pilgrim

I write the books,

drawing is looking

leather doesn't forgive

not all those who wander,

pilgrim

¡buen camino!

I could blame my history teacher at the Onze-Lieve-Vrouwe Lyceum in Breda for making me enthusiastic about the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela.
During my working life, I had repeatedly found valid reasons not to make the pilgrimage.
I ran out of excuses when I no longer had to work.
I decided either to make the journey, or never talk about it again.
In April 2015, I got on my bike for a solo trip to northern Spain.
Five weeks later, a completely different person stood in the square in front of the cathedral in Santiago.
Never thought that a trip could have such an impact on me.
I had left the control freak in me somewhere in the Pyrenees; I must have lost the pleasure of leading people on the Meseta.
Among other things, I decided to give up presidencies rigorously and to take up other things altogether.
I wanted to develop myself further, I went back to college and started writing.

Camino con bicicleta

Vendôme

St. Jean-Pied-de-Port

climb to General Mole, 1055 metres

Cruz de Ferro

Camino Primitivo con perro

In the summer of 2019 our Rhodesian ridgeback Goof was two and a half years old.
He had already hiked many long distances with me; he would be quite capable of handling the day's distances on the camino.
The choice fell on the Camino Primitivo, the least popular and 'silent' route through the mountains of Asturias and Galicia.
From Oveido to Santiago de Compostela, 325 walking kilometres.
We thought we would need two weeks.
In addition to my camping gear, I also carried 6 kg of dog food.
I tranported my luggage on a Dixon RollerPack, similar to the travois of the native Americans.
The confrontation with two escaped fighting dogs was almost fatal for me and my dog.
I then discovered how brave and protective my dog is!

Oveido

San Juan de Villapenade

Hospitales route to Berducedo

Galicia