Today was a strange one to say the least. We started off walking by an old farmhouse. If they had renovated the farmhouse the place would have looked very nice. Personally, it looked a bit more creepy than nice, but Tonio liked it. He thought it was pleasant. Ask him why.
As we were walking next to the river, Tonio said; “Good thing there are no flies yet.” Now I don't know if you believe in the jinx or not, but 5 minutes later we were in a forest, forging through an army of insects. Tonio regretted that he said that and he was also annoyed that he wore shorts to the
adventure. He almost convinced me to wear shorts too but I was too lazy. Note to self: always wear long trousers on a hot adventure. It’s worth it. I told Tonio to add this to the list of why January is his favourite month. If any of you people are Maltese or know how to speak Maltese, you can check out
one of Tonio’s blogs called Gallarija. One of Tonio's posts explains why January is such a good month.
For the next 15 minutes, we didn't even talk. We just half walked half struggled through the swampy, humid environment. It sounds bad but it wasn’t the worst (for me).
As we neared the end of the adventure, we saw the animal of the day. Two horses. They both had long hair that covered their eyes. They were in the middle of lunch, and we knew how horses are at lunchtime. We tried to attract their attention, they looked up at us, but then back down. For some reason we didn't take a picture of them.
Just before we went into the car, we decided to go in a shop that made beer. It had quite a nice atmosphere. Tonio had one of the local beers and chips and I had a coke.
And after that, we went back to the car and drove home. Did you enjoy our adventure? If you have then make sure to join us on our next one. Also, check out Tonio's blog called The Wanderer. But for now, we hope to see you on our next adventure!
GianlucaDeGringu
[by Tonio]:
We have had our hilly, "flatty", and "froggy" adventures. Following the same terminology, today's would definitely be an "insecty" adventure.
It was hot and humid. Starting at 214, close to Neerijse, we could either do a short 4 kilometres or a longer 6 and a half kilometres. Half way at junction 219 we would choose depending on how we felt. I was relieved when Gianluca chose the shorter route. Because of the heat I had opted to wear shorts. Big mistake! Throughout the second half of our walk I was swatting mosquitoes on my legs most of the time. The vegetation at the narrow passages in the forest was overgrown and we had to be careful to avoid nettles and thorny stems. Gianluca seemed quite fine, having had the foresight and wisdom to wear long trousers. I, on the other hand, couldn't walk fast enough to get out of the swamp.
I have had more pleasant adventures in Dijleland.
The outing did end pleasantly enough, though. In the beginning, while looking for a parking spot, I had noticed an interesting looking open area where people were having a snack and a drink. At the end of our walk I suggested that we go there. It turned out to be a brewery. Some fries, a Pepsi and the house beer, De Kroon, served by their friendly staff al fresco under an umbrella provided a perfect ending to our adventure today.
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| This picture pretty much sums up my 13 years (and still counting) of living in Belgium |
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