Last night’s sleep was okay not great not bad. Our accommodation was nice but there was a smoker downstairs and it wafted into our room. We ordered food and it was meh. But okay. I mean we are pilgrims. We aren’t in this for luxury. 😂

The weather. It got colder. But there was no rain. My weather app again said to try to move activity indoors 😂. We stopped into every church we passed by that was open. After 8 kms the only thing open was a Burger King which we had to ourselves. And well it was delicious and here is the king!! 🤴😂

Our next stop brought us to a cafe where they were celebrating someone’s birthday. We were welcomed in and made part of the party. Although once they found out what we were doing we became the focus of attention. It was fun. Even got a photo with the owner.

We made our way to an Intermarche a large grocery store and got provisions for the night because our accommodation is out far enough that we cannot get dinner easily. So soup and bread tonight. Food good for the soul.

One last stop to rest before making it the last 4,5 kms, nice little cafe. it was next to a pond that had a swan with ducks so I think we found the ugly duckling. 🐥 🦢😂

Okay our last 4,3 kms was slogging through the mud. We met two men on the path who immediately asked if we were on our way to Santiago de Compostela? And had a fun and lively conversation with them.

Our accommodation is again nice. And we are settled for the night.

Oh wow. I forgot to mention that we found our next camino signs. Noël said this morning I wonder when we will see our first Camino sign. I said we saw one in Gent. And then we saw two today!

We are on the Way!! ❤️

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.

Today has been rough. Neither one of us slept well last night. The wind and rain were relentless. We had planned to set out earlier today fearing we had farther to go than expected (it happens a lot). We decided to wait a little bit because a deluge was happening and even my Weather Bug app said “dangerous avoid outdoor activities change them to indoor activities!”😵‍💫

We still started out a little early in the dark and rain. And decided to we were going to need to take a detour due to flooding. The advantage is that the detour took us through more civilization, so more cafes to stop and rest. Unfortunately most cafes were closed only to open two hours after we passed through. Oh well.

We found fatigue and pains in feet, knees, hips, lower back, oh just everywhere were really challenging us more today. Maybe even the cold, damp and rain contributed also.

After 10 kms we finally found a small cafe open. Welcome relief and the radiators helped to dry some wet things. Another 4 kms we found a place to eat. It was sooooooo busy but it’s the only thing open within 10 kms for food. It was another good stop.

A good friend of mine says that pain is weakness leaving the body. Today Noël commented that the pains we are feeling make sure we know we are alive. I said, “well I couldn’t be more alive than and I’m definitely getting stronger!!”

It was another 8 kms and I was about to give up. But we found another cafe open. As we entered there were two customers and the owner sitting inside. “They welcomed us with smiles and welcome travelers!” Really nice. Then they started asking about our trip. Noël shared what we are doing. Suddenly there were more stories of travelers to Santiago de Compostela. It was again a perfect stop.

I had some revived energy, as did Noël and we found our accommodation, which is the old parish house of the church. We have an entire apartment to ourselves. We decided to get groceries and eat in tonight rather than go out to dinner. We are in our cozy accommodation.

After several days of longer walking with no rest and the fact that we are walking day in and day out has taken its toll. But we are learning as we go and will adjust, adapt and keep going!!

We hope that you are well!! Thank you again for checking in on us and supporting us!!

We started out walking through the beautiful city of Gent. It was supposed to be a fairly easy day of 19 kms from Gent to Gavere. Only it ended up being nearly 25 kms. Not sure but ach wel!!!

We had four amazing encounters today and that’s what I want to share. But first I want to say that our first two days brought curiosity. On each day one person asked us where we were going? It’s fun watching the expressions of people when they find out what we are doing.

So first encounter was in a cafe filled with locals where we got a coffee to warm us. As we were getting ready to leave putting on our coats and backpacks the questions started. And the remarks and facial expressions were priceless. Some jealousy, some you guys are crazy which is what we usually get.

The next encounter was a man in a truck delivering trees. He stopped and asked where we were headed. Noël always says our next stop first and then adds Santiago de Compostela ultimately. Again the reactions are priceless. But this time the man said he walked to Santiago two years ago. And he is in charge of marking the path here in this part of Belgium. Then he warned about the localized flooding and reluctantly asked if we wanted a ride for 500 meters. Nope. Thank you. And he said I understand I would be the same. Then wished us a buen camino.

The next two were in a church yard. As we entered a man asked where we were going. Standard answer from Noël. The man said he walked the northern route. And his brother walked from Seville to Santiago. We had a nice chat about camino experiences.

Then we went into the church but it has been turned into a gallery with much of the church in tact. Beautiful. Afterwards we went outside to sit for a minute in a park bench where a local came up and chatted with us about our adventure. Literally so much fun.

We made it to our accommodation with a lovely place to stay and a very lovely host.

Again thank you for supporting our endeavors!! And help us support cancer awareness!!