We awoke to another misty morning but with clean cool country air. A wonderful breakfast was set before us and various samples of local Abby cheeses were set out for us to try. I discovered a dark chocolate spread which Katleen explained is very popular in Belgium and her children eat daily on toast. Yummmmmm - lucky kids!!
We said our goodbyes and left hoping somehow to hear from these lovely people again. We backtracked up the hill to our pickup point the previous day , and caught the GR 563 and followed it downhill through the woods to a side trail which placed us on the road. Confident of our direction I had us turn left instead of right and discovered the mistake after half a mile where we passed under some railroad tracks. We stopped and relocated our position and then with pure luck discovered a path leading up to the tracks that became a pedestrian crossing over the river leading directly into Friapont and the GR5.
Out of Friapont he trail led us steeply up a hillside rapidly climbing above the town and continued sharply up for a good bit - the biggest up so far. We leveled out and then walked forest roads quietly enjoying the birdsong and passing a old man with binoculars. We rested at a bench and cooled our feet beneath a sign commenting on - we think- feral pigs. We moved on leaving the woods and on side roads appoached a town of Bannoux. We passed an really ancient couple with packs - the woman in broken English ask of us and wanted to know our destination?. Nice! And our pack weight? 13kg! Too much too much she said. Waving her finger. The old toothless man grinned and chuckled the whole time. A memorable encounter and it's nice to know you can entertain with your mere presence. We reached the religious site of international fame - apparently the statue of Virgin Mary has shed tears....and the spring waters are renowned.. I walked into the info station and a little shriveled nun looked up with an expression suggesting the Satan himself had entered the room . Her colleague quickly directed us to the water source. And indeed it was the best tasting water we've had to date so we filled up. After looking around we sat down to a lunch we had packed from breakfast enjoying aging the cheeses, chocolate spread and hard boiled eggs. We moved on heading for Spa. Crossing some woodlands we went through a very stinky area and again saw pig signs. Winding along farm lanes we passed more cattle - the Belgian blues. One was just shocking with muscle. The air was warm as we headed downhill to the town of La Reid and we found a perfect bench for a rest with a view of the hamlet while we cooled our feet. The clouds grew darker and we moved on through town and over the ridge to the valley of Spa. Suddenly the signs directed us down a narrow 3 ft overgrown corridor between barb wire fences for some ways. Then down a road I heard Tammy behind me say "it turns here" ! There we two large groups of cattle by the road and the trail turns down another path between them so close I could the touched them on both sides as I passed.. No I didn't!
The trail became sketchier and more overgrown with hedgerow- first we were pushing the rotten fence posts forward to create a path but finally we just climbed it into the pasture and eyeing the cattle walked quickly to where we could sanely exit. We hit a small town before Spa and exited the GR5 for a side road that took us passt a large military installation - home of the 11/12 Belgian regiment. There was construction in the street before our hotel - actually it took 30 minutes to find and accsess the place with machines blocking right in front. Grrr.... Situated we went to town and made a spa appointment for Tammy ( it is the Spa after all )! We then met Chris Quigg , who we met our second day and had communicated with daily, for dinner. He chose a great restaurant for us -
La Tonnelerie. He and Tammy had well prepared steaks while I had a white fish St. Jacques. He introduced us to a new beer as well - Karmeliet tripel which we really enjoyed. We admire Chris for many things - including his fluency with French and his wanderlust that we share and aspire too! We will miss him and his encouragement ! Our next day was devoted to an easy look around Spa, housekeeping and finally an afternoon at the hot springs - the Thermes.
Spa is an old tourist town with the local springs having drawn visitors for centuries. The architecture is old, varied and interesting. Nearby is the famous racetrack Circuit D' Francorchamps with Formula 1 racing which keeps the city and it's big casino busy. People were pouring into town for the weekend racing. We finally ended up at the Thermes - 2 euro gets you round trip up the hill on the funicular or you an walk- we rode. The spa is 18€ for three hours with large indoor & outdoor pools as well as sauna- wet and dry. I did all that while Tammy took out am hour for her massage which she enjoyed. Well soaked we descended into town for dinner but the restaurant recommended wasn't open so we went for some Italian food at Brasserie De Thermes. We had an excellent dinner Tammy with tagliatelle vert with scampi while I had a spaghetti frutii d mari accompanied by a nice half bottle of Bordeaux . No room for desert! We retired rested and ready to walk.
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