I cross Zuiderzeepad with food for thought

Butte – Ari Hasnut and his partner Johanna Jacobs of Putte are engaged in intense walking, and they go on pilgrimage every year. But this was not possible in 2020 due to the Covit-19, so they traveled on the Zuiderzeepad. In his new book ‘Pilgrimers between lockdowns’, Ari shares his experiences of this journey.


Ari has previously written two books about the pilgrimages they made. His first book ‘Paradise at Our Feet’ was about his journey from Canterbury to Rome and his second book was about the Norwegian Olavspot. “Actually, Zuiderzeepad was not intended to happen, but could not make the pilgrimage to well-known European destinations due to the epidemic.” At the onset of the epidemic, Johanne and Ari stayed in New Zealand for a walking vacation. “We really wanted to go to Australia, but we could not go there. We decided to buy new tickets and finally got the last flight from New Zealand to the Netherlands.

Path

When they returned to the Netherlands, Johanna and Ari were isolated. “Then we read a lot and discussed what to do with our annual pilgrimage. We wanted to finish the GR5 that had already taken place from Hog von Holland to Nice. However, it turned out to be a kind of pilgrimage for Johanna and Ari. .

Disabling

The Zuiderzeepad trip turned out to be one with many challenges and limitations for the two hikers. “We embarked on a tour of Enquicin in a heat wave that lasted several days. Johanna fell in Amsterdam and injured her calf. Thus, we had to stop the trip. After a six-week break, the two came back to the road, but it was very difficult to stay anywhere.” Hotels often book at least two nights. Want to do, and stay in people’s homes is almost impossible, because people, exactly, take no risk. Also, the Netherlands was full of people who stayed in their home country. They eventually found shelter in the Frisian city of Lemer, but that was where the new lock came their way. “After November the weather improved a bit and then we can move on and return to Enkhuizen as the final point. We actually walked through the locks. The impact of this pilgrimage on Ari and Johanna is greater than they expected. The epidemic makes you realize that nothing is taken for granted. , But what do we really do as a community? We push our limits along with ourselves for many years, but what are the consequences?

The Pilgrimage Between Lockdowns is available for 19 19.95 at Primer Putte and Primer Hookerhead and Bookstore. ISBN 978-94-6443-090-5.

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