don’t forget the struggle

Posted on June 1, 2022 by Christoph Rehage

the struggle

Turns out Mircea was right. As I am slowly making my way up the slope, my feet slipping on the gravel, I wonder if this is the toughest stretch of road that the Caboose and I have ever walked on. It takes me two and a half hours to walk the three kilometers of unpaved slope. I dry my shirt in the trees because it’s dripping with sweat.

At the toughest spot I pick a flower. It’s a scabiosa or pincushion flower. I put it in my notebook as a reminder of this moment.

Then, finally, I see a house, and the road gets slightly better. And then there is the most attractive stretch of asphalt I’ve seen in a long time. It’s smooth and it’s beautiful, and the Caboose rolls down it without making a sound.

And the road still goes up, but the incline is not as bad anymore, and it’s much easier anyway because of the asphalt.

water and beer

When I sit in the shade of a tree a car stops next to me and a man gets out. He opens his trunk and insists that I take a big bottle of water and a small bottle of beer. It turns out that his name is Christian and mine is Christoph. We laugh and shake hands, and then I am alone with the shade, the water, and the beer.

camp

I don’t make it very far after that. The road goes up until it reaches an observation platform. There is a building with a huge cross on top. It’s called the Cross Of Godeanu. The building is locked. I take in the views in all directions, and then I decide to stay.

It’s four in the afternoon, and I have walked less than ten kilometers today. I pitch my tent next to the Cross. Then I hear a rumbling sound, and then the sky turns dark on the horizon.