for men and mine for women. He had no problem with his jacket. Long story short I got a new jacket like his and they simply exchanged it. Very nice.

Again thank you for your comments, support and the contributions to our go fund me. If you have any questions about our journey and our camino please ask. I’ll be happy to write a blog post answering your questions.

A few more pics from the day:

Oh did say we found Sint Jakob’s/Saint James’ church.

We have been planning this trip for a long time. It’s hard to believe that it is here. And we have completed our first day of walking. we even got our first two stamps.

Leaving Ternuezen was difficult. We had two wonderful weeks staying with Lindsay and Mitchell and the pups. Everyone got up early to see us off. And Lindsay and Delilah and Jemma (the pups) walked us to the edge of town. Mitchell came and picked them up. There were tears yesterday and today.

We left at 8:00 in the morning and it was still dark until almost 9:00. I felt like it was 5 am. Our first stop was to be in Sluiskil but we arrived too early and the one cafe wasn’t open.

We went into a grocery and got some protein drinks to drink along the way. We sat for five minutes at a bus stop just to rest a bit. Then started off again for Sas van Gent. After 18 kms and three tries we finally found an open cafe. We need the rest.

We set out again to Zelzate to stay with Noël’s brother and sister-in-law. They are planning to walk to Gent with us tomorrow. They also were gracious enough to host family to come and say goodbye.

Thank you all for following us. If you feel inclined please contribute to our gofundme for cancer research. Follow us on Polarsteps and see exactly where we are. Continue to send encouraging words.

I’m well aware that for me life itself is an adventure and journey. I’m also aware not everyone feels this way. But I think I got my sense of adventure from my parents and particularly my mom.

My mom went back to school after 25 years and raising 4 children. When our church started a women’s softball league she played and was one of the best players. Just some examples.

She loved to travel and she and I were able to take a trip to New York City together.

She also taught me to live each day to the fullest and be grateful!

One other thing all the females in our family have enjoyed is laughter!! And laughing at the silliest things. My mom had already gone home last night but my sister and I got silly and laughed for 15 minutes. I miss laughing with my mom.

Life is an adventure and a journey. Enjoy!!

I did not sleep well at all. Jet lag is real. But Noël and I headed out for an early morning walk.

The sunrise was beautiful!!

And the Christmas decorations made us smile and laugh.

My sister and I played a game of rummy with our 96 year old mom. She can still get around but she is definitely slowing down. She used to be a competitive rummy player but now it’s a challenge.

It’s difficult watching the progression of age slowly diminish the thought processes and memories for my mom. And yet she still plays cards with us and lets us help her. And though she struggled with the game at the end with her score higher than both of ours (you want to lowest score) she declared “I won!” And laughed. We all did.

She still has her beautiful smile which shows off her dimples and sparkling eyes that draw you into her love. And I cherish this time I get to spend with her. I’m so fortunate to call her mom.