Slept away yesterdays lethargy. Woke up an hour later than past days. Had a chat and with a middleaged couple that were also hiking towards Maastricht. They offered me a cup of tea, which made for a good start of the morning.
The trail led through Sint Odiliënberg – the village my grandparents used to live in. Upon entering the village through a little square, I remembered the we’re-almost there-views from the backseat of the car as children. I decided to take a short detour and have a look at the house. It’s still there.
After having a look, I strolled over to the bakery for some pastries. While enjoying my breakfast on the bench in front of the store, the lady baker came outside and offered me a cup of coffee which was super nice. I told her about my hike and detour to my grandparents house.
Left the little village, missed a turn, hiked 10 minutes in the wrong direction, realised it, turned around and found myself on trail again another 10 minutes later. The morning onward was mostly steady paced hiking, underneath a clouded sky. Had a short chat with a man in Montfort who came out to support his wife who also was doing a couple stretches of the Pieterpad. The rest of the afternoon was quite uneventful. Did groceries in the village of Echt, caught a few raindrops, and hiked over to campground Hommelhof, where I was welcomed by the campground hostess from Rwanda. Pitched my tent around 1730, and have since eaten, showered and written this blogpost. I have one blister on my big left toe. Likely 2 more days of hiking till the southern terminus of the trail. I’m looking forward to finishing.
