Intro:
A short hike during which the first 10 km. constantly keep you in forested areas. The next 3 km. take you through a shopping center and an urban neighbourhood. The last part leads to Gerpinnes in a nice rural setting. The village is certainly worth a visit.
At first sight this is a hike like most others, unless you happen to meet a couple of musical hikers ...
Back and forth:
We traveled to Charleroi-Sud and there took a local train to Couvin. We got off at Beignee. You'll find the topoguide's reference point 37 at less then 1 km. from the station.
The train ride to Charleroi went exactly the same way as a week ago. The train didn't get to Antwerpen-Centraal, so we first had to get to Berchem station with an other train. Again, we were lucky to catch an earlier (delayed) train. There really seems to be a problem with the railway slope leading to the underground part of Antwerpen-Centraal. Would they tell that to all those foreign delegations that come and visit this railway palace as a brilliant example of how it should be done?
At Gerpinnes we found busstop Collège on the N975 road. TEC bus 138b took us from there to Charleroi-Sud. There's busses every hour, also during the weekend.
The hike:
This hike consists of three totally different parts. It starts with 10 km. throughout vast forests. Then it gets boring while crossing a shopping center and an urban neighbourhood. Finally things turn out all right again when the itinerary heads for Gerpinnes via a nice rural region.
We start this hike at reference point 37 where two signs indicate that here the GR 12 and GR 129 trails split up. The little tunnel under the railroad is dry. When we were here almost a year ago (on the GR 12 trail) we sank in the mud up to our ankles. Only a few days earlier the Eau d'Heure river had flooded ...
(click the picture to see the full series on Picasa)
Just behind the tunnel we enter the forest climbing out of the valley. For a long time we stay amongst the trees, passing through forests with names such as Bois Belle Taille, Bois Servais-Fontaine, Bois du Prince, Bois de Bertransart. Occasionally we arrive at a hamlet on the edge of the forest, but that is just to remind us that we're not the only people in this area. It's really nice walking here and the further we advance, the better it gets. We're starting to follow a little valley that brings us to the Ruisseau (Brook) du Fond des Haies. The water makes its way through a wonderfully savage environment and even passes by a cave: the Trou des Sarrazins (Hole of the Saracens). There have never been any Saracens here, but at the time that name was often used to designate places whose origin was uncertain and a bit mysterious. The Trou des Sarrazins is a limestone cave with some 120 m. of underground passageways. As is mostly the case there's nothing much to be seen from the outside, except for a dark hole, but nevertheless the phenomenom never fails to fascinate people.
After 10 km. the forest hike ends at a shopping center along the N5 road where the hamlet Le Bultia is situated. People seem to drive here from far away. For us, coming out of the woods, the contrast couldn't be bigger. But commercial places also have their advantages: we can have a drink here and while enjoying that we can observe the favourite pastime of so many people: consuming. We happen to sit in front of a telephone shop. The publicity slogans remind us of the Metro journal we read this morning in the train. The first and last page were entirely taken by a Nokia publicity, aimed at students. When buying a model XYZ they were offered a free T-shirt of a popular youngsters brand. Not one word on the capabilities and the advantages of the phone itself. Who cares? And on page 3 of that same journal a small article: Nokia fires another 3500 people. In our humble opinion something's wrong here ... the managers of that company must be really sick, they don't seem capable of being ashamed.
On leaving the shopping center we cross the urban quarters of Bertransart. We're now almost at the border between the provinces of Hainaut and Namur. Crossing that border will only happen during our next hike on the GR 129 trail.
At a crossing of dirt roads in the middle of the fields we stop to enjoy the nice views. Somewhere we hear music. We can't situate the source but it sounds like little flutes. For a moment we assume the player is hidden in a maize field so he won't be disturbed. But the sound keeps coming closer. Suddenly from behind a curb two youngsters march towards us producing a contagious melody from their piccolo flutes. Our spontaneous applause can't stop them, they just walk on and keep playing. It seemed like a dream ... but there's more to it.
The region we're hiking now is known as the ESEM - Entre Sambre Et Meuse (Between the Sambre and the Meuse rivers). It is famous for a remarkable folkloristic tradition: the yearly ESEM marchings, an important cultural heritage of the french part of Belgium. The tradition goes back to the middle ages when religious processions were accompanied by military escorts. Over the times the escorts were taken over by local organisations that exist even today in almost every village of the region. They dress in colourful uniforms, inspired by the army outfits of Napoleon's troops. They accompany the yearly village processions with drum and flute music. The most famous march is the Tour Sainte-Rolende of Gerpinnes. Each year on Whit Monday the Tour starts in Gerpinnes at 3 am in the morning. The procession follows a fixed 35 km. long itinerary throughout the region while centuries-old rituals are carried out along the way. A few thousand volunteers participate. It's a colourful and captivating event that brings together locals, pilgrims, supporters and tourists. By 7 pm. the processions arrives back at Gerpinnes.
The two youngsters we met along our hike were probably rehearsing for one of the marchings, or they simply loved wandering around like that ... we can only thank them for the enchanting moment they gave us.
While the contagious flute melody slowly died away we continued our hike towards Gerpinnes. We are led to the village along nice paths and having arrived there we discover a place worth visiting. In the church we find the sarcophagus of Sainte-Rolende, the lady that represents the link with the flutists we met earlier in the fields.
We drop ourselves on a terrace in the quiet village center, enjoy a solid Orval beer and let a few busses pass by. Time stands still ...
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
