We had a really nice day. Not much to report…the weather was pleasant a bit brisk, we had one stop at a restaurant and another on the steps of a closed church, some muddy paths , and some road, no rain which was predicted, and the distance was surprisingly accurate.

Something I have noticed is Noël tends to get grumpy the last couple of kilometers. It doesn’t matter if it is a 28 km day or a 10 km day. He just gets a bit testy. Not at me! But at cars or the mud caking our shoes or the dogs that bark or the geese that honk.

Today I commented to him about it and he acknowledged that when we get to the last few kms he’s ready to be finished. After that something happened that made us say that’s something to celebrate!! To which we started singing, “celebrate good times, come on…” We might have even danced a bit. A truck drove by us and honked.

Noël’s mood changed. We just laughed and sang our way to our most amazing accommodations. It’s a restored chateau that the host’s father helped rebuild. So she named it after him, Le Chateau de Mon Pere, the Castle of My Father. This honors him and helps to keep his memory alive. There are photos of the restoration all around.

Oh and there is a moat!! And a beaver family living there. Just missed the photo!!

Hope you are well and having a great day. If you feel inclined please share to our gofundme for cancer research.

https://gofund.me/e25bbc66

It’s a very much needed rest day. After three days of mud trodding and no places to stop we are giving our bodies the rest they deserve.

On rest days I want to share some lessons that I/we are learning.

Initially we are learning to slow down. We had planned to walk between 14-22 kms a day. What we found was that if the map said 15 kms it would be at least 5-10 more. So we had to make a shift.

We started planning 10 kms days. Sometimes the days are 10 and sometimes they are more. A lot more. But it’s not 25-30.

Slowing down is a lesson we are learning. We are not in a hurry, i.e we don’t have to be anywhere before June. And 3000 kms/1846 miles can be done easily in that time. We are experiencing the days. And that is joy!!!

However pushing forward is a human doing not a human being. So we are learning to be more and do less. We hope this helps you as you journey forward.

Today was a similar day to the past few days. we got up had breakfast at our accommodation and then started off. We walked through forest and then road and the forest and then road. There was no place open to sit down and have a coffee or lunch. Only difference is today we saw two dead badgers, a dead cat and a dead bird. It was strange. We saw some beautiful sites which I’ll share some here and some on social media. But I want to share the end of the day.

We were getting pretty tired at the end of our walk. We had a great day, but 19 kms with no stops is just plain exhausting. We were happy to be in Sezanne because it was a bigger city and it showed several places open and three grocery stores. As we came into town we tried to find a cafe or restaurant that was open.

We found a pizza place that showed on google that it would be open until 10:30. As we came in the door we were told they were closed. There was a man standing there with a pizza box. I had to step back out and take a breath. Noël talked to them about walking 19 kms and nothing open. We are closed was the response as I came back in. I boldly walked up to the young man and said “then you need to update your site because google has you opened until 10:30 tonight”

We said okay thank you and started to walk out. A voice said would you like the rest of our pizza!? I turned and the man’s wife had joined him. We only ate half. “No thank you it’s okay.” They asked three more times and we said no thank you.

As we were walking out the door I said to Noël we should have accepted. That was very nice of them. They followed us out of the cafe and said they had seen us along the road. And then said the only thing open was McDonald’s. They once again offered us their pizza. Noël said it’s up to my wife. I walked over and thanked them profusely!! We walked away and I stopped….

I was overwhelmed. I just start crying and Noël wasn’t sure what was going on. It’s okay, he says. I know. I just remember how many times I have offered someone food and they refused and how it felt. And how generous it was for them to do so. They also spoke to me in English. lots of tears.

We saw a pharmacy sign lit up and so headed there, even though we knew it probably wouldn’t be open, hope springs eternal. It wasn’t open. So we started towards our accommodation even though we had heard nothing from the host. We past by some boys who greeted us with a bonjour. And then asked if they could have a piece of pizza. Noël responded we just got it ourselves from some friendly people, because the pizzeria was closing and wouldn’t serve us. At that point the boys offered us the bread they were eating. We said thank you it’s okay, we are pilgrims. They asked where are you going? We are in our way to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. The looks on their faces were utter astonished. And then Noel said we are traveling by foot. And then again their eyes popped. Noël told them we had been traveling since the Netherlands and we did 19 kms today, their amazement gave us courage. We were amazed that these boys, once they found out what we were doing were willing to share with us.

My learning: accept help. We feel fortunate that even in difficult situations we experience grace.

We started the day with Ramen specifically for the day ahead and it was essential. We started the day in beautiful but cold temps. And were immediately trudging up a hill covered in frost.

As we walked through the forest blanketed by fallen leaves of every color our hiking poles became those sticks that pick up trash. We soon found ourselves on a nice paved road that we thought was our path for 10 kms. Nope! Nope, Nope, NOPE!!! Into the forest and mud again. At first it was frozen, then slush, then just YUCK!!

Something we noticed were all sorts of tracks. Makes me wish I was a Boy Scout or I had paid more attention in Girl Scouts. Noël asked if one was a boar? No not big enough I said with confidence , 😧. I mentioned to him that one looked like a bear claw (not the donut) Noël assured me they’d be hibernating to which I replied unless they think it’s already spring with these warm temps 😬, you mean out for a snack?….so many tracks. Sadly we didn’t take a single picture, too busy staying upright.

About halfway through I thought to myself well in a few hours we will have taken a nice hot shower and maybe found some food. Noël and I both commented that when we got out of this we were sticking to the paved roads the rest of today.

Well, we didn’t. We thought we were going to be on little roads but nope, back though fields and forest and mud. This time it was sticky, clay mud that keeps building up on your soles and heels so it makes you feel like you are wearing high heels slogging through the mud. 👠 I did mention that going through the fields would make us stronger!!

We finally made it back on the main road and I said that’s it. Noël mentioned a couple of shorter routes through fields. I kept walking. 😂😂😂

We made it to our accommodation but before that we walked by a champagne vigneron, someone who makes and sells champagne. We rang the bell because it said it was open, another woman walked up as well. But no answer. As we walked away he called from the second floor window. We walked back and two other customers walked up. When he opened the door the two that showed up last started in and the man said, “no they rang first, they will be served first!” (In French). He also said if we couldn’t get in to our accommodation that we could bring our bags and leave them with him and walk around. (Super nice but I was done walking!! 😂😂😂

Noël did clean our shoes again.

One of the things I notice about the hard days is that when you are finished you feel pooped and accomplished!! It’s a good feeling.

Hope you are well. Thank you for following!!