May 2, 2019
This was the most adventurous day so far (and *spoiler alert* it would be the last day I’d walk for a bit).
I woke up in Craonelle after a good night’s sleep. I was originally supposed to meet my host at 10am at the main part of the winery to return my keys, but I knew today was going to be a long day and wanted to get an early start, so I asked if I could just leave the keys on the table. They said that would be fine. So I was up and out the door by 6:45.
The only hiccup was as I went to leave the grounds there was a massive gate closed and I couldn’t open. I messaged the host, but I assumed it was too early to get a response, so I started making my way around the perimeter to see if there was another way I could leave. In the process I ended up getting a shock from an electric fence (it was mild enough to not injure me but was enough to scare me–I understand why the horses and cows stay away), and set off the grounds alarm when I walked into the mechanical area. I think I might have woken up the whole village–it was loud. I definitely woke up the host because I then got a text saying to use the keys to open the gate and then put the keys in the mailbox on the other side of the gate. Well, that would have been useful information to have. *sigh* So, by the time my departing shenanigans were over it was 7:30, and according to my tracker, I’d already walked 2.4 kilometers and I hadn’t left the village, yet. 🙂
Then I was off! The first hour or so of the morning was overcast and on minor roads.
Around 9am the route took me off the road and onto farms tracks. I don’t like to wear headphones when I’m on roads because I want to be able to hear if anything is coming, so I was happy to be able to listen to music for the hour.
I officially crossed into Champagne around 10am. I saw the first of what would be many vineyards and signs for tastings.
Around 11am I entered Hermonville. Hermonville to Reims is one stage in the guidebook, but I had wanted to see Craonelle, and thought it would be manageable to get to Hermonville mid-day and move on to Reims. Though, my feet were already hurting again, so I was starting to be dubious about how the rest of the day would go.
I got to some wooded area, and then I entered a full-blown forest.
In the forest, I got to a part in the path that was completely covered with fallen trees and brush. I was so frustrated and preoccupied with navigating it I forgot to take a picture of it. I tried for about 10 minutes to negotiate a way around/over/through it but I couldn’t seem to manage. Also, a woman on the forum told me to be careful in the wild because she’d been diagnosed with lyme disease after her trip on the VF, and she never saw a tick on her body. So, I wasn’t keen to push myself through a tone of woodland brush.
I was concerned that this was a sign I was on the wrong path. I hadn’t seen many pilgrims on my route thus far, but I knew from the forums, that people were traveling, and I would have heard about a blocked path, wouldn’t?
I decided the best course of action was to backtrack to the last place that seemed like a main track and then chart a new route as close to the one I had copied from the VF guidebook. My anxiety was high and in by backtracking I ran into this guy:
which shot my adrenaline through the roof (though he was likely harmless), so I got back to a main track and meditated for 10 minutes to calm down and regroup. It’s funny to think about it now, but in the moment I had to tell myself “You’re not lost. You’re just not where you thought you would be.” 🙂
I got out of the woods and had my sights set on the village Merfy as a waypoint to get me back on the VF route. Vineyards everywhere!
The rerouting added about 5 km to my planned route and my feet were on fire, so I stopped at a war memorial to tend to/retape my feet.
About 8 km outside of Reims it started to rain and a car pulled up next to me on the road with the trees below. A man was driving, and there was a fluffy black dog in the passenger seat. When I didn’t understand his French, he asked in English “Have you seen a dog that looks just like this?” I said “No, and I’ve been walking this road for about 20 minutes. I haven’t seen any dogs.” He said “Get in! You can help me look and I’ll take you to where you are going.”
Now, I’m sure he was a perfectly lovely person, and it was a completely innocent offer, but this just didn’t feel right to me. I’ve lost a pet before, and when you’re missing a pet, especially in the early stages of realizing they’re missing, finding them is you’re only goal. You don’t want to be inventing other errands to do–especially driving a stranger to an unknown location. I declined the offer. He insisted that he could use the help–I’d be doing him a favor. I declined again, and another car came up and needed to pass so he drove on.
I was so over this day by this point. I kept telling myself “You’re almost there.” “Hang in there.” But I did it so often I was starting to not trust myself anymore! 🙂
The last 4 km are along the canal leading up to Reims, and I kept having to stop. The only thing that would make the pain go away was scrunching my toes together really tight. I was so focused on just getting to my apartment, I walked past the fabulous Reims cathedral, dripping with beauty and history, and I was like, “oh, nice,” snapped a pic, and kept on moving. I got to my lodging and was shaking from the pain. It was 4pm and I hadn’t eaten yet, and I was too keyed up to eat, but I knew in a couple hours after I calmed down I would want food, so I rallied and went to the grocery store around the corner and game back home. Something is clearly wrong with my feet. I need to develop a plan for serious steps to fix it.
Canterbury to Rome 