La suisse Normandie is behind us! It’s a beautiful environment! Definitely highly recommended! But with horse and cart not always very easy. Each evening I prepared my route very well, so we could go up en down as gently as possible. The nicest/most beautiful was when I could follow a valley. Bendy little roads through the valley with views on rock edges, woods and the river. And of course the most flat possible in this environment. But every time you go down in the valley, yuou have to get out again on a certain point… A while going up and down the hills to get out again at a next valley, and following this one for a while. Most of the time I could find the road that would go gradually up. At some hills, I gave the horses lots of breaks to recuperate. I’m proud that in the end they could manage every hill. The blocks of wood were put again a lot behind the wheels. On the most steep slopes I tried not to stop, because leaving again is then very difficult!!! But on the most steepest slope I did, the horses of course suddenly fell silent. I tried a long time to start off again on my own, but this seemed to be impossible. Luckily, a car stopped. The man was glad to help, he even would fix a tractor for me. I decided to wait with this option for a while, and try again with 2. I placed him on the cart with the brakes, so if we would stop again the cart wouldn’t drag the horses down, and I gave him a stick to spank the horses LIGHTLY on the buttocks to give them an extra push. I took the horses by hand and we got started off. I walked backwards with the 2 hores before me and we got in 1 time at the top. A great accomplishment for my 2 heavy friends!!!

I also came by the notorious village camembert, where I felt more in England than in France because of all the tourists. Actually, there was nothing to do there, and the camembert was ridiculous expensive! And I made a nice, big, new scratch on the cart!! The horses were tired and I couldn’t find a place, in the end I found a meadow but the gateway was very small and it ascended ridiculously. But I was tired of asking around and looking for a spot, and next to the road there wasn’t any space. So again I did something that was actually impossible. I got into the meadow but I also hit a pole and because of the very steep slope the cabinets on the back hit the ground, and I could repair my cabinet doors… Each time after such a foolishness I think in myself that it’s the last time I drive into such a gateway, but every time again when I’m tired and there’s no other spot, I accept the challenge, with damages as a consequence… Hopefully I will learn better one day!

I also came in Bière, where one of the biggest Celtic settlements was found. A magical place to visit!! I had the luck to park my cart just beneath the location, in a meadow with a stream beside. According to the neighbor nobody owned it, but later that evening an angry man came with a lot of cursing. But with staying calm, excuses and a smile I could stay till the next morning. But the reason I could stay was not only my reaction, but also because I’m white and Belgian. Because I’m white and Belgian, it’s a lot easier to find a place or to be able to stay there. I got a lot the question if I was Roma or Manousi, clearly I wouldn’t be welcome in that case! Horrible!! So I want to advise travelling Roma familys to say they are Belgian!! Sometimes I’m too tired to react, and in that case tremendous discussion start. What’s the importance of your origin, when you meet someone, look him in the yee, talk with the person and feel if it’s ok or not. Beside nationality or skin color. It is sad to see how many people and on how much places racism is so deeply present!

In the meanwhile, I’m travelling for about a month without visit, so as only human on board. Of course this is totally different compared to the summer, when I had one visitor after another. The loneliness is sometimes hard, but I enjoy the nature and the company of the dogs and horses. I have my daily chats, but often it stops after the 5 questions everybody asks (from where, whereto, how financially,…). I also do crazy stuff every loner starts to do after a while. I talk to myself and the trees, I scream over the fields, make up silly songs,… Sometimes I’m invited to join dinner, and there are cosy nights! But not a lot whit people who share the same interests, have the same point of view in life. Because of this I often miss my friends! (hereby: I miss you…)

A couple of days on a row I screamed over the fields where in this country the young idealists, activists, circus artists, bio farmers, hippies and punkers hide (in several languages). Nobody came in sight… But a couple of days ago when I biked to the shop, suddenly I saw a yurt and a couple cammionets.. Nobody was home, but in the evening I went back. It became a cozy evening with the couple that live in the yurt and a friend who helped them to build it. The yurt was handmade by them and only finished for 3 days. They had built him on a chassis of a caravan, the floor can bend to make a trailer for storing the rest of the yurt, and all the pieces of furniture and things fit into the camionet. The wall of the yurt was made of self-felted wool, that must have been quite a job!!!!! They hope to move every 6 months. I didn’t only found young idealists, but also travelers!!  The next morning they came to drink coffee in the cart. It felt good to meet for this 1 time this month people who live in the same energy/ are from the same tribe. 

But starting tomorrow, my lonely existing is broken, I get a friend on visit, the next time I saw her she had a belly, so I will have a baby now in my cart. I’m curious how it is to travel with such a small child…

One more piece of news from Wodan (the blonde horse). A couple of days ago he started to cough a little, he was more quickly tired and sweated some more. Apparently it wasn’t serious at all, a small cold. But since it kept on going I visited a veterinarian today. He seemed to have a small infection on the airways and had to have 5 days antibiotics. Luckily I went quickly to the veterinarian, according to him he would be back the old Wodan in 2 days. I hope to be able stay here for 1 or 2 more days to give him his rest, and when I have to leave it would only be to the next meadow where I would get permission. I was worried for a while!! But luckily it wasn’t that serious after all!!

Voila that’s it for the past time. A couple of pictures to finish:

On the first cool evenings when the wind and rain rage outside, the coziness of the stove is once in a while back. Something I really cherish! But luckily it isn’t necessary now for a while, because after the first moments of autumn, the after summer has arrived!!!!

A cabinet of vegetables I got from people their own home gardens!