25/26 dec

Went for a few walks with Rob. I was kind of concerned after the last time I went for a walk. Was something like 20 kilometres, went fine, but my shins hurt for the first few days afterwards. I struggled up the hills to Perugia.(carrying 3 gallons of petrol) There was a good reason I hitchhiked back to our stranded Merlin. But my main concern was; With itches like that, one doesn’t get to Santiago.
The Morvan is a hilly area. Hill up, hill down. Not as steep as Umbria though. So my legs didn’t hurt as much, although we had walks of about 15 and about 20 kilometres. I felt relieved every next morning, but then I realized that these walks weren’t even half of the walks that I would have to take on an average day to Santiago.
But worrying about distance is not the whole thing. Making the experience memorable is important too. No better company than my brother in law Rob, although officially I should call him the partner of my sister. Boring titulitarian stuff that our confused generation has gotten itself involved in.
Rob knows everything about birds and wildlife, having studied at Wageningen. He was stunned by the fact that we not only didn’t see any kind of serious wildlife, but not even saw any tracks from deer or other animals.
I don’t mind those things. I am delighted by the view of a deer, and love it even better when I see a herd of them together. But I do not miss them really. Just like seeing or hearing birds. Fun, but not necessary fun.
Walking is a combination of challenging myself and relaxing at the same time. The challenge is physical – going up hills – and mental (in a way) finding the right route. The last thing is difficult enough in La Douce ~France, basically because the french think they have better things to do than providing proper directions.
But then again. I figured out that some bad directions are better than others. The ones of the GR directions, the Grandes Ransonnees, are clearer than anything else what I have come across with.
I basically decided now that I will follow The Grande Ransonnee routes up to the Pyrennees.
Which seems to be possible from around Langres, up to the Pyrennees. Those routes have good signs, absolutely necessary to be able to walk in the right direction, but not so many that one is not able to spend some time thinking, wandering ones mind. I mean think about life, think about the future, think about destiny, all those things that one naturally thinks about in these last days of the year.
What is wonderful about the Morvan is that it seems like one is conquering the world. One rises to spots where one can have insights. And with these overviews of the world in front of you, realize that those will disappear in a red hot second, only to be reconquered after having suffered through another hill.
These kinds of walks are just like life itself, which we are only seeking them to resemble.