Walking a Battle Ground!

Day 15 Ablain-Saint-Nazaire to Arras. Our host family drove us into Arras where we picked up our rental car. We met up with Mark & Dawn to go and see the Canadian National Vimy Memorial which honors all Canadians who served in the First World War. Of the 66,000 killed in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, 11,285 were reported missing. Their names are inscribed on the memorial itself. It was built on the site of Canada's victory during the Battle of Vimy Ridge. This impressive memorial has two pylons representing Canada and France – two countries beset by war and united in the fight for a common goal – peace and freedom for the allied countries. Twenty figures adorn the monument. The highest, that of Peace, is about 110 meters above the base. Below, other figures assembled represent Justice, Truth, Knowledge, Valor and Compassion. The largest, a grieving figure called “Canada in Mourning,” was carved from a 30-ton block. With her head bowed to the ground and a sad look in her eyes, this lady in mourning offers a powerful representation of Canada, a young nation mourning its dead.

The site, managed by Veterans Affairs Canada, belongs to Canada because, in 1922, the French government offered the Canadian government the base of the memorial as well as around a hundred hectares, in the town of Vimy and two neighboring municipalities. This donation of French plots to a foreign government is a very rare event. The surrounding area is full of shell craters and trenches. People are not allowed to walk in these areas due to unexploded ordnances (UXO) (bombs, bullets, shells, grenades, mines, etc.) that did not explode when they were employed and still pose a risk of detonation. Sheep are moved around from one area to the next to keep the grass controlled, I suppose it doesn't matter if you blow up a few sheep here and there!

Arras was pretty much leveled during WW1 but the Grand'Place and the Place des Heros were rebuilt to the original Baroque-Flemish style facades. We sat out in the Grand'Place for supper, joining all the other French folks having an enjoyable evening.

Day16 Arras to Bapaume - Drove to Lille, then on through many villages today. Rained most of the day! OK, more about mining as this whole area is about mining and war. The village of Wallers-Arenberg is rich and proud of its mining past. The Arenberg mining site seen below was exploited for almost a century, from 1899 to 1989, by the extraction of more than 32 million tonnes of coal. Since June 30, 2012, the Nord-Pas-de-Calais Mining Basin has been included on the prestigious UNESCO World Heritage list.

Back to cemeteries! I have never seen so many cemeteries and what more, cemeteries filled with men from the ages of 18 – 30 years old. It is so heart wrenching to think of all the mothers who lost sons and wives who lost husbands, not to mention, children who lost fathers. There are many British cemeteries dotted throughout the countryside (below left), along with Aussie (below right), NZ, Czech, Polish, German, plus others.

One town had a plague with a picture of WW1 soldiers amongst rubble with this written below, "Dear M, [...] you must not worry so much about me. I will come through alright [...] I guess it's my fate to see it through and dear mother, I am ever so grateful it has fallen to myself as the eldest of our four boys to carry on. It does indeed make it easier for me to know my younger brothers are safe home." Private Henry Kames Wright, 21st Australian Infantry Battalion.

The picture below of the nuclear reactor is one of 56 operating reactors in France. France derives about 70% of its electricity from nuclear energy. France is the world’s largest net exporter of electricity due to its very low cost of generation, and gains over 3 billion euro per year from this.

We stayed in the small town of Bapaume. Every town/village has a church and a Hotel de la Ville (city hall). They always seem to look very much the same to me, it seems like the two wealthiest entities are Catholicism and Politicism!

Day 17 Bapaume to Rancourt (11.3 miles)- Dale walked alone today as I continue to rest my foot. It poured early in the walk but then the day cleared up. Mostly rolling farmland with wheat, potatoes and sugar beets.

Dale found some more treasures today. The first was a mortar shell (below left) - there were 1 billion artillery shells fired during WW1 and it is estimated that 30% did not explode. Farmers continue to find unexploded ordnances (UXO) in their fields. The heavy metals from the debris leaches into the soil and then into the food chain. A recent farmer had to dump 170 thousand euros of milk because the milk had dangerous levels of heavy metals due to his cows grazing on contaminated former battle fields. On the right Dale is holding a piece of shrapnel.

His third find was shrapnel balls - a specified artillery shell carried many of these individual bullets (lead balls) to a target area and them ejected them to strike individual targets, it was the ball's velocity that made it lethal.

When did the poppy become the flower of remembrance. It was the second year of the War, in 1915, that the first records appeared in letters sent home of no-man’s land being “ablaze” with scarlet poppies. The war created prime conditions for poppies to flourish in Flanders and north-west France. Continual bombardment disturbed the soil and brought seeds to the surface. They were fertilized by nitrogen in the explosives and lime from the shattered rubble of buildings. Most poignantly, the blood and bones of the millions of men and animals richly fertilized the soil. But Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae, a Canadian doctor, penned “In Flanders Fields” after gathering his close friend’s body parts and burying them at Essex Farm Cemetery. His poem became an immediate sensation in the trenches and around the English-speaking world. It became the symbol of the war dead, representing the souls who died between 1914-1918, transformed into a million blood-red flowers.

“In Flanders Fields”

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

Day18 Rancourt to Peronne (7.4 miles) Dale is walking today through the area where the Battle of the Somme happened, one of the largest and deadliest military operations of the first world war but I think we have had enough of the distresses of war. On the subject of the Somme, we are now seeing more of the river Somme and the impressive canal system in France. The Somme River is 245 km in length, forming a complex set of watercourses, marshes, ponds and canals, eventually emptying into the English Channel. The name Somme is derived from the Celtic samara, meaning “tranquil”. The little we have seen of the Somme River supports that word, there is no obvious current, it is just quiet, restful and meandering.

Peronne is one of the inland ports on the impressive canal system in France. The via Francigena path has crossed the Canal du Nord today. This canal is 95km long and has 19 locks. Construction of the canal started in 1913, interrupted by two wars and the economic difficulties of the interwar period, finally completing in 1965. There are barges moving up and down these canals regularly.

Day 19 Peronne to Trefcon (11.7) Dale reports walking beside a lot of water bodies today, including the river, canal, tributaries and stagnant ponds and along with this came mosquitoes. Needless to say, I received a text requesting some bug repellant, which I obliged, it's not as if I am crazy busy! There has been quite a bit of rain in the last 2 days which sometimes makes the path challenging.

Dale's friends on the via Francigena are interesting but they are definitely not going to give him any competition!

Dale passed another little church today in a pretty setting. He reports that it had a lot of elaborate graffiti scratched into the outside walls. Most of the chicken scratches were from the war years but the oldest was 1851, below right.

Last but not least the wildflowers continue to bloom and are such a bright burst in a drizzly day.

We thought our supper would be bread, sliced meat and camembert cheese but Mark and Dawn had other ideas. Mark purchased some eggs and pasta from the home owner and with our added food made carbonara pasta - it was delicious. Florence, another pilgrim, joined us and loved the pasta as well.

Day 20 Trefcon to Saint Quentin (9.9 miles) More rain today, so the path is more challenging!

Not only the mud but when the grass is thick, you get completely soaked if you don't have rain gear on.

Dale thinks he has solved the lack of restaurants or grocery stores in the villages - today he seen residents buying food staples from the mobile grocery food truck in the picture below. He added to the local economy by buying cookies.

Saint Quentin is called the City of Art and History with a population of 56,00. The city has a very nice central square with an Italian-style opera house, built in 1842-44....

and the Hotel de Ville (city hall) which is meant to represent a stone book with 173 flamboyant sculptures representing characters, scenes and fantastical animals.

This building makes me think of Hogwarts and all the incredible fantastical people and creatures in those books. If you look close enough with a good dose of imagination you can see faces, flowers, animals, etc. in all the cravings.

The sun has peeped out this afternoon making it pleasant to sit in the square and enjoy a drink. The closest thing northern French villages have to Starbucks! A long cool suck of coffee with some Russian influence.

Visible from afar, the Basilica’s huge stone silhouette dominates the city of Saint-Quentin. The construction began around 1195, it took three centuries to complete. They are currently doing major restoration on the exterior. The labyrinth on the floor has an interesting story attached - Florence, a pilgrim we met in Trefcon, was telling us that she decided to do the labyrinth and the church organ was accompanying her route but as she got closer to the center the organ music quickened and when she reached the black octagonal stone, the organ came to a crescendo. Sadly, we didn't seem to be able to illicit the same response! The church has lost many of its original stained glass windows but a few panes remain from the end of the 13th century.

We have noticed that the State Department has put out security alerts warning travelers that France is at increased risk for terrorist attacks. France has put 3000 military personnel throughout the country to patrol vulnerable sites like tourist destinations, schools, religious sites and town squares. Here in Saint Quentin we have seen these soldiers walking throughout the central square. They are all armed with automatic rifles, flak jackets and their helmet attached to their chest..not sure it is going to fulfill its purpose there!

Day 21 Saint Quentin to Clastres - this was a rest day for both of us!

Tonight we arrived at our BnB which was average but the owner is a guy in his late 30's living with his 11 year old son and has gone over and above for us. I offered to pay for the food, which is the normal thing to do at accommodation that offers meals, but he refused saying this was his way to care for the folks walking the via Francigena. We were just blown away as he cooked us supper (chicken in tomato sauce with pasta and some stuffed cheese bread, then pear flan for dessert. Breakfast has also been given to us - eggs, melon, raspberries, and pears for a fruit salad and banana bread. Then we also got a picnic lunch for tomorrow - savory bread and a couscous salad. Plus, he asked us for our laundry, washed it, hung it out and folded it and brought it back to us). Both of us feel so grateful.

Just want to share something more personnel, Dale and I listened into a funeral service on Thursday of a friend who we have known since we were all single together. She died tragically of cancer way too young. It was a beautiful service and throughout the service it was spoken often of her positive attitude even in dark experiences. This analogy was given: someone had a basket of apples and they gave one to our friend, she looked at it and it was rotten. What would your response be to that? Well, our friend would have taken the apple, opened it, taken out the seeds, planted them and then when the apple trees brought forth fruit, she would share with others. This has given me so much food for thought..trying not to be rash but responding in a manner that is caring and helpful.