The glorious starting point for a team of seven was at the North Sea, Zandvoort Beach, and we explored on foot Bennebroek by some amazing sand dunes, the forests at mansion Buitenplaats Leyduin, numerous residences at Heemsteds near Haarlem and Zwaanshoek to the finish point, Hoofddorp. The initial companions were Yadu, an avid cyclist, Helga, our filmmaker, Stephan, whom we called our safari master, Namacharya, and Rabindra Svarupa, who are my hosts. Others joined at certain junctions and some left for other commitments.
The weather was perfect. It stayed dry and cool for the most part. I would call it perfect walking atmosphere. Swans, white geese, ducks, and coots had their fun in canals or lakes. And wouldn’t you know it, pigeons were prominent in areas. Pathways were busy with cyclists. They were, at times, annoying, not nasty, but present. Maybe we were the in-the-way travellers.
Conversations went from light to deep to sweet. Vaibhavi brought us wraps for brunch. It’s my experience that they are the supreme food for a marathon walk. A second meal we encountered at the residence of Siddharth and Anshul and their sone, Chaitanya, who’s 13, with chana and puris.
Being the month of Damodhara, the month of Baby Krishna, we sang a song in honour of the adorable blue boy and celebrated with a mini festival of lights. I was given the floor to speak about past marathon walks all with the purpose of inspiring “more walking, less squawking.” No one argues that these days, our world is a troubled one. Were we tired and stiff? Yes! A hot shower fixed that.
Source: https://www.thewalkingmonk.net/post/day-one-in-holland
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