Diary of the GR5 Walk in 1999

Breakfast is ordered for 7 am and by then I am packed ready to go. As I walk down the stairs I am wondering what will be the difference between Dutch and Belgium breakfasts. I needn�t have been too concerned. There is a small table already set up for me and on it are two boiled eggs, cheese, ham, jam, a jug of orange juice, a half a loaf of sliced wholemeal bread and a gallon of hot coffee. But for some reason I didn�t feel all that hungry. I was still alone after I finished breakfast and I took the leftover egg, ham and four slices of bread to have as lunch.

Today was to be my first 30 km day with my backpack and I was a bit concerned about how I would stand up to it. First up, the 2 km walk back to the station to catch the train to Kalmthout and then the walk to Brecht via Wuustwezel. Somewhere along the way I need get some Belgium francs from my Visa card and try to reserve a room at the de Merel off the GR5 on the other side of Brecht.

By 8:45 am I am back at Kalmthout ready to start walking. After the initial suburban streets, the path goes along narrow paved or cemented lanes between farms growing what appears to me to be corn. Other farms have lush green pastures full of very contented cows. The smell of cow manure is almost everywhere I walk.

I reach Achterbroek and turn right into into a street with three banks. The first has an ATM, which obliges by coughing up 10,000 BEF from my Visa card. Thus, my first problem for the day has been solved and I have enough to last a while.

Along this section I meet two men. They look like they might belong to a church. They are walking the GR5 each week in stages of about 5 km. They park the car, walk about 5 km and walk back to the car. I guess that by the time they finis they will have walked the entire route twice: once in each direction! They mention that they know of someone, now over fifty, who has now walked the pilgrims� path four times. They are very keen to talk about the walks and it is obvious that they really enjoy these outings. We chat about the historic towns such as Brielle and Goedereede. They have a lot of knowledge regarding their religious significance and talk a lot about the reformation.

The GR5 meanders through fields and occasionally through woods, always attempting to avoid the N111 between Wuustwezel and Kalmthout. I reach Wuustwezel around 2:30 pm. My main task here is to reserve a room for tonight. I cannot find a coin phone and, after buying provisions from a small but busy grocery shop, I start looking for a quiet shop that may give me some assistance. I try the bakery and the lady there is very helpful. She says I am not the first walker along the GR5 that has asked for help. In fact, only last year two Australians came into her shop asking for assistance with accommodation.

The de Merel does not answer and several other attempts to find a room locally or in Brecht are unsuccessful. Everything is booked. The lady suggests I try the library / tourist information centre which is across the road. It is closed, but a lady opens the door and rings several other places: same story, all are full except for a motel which is quite expensive at 2,100 BEF. Together with her boss, we spend almost an hour exploring every possibility, but with no success. The de Merel is still not answering. The boss looks up the number in the telephone directory and discovers that it has a different number! The new number answers immediately and I have a room for the modest sum of 900 BEF.

Now all I have to do is walk the 9.4 km to get to Brecht and either walk or catch the bus the other 4 km to the hotel. It sounds so easy! However, I have already walked 20 km and after only a couple of kilometers the pain starts. My ankles have had enough. My shoulders are sore. More serious are the blisters on my toes and my right instep. I hobble along comforting myself that at least I have a room tonight. Sunset is at 10 pm so I have 6� hours to walk either 9.4 or 13.4 km. My main concern is that I will be too late to catch a bus from Brecht to the hotel and will have to walk there. I compromise and take a 30 minute break about halfway to give my feet a rest.

The walk is again through farms but I am not in the mood today to chat to the cows that come up to the fence to investigate me. The hobble from the pain in my right foot is getting worse. It is now that I notice that my right shoelace is much tighter than my left. Maybe that is what is causing the blisters. Loosening the lace at the bottom of the shoe brings some relief. This may prevent any further aggravation but the damage is already done. I hobble on, only three km to go. Next come the A1 freeway, only 1.6 km to go. Then I am on the N115 through Brecht. This is the road along which the bus to de Merel passes. The bus stop is only 100 m to the right. A bus must be coming soon because someone is waiting there. I walk as fast as possible, hoping I don�t just miss what may be the last bus. I needn�t have hurried, the next bus, still 10 minutes away, arrives at 6:52 pm. Hooray!!! I have made it.

The de Merel is owned by SODIPA, a social club for the public service workers in Antwerp. It is badly in need of refurbishment but it is nevertheless clean and comfortable. Best of all, it is inexpensive. A further attraction is the huge bath. I fill it up and climb to soak my feet. After this, it is time for dinner. The waiter, Kris, is a young man who can speak English, but is reluctant to do so. He seems new to the job but tries very hard to do his job well. The chef, assistant and their spouses are on the terrace enjoying drinks. My dinner will be soup of the day, and omelet and a Konnicks beer. Kris loosens up and is now keen to talk about the walk. Maybe he is a little too talkative. The chef seems rather displeased and keeps yelling at him to serve the other customers. Kris recommends that I try another dark beer, a Grimbergen. It has a good sweet taste, which I like. His other suggestion is Maes Cool. I will keep my eye out for it.

The soup is a real surprise. It consists of a plate and a huge tureen that seems to hold a gallon of soup. I wish I had known, the soup alone was an entire meal by itself. Kris arrives to continue our chat about my adventure, as he calls it. He is currently studying nursing but says he would love to go trekking with a tent, sleeping out under the stars. I am sure he will certainly get around to it someday.

After dinner, I head off to my room to sleep and to let my blisters, the chaff (yes it came back), and my ankles heal. I wake up during the night with a headache. I suspect it may be caffeine withdrawal since I didn�t have a coffee at dinner.