Training in Belgium

What to do when you have 4 free days and want to train in Belgium ? Hiking in the Ardens is definitely a great option. So... that's what we did.

Marie-Laure went with a group, not only for hiking, also for studying the fauna and the flora. This way, if we're attacked by a weird insect, she'll be able to tell its name! Ok, I'm joking. New Zealand's fauna and flora are definitely completely different from what we can see in Belgium.

Oh, by the way, in Belgium, we don't have many snakes, but we have many slowworms. They look a little the same, but slowworms are much much slower.

While Marie-Laure was studying, I decided to start the mental training. The two friends that were supposed to go hiking with me were sick. So I decided to go alone. And because the weather was so good, I decided to lighten my backpack by taking no tent and no sleeping pad.


It was my first time sleeping alone in the nature without tent. And it was great. However, I must be honest : during the first night, I woke up quite often. Probably everytime any little animal was moving near me. But the second night was already better. And what a beautiful sight in the morning, when you wake up and see a hind, 4 meters away only.

My first night bed
I hiked about 45 km in 2,5 days and spent my last morning on the river : 12 km, kayaking between Chiny and Lacuisine, which are 2 nice villages situated in Gaume.

The last evening, however, I was happy to drink a local bier called Orval in a cafe and have the possibility to talk with other human being...

The result of this training was overall positive : I felt no pain in the feet or in the legs and discovered that I am able to sleep alone in the woods with basic material. However, my shoulders and waist were painful because of the backpack: the next weeks will be crucial for our training.

Last question : what to pack in the backpack for such an adventure ? If you're interested by the answer to this question, keep tuned because it will be the subject of another post...







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