Limburg Node-to-Node

Day Five

:: Monday, May 23 ::

Pelt to Pelt

about 43 kilometers

Kristin, Karlyn and Marney biked today while Bob worked on photos at the Pelt apartment.

Leaving Pelt on the canal, we encountered a huge cart being pulled by 4 people and pushed by 2 more. A later Google search revealed that this "Landship" group started in Antwerp and plans to travel by foot 3000 km for the European Culture Capital Ceremony at Elefsen, Greece in February 2023. Now there's an adventure!

In Lommel, we parked our bikes for a short hike into the beautiful Sahara nature preserve. 

A fine sand for the local glass industry was mined here; the sand pits were then contoured and filled with water, creating beautiful sandy landscape. 

There are playful art works

 including willow sculptures by artist Will Becker.

 

We crossed once again into the Netherlands, passing another large border marker, 

and continued following the Dutch directional nodes through natural and agricultural areas.

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Some images:

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White asparagus is a coveted spring delicacy in Belgium and the Netherlands. How exciting to stop at the fields today where it is cultivated! 

This asparagus grows in the dark to prevent photosynthesis. The roots are covered with mounds of dirt and then white plastic to seal out all light. As the asparagus tip appears, each is immediately cut by hand well below the surface with a special knife. The high price of this cherished vegetable is due to this labor intensive growing process. Some plants are allowed to grow uncovered into ferns to strengthen the roots for the following season.

Karlyn created some music on the handmade wooden "marimba" someone had built next to our route; the ensemble was complete with two benches for an audience. 

And across the small road was a large interpretive sign describing the koi being grown in the fish hatchery beyond the fence. Lots of surprise on today's route.

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Nodes for Day Five

Belgium 241-220-221-228-227-230-231-24-

Netherlands 25-26-27-

Belgium 225-222-221-241

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Link to Limburg Day 6