Diary of the GR5 Walk in 1999

I wake up at 5:55 am and a few minutes later I am on my way down to breakfast. Another huge buffet awaits me consisting of eggs, cheese, sliced meats, cereal, fresh orange juice and, of course, good coffee. I have so much to eat that I don't think I will need to stop for lunch. Despite the sign on the buffet informing patrons that this is only the Breakfast Bar and that a packed lunch is available for 7.50 Hfl, I take an apple that I intend to have for lunch. Despite my guilty appearance, I do manage to sneak back up to my room without being arrested by the breakfast police.

At last, I notice some improvement in the blister department and, as well, almost no signs of chaffing. Without these pains, I now notice I have a sore calf muscle! I feel like an old car that is slowly falling to bits on what looks like its last journey. How many more parts of my body are going to fail?

Still, on the bright side, I am in better shape than this time yesterday morning. Today, I plan to reach Goedereede, 19 km away. But I must pace myself, for tomorrow, I plan to walk 31 km.

I am on my way at 7:45 am. The topo-gid has four pages for this section: 5.5 km, 5.0 km, 3.5 km and 5.0 km. The first section reaches the small town of Rockanje. I intend to take it slowly and take the whole day to reach my destination. My intention is to reduce the wear and tear to my body.

So, I plan two hours for the first section. The start is between dunes and continues for most of the way along a small lane that is closed to cars during summer. Then through woods, farms and some camping grounds. At Rockanje there is a small supermarket where I snack on tomatoes and a can of Coke. Further on is the town center where I find a bank where I can use my Visa card to top up my dwindling store of Guilders.

The second stage will reach the start of the Haringvlietdam. The topo-gid promises a caf� that I intend to use for a long lunch stop to consume my stolen apple together with a cup of coffee. I cross over the dunes and reach a high point complete with lookout. From here I can recognise the cranes near the start of the walk at Hoek van Holland, the tower of Brielle and the tower of Goedereede which even now seems far away.

The track drops down to the beach, along the ocean and continues along, before crossing over the highway, to my lunch stop. The blisters are not hurting, but my ankles are sore and worse still, the chaffing is back in earnest. I must look a sorry sight, walking with my legs spread apart so that the insides of my legs don't rub together and aggravate the chaffing. This is bad omen number one.

Bad omen number two is not far behind, the caf� is shut. I continue walking up to the start of the dam gates and rest. Even after 30 minutes, I am still sore and I have 7.5 km left to go. It may as well be 100 km the way I am feeling.

I walk across the dam giving it scant attention because I have seen it before. Then down past the huge locks that let ships go back and forth between the sea on one side and the fresh water on the other. The third section is completed and there is only 5 km to go!

It is 2 pm and I hope to reach Goedereede by 4:00. This section is a paved bike path along a dyke wall and then beside a canal. It is quiet but I am getting some strange looks as I hobble along. Finally�the outskirts of Goedereede. I must cross the canal and then backtrack 200 m to reach the first hotel listed in my topo-gid. I complete this by 3:30 pm and am really looking forward to the end of the walking for today.

Bad omen number three: This is no longer a hotel. The rooms have been sold as holiday apartments. I am told, by two people who seem to know the area very well, that the closest hotel is in the next town, Stellendam, several kilometers away. I have no chance of walking that far in my present state. Visions of sleeping on the bank of the canal appear before me. Desperately, I ask about De Gouden Leeuw which, according to the topo-gid, is in the town center. "Well Yes", one of my reliable sources says reluctantly, "it is still there, but it is not much of a hotel". But, the other says, "it is probably enough for just one night".

I hobble on, complaining about the extra 400 m this detour has cost me and I still 500 m to go. I find the hotel in the main square. I inquire about the possibility of a room and am told by the lady that, yes, there is a room available but unfortunately the shower and the toilet are in the hall and the cost will be 40 Hfl per night with breakfast. I could hug her! Better still, it is on the first floor. I wander later if she gave me a room on the first floor knowing by my walk that I may not be capable of climbing any further.

Suddenly, my whole perspective changes. I have made the sections for today and have a clean room in what turns out to be a quiet historic building built in 1480. The dining rooms and bar are magnificent. But I have no time to explore them further.

First, I need a long hot shower and a few hours of rest to further improve my disposition. This done, I wander down to see what can be had for dinner. I have a choice of this hotel and another two bar/cafes close by. The hotel wins easily. Inside, it is very busy and it seems that the hotel is the meeting point for the entire town. I find out that it is always this busy on a Friday night but during the summer holidays it can be this busy every night.

I order a beer, Amstel, French onion soup and a pork schnitzel with salad and fries. The beer goes done very quickly and I inquire about other beers. Dark and wheat beers are available and I order the dark De Koninck that is served in its own glass similar to a large rimmed champagne glass. It is rich in flavor, even slightly sweet and to me tastes very good. I decide that beer tasting will be added to the list of tasks that will be attended to during the course of this walk.

The schnitzel is superb, as was the soup. Yes, all the days pain and suffering have been forgotten. The locals have all deserted the bar and sit down to tackle the more serious business of dining.

I walk back upstairs with thoughts of sleep. The idea of walking 30 km tomorrow is impossible so I must plan an alternative. The one that seems best is to take a lay day here to recover and see if I can find some way to avoid the chaffing.