“The Pyrenees will sort me out. For the past three days my hands trembled of tiredness. I could hardly write – leave alone holding a brush. But today it has come. I’m sitting in a farm field overlooking green mountains and farmed valleys. This is good”

Hiking the GR 11 was Geert’s Plan B. The first plan was to hike the long distance Bibbulmun Track in Western Australia but the trail had been closed by authorities as bush fires had ravaged the route – destroying huts and an ancient wooden railway bridge in the process. So doing a through hike in the Pyrenees for the second time – was a good alternative.

The Spanish side of the mountains were a bit more austere and less green as precipitation tends to fall more on the French side. However, it still was equally beautiful and Geert really enjoyed the scenery. He walked the entire trek with terrible plantar fasciitis and got very sore at times. In Sallent de Gállego he had a forced rest and needed therapy with a calf injury, caused by the plantar problem. In the high mountains he met a Japanese couple. The man watched how Geert limped and treated him with acupuncture which helped for a few hours. His needles were tiny and disposable, and would come out after a while.