Diary of the GR5 Walk in 1999

A Dutch breakfast, in my opinion, is as good as breakfast gets in Europe and this breakfast is good even by Dutch standards. Or am I just hungry? Anyway, this one is self-service with choices of four fruit juices, four sliced meats, three cheese, boiled eggs, cereal, fruit salads and various breads plus tea or coffee. This is a good start for my second day of walking.

However, it is raining and I am still sore from the effort of the previous day. The chaffing has recovered a little thanks to my small bottle of baby lotion. But the blisters are sore.

Today, I intended to cover 16.5 km from Brielle to Rockanje. This should be a breeze, but in my present condition, it seems more like 50 km. So I opt for a change in plan. Today, only 11 km to Oostvorne, then 19 km tomorrow will get me to Goedereede. This should allow some time for the blisters and chaffing to heal.

Today, the wind is ferocious. For the most part, I am walking either directly into it or at right angles to it. It catches my backpack and attempts to blow me across the path. It is quiet and peaceful now, perhaps even a little lonely since I realise that I will be walking by myself from now until the end of the walk.

The track now passes through large caravan parks. But unlike the temporary ones I am used to seeing, these are more like houses with their gardens, flowers, hedges and neat little paths leading to the front door. It seems like there are thousands of them. I pass the GR5 branch that comes in from Europort.

At 2:30 pm, I reach the Hotel van Marion that is just off the front of the beach. It charges 105 Hfl per night that seems rather expensive. When I suggest that I may walk a little further towards the center of Oostvorne where, according to my topo-gid , there are three more hotels which may be cheaper. The clerk then offers me the room with shower and toilet for 95 Hfl. Since, I am tired and sore, I accept, looking forward to the reward of a hot shower and rest until 7 pm. Later on when I walk in search of food, I discover, not 500m down the road there is a hotel with rooms for 55 Hfl, admittedly without s shower or toilet in the room. It is of no consequence to me where the toilet or shower is located! Even with dinner included, the room costs only 80 Hfl. So I have paid a price for my laziness.

My dinner, taken at a small take-away caf� consists of beer, pork schnitzel, vegetables, fries and coffee for 24.5 Hfl.

The blisters are not clearing but at least the chaffing has subsided.