Where is everybody?
France is so quiet and empty – at least, the part I’ve passed through so far.
And with so many silent reminders to the fallen of World War I along the way, it’s extremely somber.
Day 7: Thérouanne to Amettes
It’s Sunday, and since very few people work today, the shops are closed. And so are the churches – all but one was locked up tight. It’s cold, windy, and rainy, but the dogs still need to be walked, don’t they? I saw a few people in their cars, but I have no idea where they were going. There are many beautiful homes and gardens, but I saw no one in or near them. All in all, it was rather strange.
I had the fields and muddy tracks all to myself!
My afternoon arrival to a popular gîte in Amettes interrupted the host’s family Sunday dinner so I settled into my cozy room, opened a good book, and promptly fell to sleep for the rest of the night. By morning, I was hungry, but first posed for my host’s requisite photo so she could introduce me to the Facebook VF Group as her first American pilgrim of the year. Then I headed out into… what else? More fields!
It rained off and on all morning. (The sunglasses are for wind and rain protection more than because of the sun.)
This is Cricket Alley in the small town of Liettres, which surprised me with its claim to be the birthplace of the game of that name. I wonder if any of my readers from Britain or the Commonwealth countries have heard that before. For evidence, the French national archives holds a letter of complaint regarding an argument during a game in the village in 1478, long before the English-speakers claim its origins.
While all the shops and most of the churches were closed on this Sunday, at least this automated market was well-stocked!
As a slow traveler, I sometimes feel like the tortoise. Today, I met my opponent.
Pilgrim Art
I see my destination, but it’s still 45 minutes away in this strong headwind.
Amettes is a small town well known as the site of the Church of St Sulpice which holds the relics of Saint Benoît, one of many patron saints of pilgrims in the Catholic tradition. It is also at the junction of several prominent ancient transportation routes, including the Via Francigena. Personally, I liked it best because it was where I finally found a church that was open. I enjoy their architecture and also like to visit inside now and then.
I love the detail available in the local history of old places!
Day 7 AllTrails Stats
Distance: 20.6 km / 12.8 miles
Elevation Gain: 410 m / 1,345 feet
Steps: 29,583
Relive: https://www.relive.cc/view/vAOZwQE1yo6
Accommodation: La ferme des 2 tilleuls, Amettes
Day 8: Amettes to Bruay-la-Buissière
Yesterday, I asked the question: “Where is everybody?” Today, I can say: “I found some of them!”
The answer seems to lie in the weather, as today was the best I’ve had since I arrived to this hemisphere more than three weeks ago and started walking. Many of the routes in the sheltered woods and over the open fields are still muddy, but I have to rate today’s conditions as excellent. I wasn’t alone in this assessment. I saw so many people enjoying the sunshine, warmth, and gentle breezes. And I had an experience of generosity that leads me to believe that our attitudes and behavior are directly linked to weather.
While the conditions have changed, not much else has. There are still a lot of fields, mostly wheat as well as some corn and beans. I also saw more evidence of the area’s mining history, including a particularly moving miners’ cemetery deliberately located within sight of a still-active mine. I know that farmers and teachers have been under-appreciated in my privileged life, but it was only when I lived in my Namibian home, the uranium-mining town of Arandis, that I began to understand how much modern humans rely on mineral extraction in our lives. It wasn’t always that way.
As the day progressed, the wind picked up and the empty blue skies started to yield the cloud formations I love so much. They provided a nice backdrop to the beautiful old buildings, including the churches (closed again). Since I post my photos in roughly chronological order, you can see how the clouds grew through the hours.
A highlight of the day was finding this tranquil spot on the trail to sit, drop my pack, and eat the bread and cheese I had been carrying since yesterday. A man who lives nearby approached me to chat for a few minutes. My high school French and his high school English hindered our conversation, but we both managed to get across how much we loved this marvelous Spring day.
A few minutes after he said goodbye and I returned to my lunch, he returned with this gift, and a “bonne journée.” I could have cried! Of course, I don’t have room in my little 30-liter pack for a full bottle of wine, but… I managed! 😉
I’m seeing more and more slag heaps from the local mines.
The Miners’ Cemetary at Marles-les-Mines.
Public Art
The French love their cycling!
After several days out in the fields, my destination of Bruay-la-Buissière felt like a major metropolis!
Day 8 AllTrails Stats
Distance: 23.7 km / 14.7 miles
Elevation Gain: 536 m / 1,759 feet
Steps: 35,973
Relive: https://www.relive.cc/view/v1vjdEndDY6
Accommodation: B&B Hotel Béthune, Bruay-la-Buissière
Day 9: Bruay-la-Buissière to Ablain-Saint-Nazaire
Today’s long route was made even longer by staying off the designated route for the first 2¾ hours (11.6 km / 7.2 miles), then missing a key turn and trying a “short cut” that proved increasingly treacherous. I ended up backtracking to get onto the right path and met a local hiking club to convert my solo journey into a fun group activity.
It was also an emotionally moving day as the VF now enters the part of France where so many people lost their lives in the two world wars. As I walk over the hills, ridges, and valleys, through silent woods and idyllic fields, it was hard to imagine the horrors experienced by so many. My thoughts of tribute were interrupted by a new pain at the instep of my left foot that has been building over the past couple of days. After 7 hours on the trail, and a delicious dinner at the private home of my hosts, I’m very happy to call it a night!
My hotel last night was a far distance off the Via, so I tried to save time and distance by making my own way through nearby woods, around slag heaps, and across more fields.
In each town and village it is common to see memorials to local residents lost in the Great War (WWI) and the Second World War (WWII). This was a mere introduction to the impressive memorial this afternoon.
But first, I missed a turn to the left somewhere around here and continued down into those woods on the right…
I knew from my map that this gully would eventually reconnect with my desired trail in another couple of kilometers, so I forged ahead.
Unfortunately, the path became less and less secure, and my confidence faded.
This photo doesn’t do justice to how deep the trail had been washed out, so I decided to turn back and correct my mistake.
I am often heard to spout: “Pilgrims don’t walk backwards!” Yet, that has gotten be into jams more than spared me from them. At least this time, there was a reward for getting back on the proper trail. After hours, days, even weeks of hiking in isolation, it was startling to find my route “crowded” with members of a local hiking club enjoying their monthly get-together. Tomorrow is May Day, aka International Workers’ Day, a big holiday in much of the world, and this friendly group got a head start on the celebration. It was a lot of fun to walk and talk with them. I had missed camigos for so long!
I split from the group when we arrived to the largest French war cemetery in France, where 40,000 soldiers are buried: Notre Dame de Lorette.
Also on this hilltop is the beautiful memorial to all the men and women who lost their lives in the northwest of the country between 1914 and 1918, regardless of which “side” they were on. Called The Ring of Remembrance, 580,000 names are listed in alphabetical order without any distinction made between rank or nationality. Former enemies and friends, side by side.
294,000 soldiers from the British Empire. 174,000 Germans buried in France but excluding several tens of thousands who went missing. 106,000 “soldiers who died for France, including the Foreign Legion.” Plus thousands more from elsewhere around the world.
What does it take to write 580,000 names? Here is just one panel.
Are we related? It brought chills to my spine.
When the rain began to fall, I descended the hill into my destination village, Ablain-Saint-Nazaire, and met a friend along the way.
Before checking into my pilgrims’ accommodation (a room in a private home), I visited the ruins of “The Old Church of Ablain-Saint-Nazaire,” built in 1505. I was able to get some shots this afternoon and tomorrow morning in better light. A signboard explained:
The village itself was unhappily situated on the front of World War I and taken into the German fighting-lines as early as October 1914. The Germans transformed the village into a real fortress before the French General Foch launched the attack aimed to liberate Arras. During the fights of Spring 1915, the village was entirely destroyed and the church was left in ruins.
The French Council for Historic Buildings decided in 1923 to leave the church in ruin, with the purpose of setting a symbolic sign against war’s abominations.
Day 9 AllTrails Stats
Distance: 26.1 km / 16.2 miles
Elevation Gain: 528 m / 1,732 feet
Steps: 38,056
Relive: https://www.relive.cc/view/vrqo5oKr9yO
Apologies for the glitch in Relive when I was off the trail and got lost.
Accommodation: Les Chemins de Lorette, Ablain-Saint-Nazaire
Day 10: Ablain-Saint-Nazaire to Arras
Today was my first chance to walk into a large French city, Arras, so the last few kilometers showed the typical signs of Western urban planning: the heavy industrial zone, then the light industry offices/factories, then the residential suburbs, then the car-filled streets and great plazas. It was encouraging to find that the VF’s routing takes advantage of urban green spots and I passed by numerous city parks. Even better was to see so many people out enjoying the nice weather (warm and dry), and May Day.
There was more evidence of the devastation of war today, as my walk took me partly along the front line in 1915 before the climb up to the hill-top village of Mont Saint Éloi. I first saw the tall spires of its ruined Abbey about 90 minutes before I walked onto its grounds.
The rest of the images are a real hodge podge, and there are not a lot of fields. I promise!
It’s more than a field! It’s my first sight of the Abbey ruins at Mont Saint Éloi, off in the distance, still a few kilometers away, and getting closer with every painful step.
These fields were filled with trenches during WWI.
As I watched these breeding mosquitoes, I shuttered to think of the soldiers struggling in those conditions.
On the climb up to the village, I found a Route 66-inspired shop. Due to the holiday, I couldn’t go inside. But the decorations were fun!
The Camino de Santiago feels far away, but the scallop shell tells me I’m on it.
May Day with good weather calls for a party!
The streets were mostly empty.
Some people used the good weather to catch up on their chores.
Every now and then, I see the reflection of this wild-looking pilgrim smiling back at me…
Finally, Arras!
My pace was slower than normal today, and I took more rest stops along the way. Not by desire, but by design.
My sore left foot wasn’t any worse than yesterday, but the pain was always there. It is obvious that something isn’t right as it’s red, warm, puffy tonight, and it hurts a lot when I touch it. The idea of walking through the pain and letting it heal over time, while sometimes effective, hasn’t worked this time, so I have to re-think my schedule and activities over the next couple of days to stay off of it. Thank goodness, I had already planned for tomorrow to be a rest day.
Day 10 AllTrails Stats
Distance: 21.9 km / 13.6 miles
Elevation Gain: 515 m / 1,690 feet
Steps: 34,199
Relive: https://www.relive.cc/view/vPOpD4Yk3RO
Accommodation: Ibis Styles Arras Centre, Arras
Rest Day: Arras
Any habit, good or bad, can be hard to break. After 10 days of a very steady routine on the VF (walk, eat, sleep, repeat), I found it hard to rest much on this “rest day.” Sleeping in and staying completely off my feet weren’t possible, although the grey skies and the scattered showers helped me appreciate the warmth and comfort of the cafés I frequented.
Following yesterday’s holiday, Arras seemed to have a “blue Monday” feeling for a Thursday. I felt others’ melancholy. It was as if everyone around me shared my sadness about this unplanned, unexpected, and unwanted stop to my forward progress. Or was I just projecting?
I looked at my sore foot every couple of hours and it seemed that the swelling was going down. “Just get through today,” I told myself.
I kept to the tourist attractions nearest my hotel: the Grand’ Place and Place des Héros, the Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Villes d’Arras, and the Cathédrale Notre-Dame-et-Saint-Vaast d’Arras. I got a haircut and a beard trim, sorted out my pack, did laundry, replenished low supplies, tasted some local cheese, read, and texted with friends. I even napped. I love France, and I love being a tourist in France, but this isn’t what I’m here for this time. Here are a few snaps.
Days 1-10 AllTrails Cumulative Stats
Distance: 205.9 km / 127.9 miles
Average Daily Distance: 20.6 km / 12.8 miles
Elevation Gain: 4,679 m / 15,351 feet
Steps: 314,684
An update, and a pause…
I arrived to this hemisphere one month ago today. Excited about my upcoming adventure and confident that my prior walks, hikes, climbs, Caminos, and Vias over the past two years had prepared me well to take on Europe’s longest pilgrimage route. After a few days to adjust to the time change, I walked from Winchester to Canterbury for 14 days and 145 miles on The Pilgrims Way (PW), The accomplishment felt great!
My idea that the PW would serve as a warmup seemed to pay off. I had formed, treated and calloused my blisters, shifted from my Merrell trekkers into my more comfortable Chacos sandals, jettisoned a few unnecessary items to reduce my pack weight, cut the calories a bit to reduce my body weight, and entered into an effective Camino routine. I was very ready to see Rome when I set out 12 days ago. That was my plan, and I am nothing if not a planner…
Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.
– John Lennon
For 10 days and 206 km (128 miles) since Canterbury, things continued apace. Then something happened. Just what it was, I don’t know. I may never know. Yesterday’s rest day was an attempt to “cure” my foot pain, but it wasn’t enough.
After just 2 kms this morning, the pain became too much to continue so I sat down on a park bench and did some online, self-help research.
For top-of-foot pain, seek immediate medical attention if you:
Have severe pain or swelling, especially after an injury. Have signs of infection, such as redness, warmth and tenderness in the affected area… Are unable to walk or put weight on the foot.
– Mayo Clinic website
I realized I needed help and searched online for a podiatrist back in Arras. Looking up “podiatrists” on Google Maps, gave me several nail salons offering “pedicures.”
Quick. Think. It’s Friday morning. How can I find a doctor before the weekend? I remember that I was less than an hour from one of the great capitals of the world, so I cancelled the lodging I had booked for tonight and hopped on the next train to Paris. While onboard, I booked a room in Paris for the weekend. When the hotel confirmed reservation and asked if there was anything else they could do for me, I replied… “Yes, I’m very glad you asked…”
Fast forward a few hours: my hotel found me a doctor nearby who told me I have “a severe contusion to the soft tissue of my dorsum pedis” (please, no jokes). “Hmm, ok. That doesn’t sound good. What should I do for it?”
1) an anti-inflammatory pill each day;
2) an anti-inflammatory topical gel to massage into my foot 3x per day;
3) “Stay off the foot!” for 5-7 days.
Well, needless to say, that’s a blow to my plans, and I am feeling pretty down.
So… no pics today (trust me, you don’t want to see my foot!), and I don’t know what will happen next.
Many of you have reminded me to “listen to” my body, and “respect” it. I’m not very good at that, but I believe you. I will do my best.
All the boulevards, and museums, and galleries, and river bridges. The cafés, and the bistros. I double-checked the map at my hotel and realized I am just 4 km from L’Arc de Triomphe, ≈5 km from the Eiffel Tower, and only 1.5 km from the Louvre. So much to do – Paris is such a great city to explore on foot – I can’t wait to get started!
But I won’t…
What I will do, however, is my best to stay off my feet while I watch Liverpool FC play this afternoon, attend a concert of Vivaldi and Mozart tonight, and visit the home of my first-ever Camino friends, Nico and Maria, tomorrow, to meet their newborn baby. I can do all that without much walking. After that, I’ll take it one day at a time.
I’m definitely not suffering. Hell, I’m in Paris! Life is good! I just don’t know if it will be good on the VF the way I thought it would be. Time will tell.
In the meantime, please take care of yourselves. I’ll be in touch again soon… Thank you, as always, for following and lending me your support.
