Via Francigena

It starts with a burn-out

After my burn-out, I was advised to spend a lot of time in nature and to walk. I start with junction walks of a few kilometers around my house. Then I expand this to walkings along rivers. The Dender is nearby, and when I reach its mouth, I walk along the Schelde in both directions. I regularly encounter other hikers, and that’s how I learn about GR-routes. These are long-distance hikes marked with a horizontal white line superimposed on a red line. The GR512 from Geraardsbergen to Diest is in my area, and I complete this 173km route, mostly along unpaved roads, in 34 stages in just over a year.

Reason #1: to experience unexpected encounters

At one point, the GR512 crosses the GR5A. This is a circular path that roughly follows the borders of East and West Flanders of Belgium. I hike both routes in parallel. The GR5A crosses near Ypres the GR128 from Aachen in Germany to Wissant in France, and I start that one as well. By the time I finish the French section, I have already bought my hiking cart. It facilitates incorporating multi-day hikes, including overnight stays, as obviously the starting point of a hike is getting further and further from my home.

The yellow man

From North-Leulinghem on, I regularly notice a drawing of a yellow man with a large backpack holding a staff. At the end of the GR128, on that drizzly autumn beach of Wissant where there’s nobody to greet me except for a gendarmerie patrol, I discover a large sign announcing the Via Francigena. It is also numbered as GR145. It is a pilgrimage route from Canterbury in the UK to Rome in Italy walked by Sigeric in the year 990. 2,080 km. It seems like a nice challenge. And as I’ve already completed at least 5% without realizing it, I continue hiking the Via Francigena to Calais, the starting point in France.

Reason #2: to enhance my creativity and inspiration

For such a long hike, I need new travel strategies. In the summer I hike with my hiking cart, spend the night somewhere in the woods, and then return to my car after a few days by über taxi. However, I prefer to hike when it’s quieter and darker. The best strategy then is driving with my camper to the endpoint of the day, leaving a well-secured folding bike, driving the camper back to the starting point, hiking the Via Francigena section, and finally cycling back to the camper in the evening. I’m doing the hike twice, but it doesn’t feel that way.

Why am I even doing this ?

Since my starting points are now hundreds of kilometers from home, it’s no longer practical to start for a day or even a few days. I decide to walk in waves of roughly two weeks each. I remember an evening where I encounter a cheerful group, and the dominant man in the company asks me, somewhat provocatively, “Why are you doing this?” He gives me his own answer as to why he won’t: “You can get to Rome much faster by car.” He also gives me an answer as to why he might: “It’s cheap.” To someone who thinks so superficially, I reply: “You can find out by trying it yourself.” The others chuckle. But that question continues to haunt me for the next few stages. Why am I even doing this?

Reason #3: to catalyze transformation

So, thank you, man, for that wonderful lesson. The first reason is being able to have such wonderful conversations. It also fuels my inspiration and creativity. About everything you find on this website has been created and developed during a long-distance hike. Furthermore, I spontaneously engage in self-reflection and introspection when I am alone with myself for a long time somewhere a long the way. Loose threads in my mind coalesce, thus catalyzing transformation and even metamorphosis. I also learn a lot about animal behavior. The animal you encounter most often is the dog. When a yard has several dogs, there’s usually only one that acknowledges its presence with a loud bark. This is the smallest one, while the larger ones are already present enough and observe. Aren’t I also learning something about human society?

Carpe Diem

Birds are also so beautiful to observe, especially towards the evening when some species gather in large flocks and perform acrobatic displays through the sky. The last motivation I want to share is that you really connect with the landscape by walking through it. It’s easy by car. You accelerate a bit as it climbs and you don’t feel a difference. With physical exertion, you feel much more at one with nature and appreciate its wonderfulness. To further enhance that connection, I hike parts barefoot. Increasingly larger parts actually. So it’s not about the distance you cover per day, and certainly not about the destination, but what you learn from the experience.

Reason #5: to unite with the landscape

While writing this I am near Langres in France. I have completed about a third of the journey in four waves. Additionally, I’ve combined the section from Canterbury to Dover with a bothy-tour. My plan is to complete the Swiss leg in one wave in a September to be able to participate for the third time in Freddy Mercury’s birthday party. I imagine to complete the 40 day Italian leg in one wave while near my career end, integrationg a darkness retreat halfway through. it might be a good idea to learn some basic Italian through Duolingo by then, as I did with Spanish during my Magical Mystery Tour. I can plan a lot, but anything can happen in this life, and I’m not even sure if I’ll wake up tomorrow morning. So I carpe diem and hike a next stage.