Peculiar

27^th of February, 2022.

              My hitchhiking spot is not so good. And probably because it is Sunday morning, there is not many cars.
              A car stop a bit further, and it seems like it is parking and not stopping for me. But when I see the lady walking in my direction and smiling, I finally realize that she stopped for me indeed.
              Martin tells me in French that she is going to Bouillon but she can drop me off in an exit. I agree!
              She speaks and understand a bit of English. Martin is travelling with her teenager daughter, Maia. They are going to enjoy this lovely and sunny day in Bouillon. I tell them all about my travels and Martin gets interested on Workaway and Couchsurfing, because she also wants to do some travels in a lower budge. We take a photograph together before they live.
              At first, I am a bit worried about the place where they drop me. It looks a lot like a highway even though Martin tells me it is not. But as soon as I walk a bit towards my direction, it happens that I find a great hitchhiking spot. Even though it takes a little while to someone finally stop.
              Cristophe haven’t even checked my sign before he stopped. He only asked where I was going once I am already moving my backpacks. But he tells me (in French) that we will figure out. He is a very charming guy, long greyish white hair, blue eyes, and nice posture. We make a quickly stop in his house, so he can drop off some papers. Wow! It is a beautiful house! It has all antique furniture and antique look even though it is in great shape. It looks new and old at the same time. But it is authentically old, as Martin told me. As much as all the furniture and decoration inside. We have a cup of coffee before we leave.
              Cristophe used to hitchhike when he was younger, so he try to drop me off in a good and direct spot to La Roche-en-Ardenne. He drives out of his route a bit to do that and it is indeed a great place.
              In five minutes a lovely couple stops and say they have an appointment in town, so I must hurry up so they can drop me off there. Yay!
              Even though the couple it seems to be wealthy, they also complaint to me about how expensive it is to live in Belgium. I tell them about my travel style and when they tell me they have many friends in La Roche, I hoped for a while that they would offer me a place to stay in town but nope! It is OK! They drop me off right at the centre.
              At the Tourist Office, I talk with a young guy, who I assumed, based on the way he is dressed and the length of his beard, it seems to be one of those very cool people. But he is not exactly. I mean, he is not bad at all, but he is just OK. It is like, he is wearing a costume or something. Anyway, I ask him about the possibility of visiting the castle for free, and he tells me that because today it is a student staying at the entrance, for sure he will not allow me to go in for free. In that case, I ask him if I can drop off Hulk there for a few hours and he say yes.
              Of course I decide to ask at the castle (after explaining my whole travel story), to the student, if there is any chance that I can go in for free. And he is totally cool about it! He doesn’t hesitate for one second on letting me in. I am so glad I decided to ask anyway. So please, do you also the same: don’t trust in the opinion of only one person. Mainly when you feel that there is something quite not right with that person. You must go for a second opinion, and even a third if necessary, until you are satisfied that you have done enough to achieve your goal.
              The ruins of the castle are very cute. Even though it seems to me they are trying too hard to make it more touristic, arranging some of the “rooms” with more modern stuff. I believe that during the summer it must be crazy here! Even today, my peace was disturbed by same annoying families with their kids. They were playing football! Football! Inside the castle area. How stupid can you be? No respect at all for a public / historical landmark. And to make it even worse, later on when I am walking through La Roche, I see many paces where they could be having their little match. Many places!
              So yeah, the ruins of the castle are pretty but it is hard to find a good spot for a photograph because of the many “not medieval things” laying around the place.
              I decide to simply go for a walk along the river, from one spot to another, and to a view point, instead of spending time in town. That is mainly because the town is full of those tourist traps shops, and not really authentic and nice old buildings. Plus is full of tourists. But this walk it totally worth it too. Mostly in such a lovely sunny day, and blue sky. There are other attractions in town and a bit out of it, like museums, a National Park with many wild animals, two different swimming pools (don’t ask me why…), adventure places, a sculpture park by the river (which is pretty cool for a picnic), a local pottery shop, and some other places. If you come in the summer, there is definitely enough things to do and visit in 2 or 3 days. A lot of nice walks too. But in the winter, I would say that one whole day is enough.

              Back to the Tourist Office, I ask the young guy about where I can find either a nun’s, priest’s or the pastor’s house. He says they have no nuns, and most likely I will not find anyone with whom I can talk. Honestly, if I was to depend on this guy’s word, I would be damned! Luckily I don’t.
              I visit the church Saint-Nicolas. It is pink inside, which is kind of funny, but also super pretty when the sunshine hits the stained glass and splash its colors all over the place. Amazing!
              Because I cannot find anyone, I consider just going out and camping. I actually found what it seems to be a very cool forest to camp. And the weather is great and dry. It is true though that it will be 0 Celsius Degrees at night. And because of that, I decide to try as much as possible to find some one from the church to talk with it. If I get a no for answer, I go and camp.
              I think the best thing I do is not to panic about to whom will I ask about the pastor’s house. I just walk a bit, slowly and calmly, looking into all the shops and deciding where should be the best place to ask. Suddenly, I see two young men loading a van on the street. They look like cool guys so I decide to ask them. They are great and tell me where it is the pastor’s house. Two blocks away, just around the corner, I find it.
              Pastor August does not speak English so I do my best to try to explain my travels story to him in French. He seems a bit worry, or suspicious or in doubt. But it seems also like he wants to help me. So after taking a look at my passport, he tells me he has a place. We walk there, it is in town, not far way, and it is a building for church meetings, with a toilet and a kitchen. It is all I need. And it is warm! Yay!