98ste Vierdaagse van 15-18 Juli 2014 160km

I won't say it wasn't tough. The four day marches finally came and passed and I must say I am relieved to have completed it. It is unfortunate that this event was marred by a disaster that affected many lives here in the Netherlands. The Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 that was shot down on its way to Thailand from Amsterdam had several friends and family mourning this tragic occurance. May they all rest in peace.

It happened, or we learned of this news on the third day of the march. Flags were raised to half mast all over the place and there was talk of a cancellation of the event. There was a reduction of music but the march resumed until the end.

The day before we  registered ourselves and had our bracelet thingies attached together with instructions for the next day, it was exciting yet nerve wrecking at the same time, I seriously doubted whether or not I will make it to day three.

Chuffed to be the first SS to do the walk.

The first morning was early and the walkers were all decked out and geared for the march, stretching, having coffee etc We stood impatiently in line awaiting the start and the throng of people to slowly inch on to the scanner ladies who scanned our bracelets and wished us 'success'.

 The air was crisp and the fields glistened with early morning dew however before all of that and not 10 meters away, we had our cheering squads.




I must tell you this march is accompanied by festivities. Bands both local and International perform on various stages around Nijmegen.

 This way, the cheer and encouraging shouts from drunken party goers  were entertaining and put a great start to the walk.

Scanification. I wonder if this ladys arm hurt from all the scanning.

Some still with beers in their hands, many had brought out their sofas whilst there were some who appeared to have slept outside.


 Farther on we saw families, children and the elderly outside cheering and wishing all success. They held out bowls with sweets, cucumbers, ice lollies and all sorts of things for any walkers who wished.

 

Free massage spots where you could get a rub to put some life into those muscles.

Every now and then we would pass rest areas selling coffee and breakfast snacks. It was amazing how many people were out and about at that early hour.

From the get go it was fascinating what attires people chose to wear for this walk. There were walkers in clogs, a lady in 6 inch heel platforms, some strange socklike shoe with divisions for each toe, I don't know how the thought of a separate section for each toe would help in walking, I mean we did have webbed feet at one point in time. There  even was a speedy oldish Latin looking man with pointed shiny shoes, he looked like he belonged in a cigar parlor.

Beautiful scenery, this one taken from the bridge, whenever we walked over a highway, trucks and cars honked and waved at the walkers

A much needed herring

The various military groups were interesting, we saw the Dutch of course, the English, German, Italian, Spanish (some people kept repeating '5-1, 5-1' when the Spaniards marched by). There were the Norwegians, the Swedes, Fins as well I think.

 Each day we finished between 15:30  and 16:30 and started at 6:30. Our hosts were simply super whom without it would not have all been possible.

Following the first day, there was not much pain or aches, the stiffness slowly passed as we started the day. The third day however was the worse, I didn't think another day of it would be possible and even started entertaining the idea of an incomplete Vierdaagse, after the first day alone, it would have totally been worth it having witnessed what was happening all around.

Turned out the aches however stiff or intolerable are a part of it, the human body is capable of it, no one said it was going to be a piece of cake.

The walks took us through a different area each day and the terrain was somewhat hilly with a lot of water bodies.

We did the 40 which is the grey line, you can see the route on all four days here, here, here and here. You can read everything you need to know about the four day marches on here

The last day was a bit surreal, it didn't sink in that it was almost over and we anticipated the finish where we got our medallions and Gladioli. The crowds were quite large and the music was blasting, every town we walked into had a welcoming that included radio stations, some had many bands, disc jockeys some as young as 12.

Add caption

Many towns had a special tent with the mayor out to watch as and the streets were decorated. One of the towns we walked into had story themes, many gardens had manikins and stuffed giant animals to symbolize their corresponding stories.

On a few instances I was asked what flag I bore and I told them its a South Sudanese flag, there were British flags, Surinamese, South African and many other flags. I was surprised by the presence of the residents all along the routes we walked, its as if everybody participated. It was touching to see a large part of a street dedicated to patients with disabilities from the local hospital. Many homes had water and hoses or sprays that one could walk under or into, it was so refreshing and cooling I made sure I did it a lot.

Instant cooling sprays

Arrivals

I am glad to have undergone this endeavor, equally so as my partner and soul mate presented an excellent walking partner and fellow adventurer. I saw a lot of this country and pray that sooner rather than later peace and prosperity will come to South Sudan where all human rights are upheld and the country is governed by those whose sole role in office is to ensure the well being of its citizens and the land as a whole. 

It was my aim to write about this walk and subsequently draw attention to events in South Sudan, I am pleased that many readers who knew nothing of the conflict are now informed through reading this blog as many are still walking in their search for a better life for themselves and loved ones. Please click on this link to an inspiring paper by the South Sudan Law Society titled, Memory, Healing and Transformation in South Sudan for it is through remembering them all can we heal and transform as a nation.

Our third year Independence came and passed with not as much of the joyous festivities as it did in the past. The still unstable environment as well the suffering of many of its people tarnishes this day yet just as our independence came to pass three years ago so will this dark period.