Baton Rouge, done, next big city... New Orleans!!!

Sadly, yesterday morning I again had to bid farewell to the comforts of a beautiful house and continue on with just my tent and gear on my back. I had been staying with some great friends, Gary and Ralph in Baton Rouge and after some good times catching up, it was time to be on my way south again. I have now arrived in a small town south of Baton Rouge by the name of "Gonzales." From here I plan to get to the even smaller town of Sorrento where hopefuloly I will be able to find a place to pitch my tent for thre night before heading into an isolated strech of this area for a day of walking tomorrow.

Last night I managed to find a little church on the edges of a town called "Praireville." It was a nice little place and gave me a good night rest. At one stage I looked up to the roof of my tent with my torch and realized how lucky I was to be inside it, there were literally hundreds of mosquitos banging into and trying their upmost best to get to their meal (me) inside this giant dome. I thought of when I was doing this trek in winter and how at times I would simply just roll out my sleeping bag and sleep in the open air, well, not a chance i will be trying that this time.

The few days walking through Baton Rouge were good, well they have their pros and cons I guess. The pros are one always has a supply to water and food with all the stores and service stations one has to pass. The cons are simple, the amount of noisy traffic. But one has to take the good with the bad dont they, I got through there unscathed so I will not complain.

Since getting to Gonzales it has been funny the amount of people looking for me, stopping there cars and asking for photos. I have no idea how, but it has been on the radio or television what I am doing and after meeting some young girls and guys the other day while grabbing a bite to eat, and with them putting it all over their facebook, it has been really suprising all the people yelling out to me or stopping with food or for photos, it has been good for a laugh anyway!

Well best get on my way again, gotta reach Sorrento and find a place to pitch the tent...

Closing in on Baton Rouge...

This morning started off good with an interview with some friends on the radio in Colombia via my cell phone. Despite dropping my phone halfway through the interview it all went well I hope, I think they might have thought I was attacked by a bear or something mid interview. My Spanish felt rusty after not speaking it for three weeks or so, I hope they all understood what I was on about! After that I had another interview with the St Francisville Newspaper with a really nice girl by the name of Erin. After some photos and a few questions I was back on the road heading south.

I managed to get to the northern suburbs of Baton Rouge today and hopefully with another good day ahead of me I should be able to get to the southern suburbs tomorrow.

Here are some photos of ther last few weeks that I have been slack getting up, I hope you enjoy, cheers...

Louisiana!!

I have arrived in the final state of the trek, good old Louisiana. And I have arrived with all good news. On leaving Natchez i managed to run into a lovely lady who was working at the pharmacists. She recommended me some good treatments from my blisters and am happy to report almost immediately I started to see improvements and now they have become hard sores which are almost not affecting me at all. I am feeling strong again and have no niggling injuries to report of.

I spent the first two nights in my tent, and with every morning I was having to fight off the hundreds of ants that had thought it was a good idea to share my mattress for the night, luckily they were not the big bull ants we have back in Australia, but still annoying enough and capable of giving a little nip. Apart from coming across the occasional deer and having three or four big thunderstorms pass over and soak me, the first two days went by without any hassles or events. Yesterday however I met a lady named Nannette at the visitors centre in Vaudeville. She told me that she had a friend who lived on a big property about 20 kms further south and that it should be no problem to put my tent there. Anthony was the guys name. He met me along the way and after chatting for a while he told me that there was no need to pitch my tent, that I could spend the night at the house as there was a spare room with a bed and bathroom downstairs. This was music to my ears. I arrived some hours later, wet from a big storm that had passed over and hungry, and at the house was a feast fit for kings. Anthony had invited Nannette and her daughter over and had prepared pork, mushroom rice, two spinach and sausage quiches, sweet potato and  a couple of coronas. Anthony - a champion in my books! So after some good conversation, good food and a few beers, I hit the pillow exhausted, and slept well I tell you.

Today I was up around 8am, had some of the left over quiche for breakfast and was back heading south towards St Francisville. I arrived here around 2pm and was met here by an old friend, Gary. We headed out for lunch and a catch up, then retired back to his house, calling it a short day of walking, covering only about 20kms. Tomorrow I will be trying to get from St Francisville to Baton Rouge, this could take me one day, it could take me two.

So all is well, my body is feeling good again, my spirits are high and I am closing in on that French quarter (Jacksons square) in New Orleans. From here on in I will be trying to enjoy the rest of the trek as much as possible. It has been a long journey but now with the finish line almost in sight one can not help but to become a little excited, to get to the finish of course, but even more than that, to see my beautiful wife...

Natchez, Blisters and Alligators...

Arriving in Natchez today I was happy and lucky enough to walk into a hotel for the night with buffet lunch and dinner, courtesy of my great friends in Tunica, Brooks and Dick, who again had connections down here at the "Isle of Capri" casinos and managed to get me all of this, I tell ya I am enjoying it, a hot bath to soak the body and feet, a huge array or food on the buffet with all ya can drink Dr Pepper and a huge bed all for myself, doesn't get any better than this!!

The previous two nights I have spent in a hunters cabin, well, preferably named "Sonnies cabin" and Sonny is the name of the great guy who allowed me to bunk in there for those nights.It was perfect as it is situated right near the 61 which I need to follow all the way to Natchez, it has a shower and a comfy bed. At night time there are deer wandering around and hundreds of little fire flies that light up the night. One of the days after walking, before Sonny and Martha invited me to their house for a great dinner, Sonny took me to where the river runs along behind his house and the cabin, and here my friends is where I saw my first alligator, better yet, alligators. I asked Sonny if there were any in here and it was not a few minutes after that when Sonny was to yell "there is one now," and he was right, a little fellow swimming unhurriedly right next to us. A few moments later we spotted a bigger one, maybe mum or dad worried about their baby being out so late and alone. Being an animal lover it was really nice to see this and one of the things I wanted to see on this adventure. Thanks Sonny and Martha for all the help and friendship and may God bless your missions down there in Peru, it is amazing what you guys are doing down there.

Apart from yesterday where I was rained on heavily for half the day, the weather has been hot and really, really humid. It has been tough going and to make it worse, I have four blisters on my right foot that are causing me some grief. The humidity is not helping as my feet are sweating so much everyday and not giving the blisters a chance to dry up. Three of them have improved a little today, but their is one big one on my little toe that is starting to look nasty, and hurt. Today I only walked around 20kms to try and nurse it a little and I think it helped (great advice Camilita). Tomorrow will be a similar day as today, I will finish off the last 15 or 20 kms that I need to complete the Natchez run, then I will head south towards Woodville, which is about 2  solid days walk from Natchez.

Right now I am off to see if there is a pharmacy around here to get some cream for my blisters, then I will enjoy a nice buffet meal by the river at the casino before maybe watching a movie in bed and then getting some sleep before getting up in the morning and starting back on the track. I just hope these blisters get better as I feeling super strong and want to get some distance behind me, if it wasn't for these damn blisters... oh well, patience is a virtue well learned no...

Halfway point...

Vicksburg would be about half way to the final point of thew trek, and I managed to get about 4kms past it today, mentally this helps me a lot as now I feel as if it is all down hill from here. Speaking of hills, I officially left the "Mississippi Delta" today as I arrived to Vicksburg, and it was very obvious that I had. The "Delata" is one open, looong, flat piece of land surrounding the river, but as soon as I hit the outskirts of Vicksburg I was confronted by small cliffs jutting out from all angles, and the long, flat tracks I had been following were taken over by hilly rises. It was hard work but honestly, a welcome change. I am currently in the house of a friend of Brooks from Tunica by the name of "Sandy." She is a lovely lady who has kindly offered me a bed, a shower and a feed tonight which is more than welcome after covering around 38kms today.

I will be heading out towards Natchez tomorrow and it look as if for the next three or four nights I will be in my tent as my list of friends has quite sadly ran out. But I guess this opens doors for more adventures and new friendships hey. If I can get to Natchez in three days I will be setting a cracking pace and looking at arriving to New Orleans ahead of time, but lets not get too carried away yet...

On a personal note, I would like to thank Ray and the folk from Rolling Fork for their incredible, Southern hospitality and friendship. It really was a pleasure and a blessing to have spent time with you guys again. Ray, you are a great man, and the invitation for both Australia and Colombia is always on the table...

 8^th July, 2013 – Appreciating the small things in life…

After a great night’s sleep in Leland I was up at 8am feeling a lot better than I had the previous day, a little sore around the legs and feet as to be suspected, but overall, a lot better. I went downstairs to say good morning to Miss Charlotte to find a buffet of options waiting for me in the sun room; 10 different types of cereal, danishes, bananas, apples, coffee, orange juice, yogurt, you name it and it was there. I demolished a good breakfast in no time, thanked Miss Charlotte and Steph (who had come to help me get a phone for the rest of the trip and see me off – what a beautiful person she is, thanks for everything Steph) whole heartedly again, readied my pack and was off again heading south.

I am not sure if it was the good rest and whole atmosphere in Leland that gave me that extra strength but I felt really good heading off that morning. It was a good 5 hour trek to my next destination, Rolling Fork, where I had two more friends waiting for me. I arrived there still feeling good to be greeted by Ray and Cheryl and Rays sister Elizabeth. They were a welcome sight. We shared a coke and a good old catch up and I was on my way again. I would return there that night but since I was still feeling good I wanted to get a few more kms behind me. The sun really picked up as I pushed on, so much that I began to feel a little weak and light headed. I was knackered, the sun was zapping my energy, my mouth was dry, I was dripping in sweat, covered in dust and it had just been a bloody  long day. I remembered that I had an apple in my bag. It was a big, juicy granny smith that Miss Charlotte had given me for the road. I took it out and sank my teeth into it and this is where the title of this entry began to take shape. At the first bite I was in love with this apple, I could not get enough of it. I had apple juice shamelessly all over my face as I devoured the whole thing in record time. I have never enjoyed a piece of fruit as much as that apple I tell ya. I told myself at that moment I will never eat another apple without appreciating it. This got me through the next 5 or so kms, I then called headed back to Rays for dinner or hot dogs, rice, chilli con carne and a nice, cold beer, that was a perfect ending to a hard day.

Ray had kindly organized for me to stay at a friend of his named Lynn, who has a cabin on her property. The cabin is done in a classic style that one has to see to appreciate. It is an old eccentric, blues, Mississippi - delta style cabin with its own kitchen, bathroom, and great old stereo system with golden oldies playing out of it and to top it all of… a swimming pool!!! Can you imagine anything better after walking 40kms in stinking hot, humid conditions that a dip in a swimming pool in the middle of the Mississippi delta? Diving into that pool was magic, all the pain seemed to float away at once. From there, I showered and hopped into bed and I think I was asleep before my head even hit the pillow.

Today I slept in to around 8:15am as it is a tad harder to pull ones self out from such comforts to go slog it out on a hot summers day along the delta. Ray took me to the spot where I left off yesterday and I was off again. I am feeling stronger every day. I am becoming accustomed more and more to the heat and humidity. Although each day is still a real battle, I am starting to cope a little better with each step. I arrived at a little town named “Onward” which consisted of a few houses and a beautiful little store which sold Mississippi souvenirs and lunches. I sat down on one of their rocking chairs on their front deck for a little to grab a drink and snack on some nuts I had. It was nice and pleasant there but time was ticking. I little further up the road I recived a call from someone that needless to say, lifted my spirits a lot… it ws Cami!!! We chatted for around half an hour which was really great. I think that little chat was just as satisfying as that apple I had yesterday, haha! But it really was great hearing her voice, she occupies my mind constantly on the trek and I miss her a lot, this helped me immensely today… te amo mi negrita… So I moved on solidly for the rest of the day until roughly 5pm. This was it, I had covered more or less 40kms and decided to call it a day. I headed back to my cabin where myself, Ray and Lynne sat down to a great meal of beef, broccoli and cous cous. After two big plates of this and some good laughs which is the usual when one is with Ray, I was almost falling asleep at the table. I said my good nights and this is where I am now. Things are progressing well. I hope to be in Vicksburg tomorrow, from there I will aim at Natchez. If I keep this pace I should have no problem at getting to my final destination with as little time to spare.

Appreciating the little things, a bottle of water, a shower with soap, the moment you dive into a pool, clean sheets in a warm bed, beautiful music, fresh fruit, a phone call from a loved one, a bathroom WITH toilet paper, food, a conversation at dinner… these small things have given me such a satisfaction over the past few days that normally I would never have given another thought… how blessed we are these days and do not even know it…

In a happy place...

Yesterday was a long day heading into Greenville. I did not get moving until around 10am as I was pretty tired from the days before. But after a good days walk with some welcoming cool changes and showers moving through, I did finally arrive to Greenville at around 8pm, tired and sore and looking for a place to pitch my tent. I made my way through the center of town looking for a friendly looking campsite until I got to a hampton Inn on the outskirts of the small city. I noticed out the back there was a nice little patch of grass that would suit my tent perfectly. I went in and plopped my pack on the ground next to the reception and even before I could speak I had a bottle of water thrust into my hand from the receptionist. We got talking about what I was up to and she made some calls to her supervisor in regards to whether or not I could pitch my tent there. She hung up the phone with a sorry look on her face and told me the supervisor had said "no." But she was not deterred, and offered me a spot (after asking her husband if it was ok) in her backyard for the night. So we headed off there around 10pm and on arrival I met her two great sons, aged 17 and 14 and her two gorgeous twin daughters aged 12. They helped me get my tent up in their backyard then we sat around and chatted for a while. They really were a great family who if I wasn't so tired I would have stayed up all night talking to. As soon as my head hit the pillow, I was out to it.

The next day I was out on the road again at around 8:30am. I grabbed some breakfast at the local store and headed south. I was about 10kms into it when the sun started to heat up again and I began to think to myself "what I wouldn't give for a nice shower, some good food and a nice comfy bed." I dreamed this dream for a little longer before I noticed a red jeep coming towards me flashing its lights. It seemed like friendly flashing, if such thing exist so I was curious to see who was behind the wheel, little was i to know it was the answer to my prayers. Out of the car got Stephanie, one of the people who had helped me out last time on the trek, she had tracked me down again, god was I happy to see her face. After a hug and how do you dos , Steph offered to take my backpack with her and her friends for the day to lighten my load which I was more than grateful for. We organized that I would keep on heading south for the day until about 5pm and then Steph would come back to pick me up and take me back to Lelend, which is where she is from, as they had a bed and breakfast ready for me and dinner reservations at 6:15pm for us all. This sounded great but I had no idea of how great it was too be.

Steph picked me up at 5 as organized, this had allowed me to cover around 30kms for the day which was good. We got to Leland and went straight to the bed and breakfast which Steph and her husband (who is a great guy) are part owners, but WHAT a bed and breakfast it is... I thought we had just pulled up to the White House. This place is beautiful and nestled right along Deer Creek which runs right through the middle of town and is actually home to a local alligator. After settling in there and meeting the lovely 85 year old Charlotte (the inn keeper) who is as fit as a fiddle and I am sure could do this trek faster than I am at the moment, I hopped into that shower I had been dreaming about earlier and washed all the grime and sweat off me. The we all headed out to dinner at the local restaurant. We met up there with a bunch of Stephs friends who were a bunch of fantastic people all full of advice and questions about the walk and a bunch of great stories about the region. They really lifted my spirits after a hard week and I honestly cant thank Steph, her husband and them for that enough. Just having a good meal and a laugh does wonders for the soul.

Right now I am in one of the comfiest beds I have been in for a long time and trying my best to soak up every last bit of these luxuries because I really do not know when I will get anything close to like this next on the trek. I tell you it is going to be hard to leave this place and people tomorrow...

http://www.thompsonhousebb.com/

Hot and hard work...

The last few days have been hard work. The sun has been ripping into me and relentless.  I am currently in Greenville and it is getting dark so I need to keep on the move so I can find a campsite. Here are a few more diary entries below...

3^rd of July, 2013 – Bobby and Carrie, true southern hospitality…My feet are absolutely covered in bites from my camp site last night. I was only outside of my tent for maybe 25 mins, setting up the tent and chatting to Jonathan and his family, and the mosquitos had a feast. I will have to stay away from campsites where there are water and trees, seems kind of hard hey when I am following the Mississippi river!Anyway, I headed off from Jonathans around 9am and it was obvious it was going to be another warm day, the skies were cloudless and the sun was nice and bright. By 11am I was tired and hot, the sun just sucks your energy dry, especially with a pack of 18kgs on my back. But here is the good news, and the good news name is Bobby. Bobby is a 50 something year old guy who is a police officer who patrols the levee of the Mississippi, and a southern character if I have ever met one. He stopped to offer me a lift. I asked him if there was a place in the next town where I could leave my backpack so I could try to complete the leg with just my water bottles and food. Bobby began to make some calls. Within a minute or two we were on our way to meet the mayor of Rosedale, a town about 50 kms from where Bobby picked me up. After grabbing a bite to eat with Bobby where we shared a laugh and some good stories, mostly coming from Bobby, we headed off to meet Carrie, the mayor of Rosedale. We arrived and were greeted by Carrie who after a few questions about what we were up to, offered me the use of the town hall, which has a shower, tv, air conditioning and a kitchen, you better believe I accepted, I could have hugged both of them. So with stowing my bag there, me and Bobby jumped back in the car and made our way back to the point where he had picked me up. Bidding Bobby farewell, I pointed myself south and I was off again.Walking along the Mississippi delta in summer is hard work, no doubt about it, but there is so much going on along here to keep one occupied that I would almost go as far as to say, I am really enjoying it, apart from the mosquito bitten feet and aching body. Every little river crossing I come to is littered with hundreds of frogs, all shapes and sizes, not to mention the heap of turtles sunning themselves on the banks, they have beautiful long necks and an amazing bright orange color to their necks. At one stage I stopped due to the call of nature, as I was standing there letting nature take its course, I heard something in the bushes next to me. Waiting as quietly as I could I eventually saw two little armadillos come scurrying out. They must be almost blind and have very poor hearing as they almost ran into me and it was not until I bent down and touched one that they took off towards the levee again. They are very cute, but smelly little animals.
So tomorrow is the famous 4^th of July here in the USA. I will be spending it here in Rosedale with Carrie and his friends who have promised a good time and good food. Now I am off to bed and maybe even watch a bit of tv which is definitely a luxury on this trek. Let’s hope for a bit cooler of a day tomorrow

.2^nd of July, 2013 – Farewell Dick and Brooke…Picture this, it is 5am, I am fast asleep, and I mean FAST asleep, dreaming of something beautiful and relaxing when BOOM, open flies my bedroom door and Dick comes running into my room yelling at me to “get up” and “get changed” “we were going to get breakfast.” I did not know what was happening at first, I was so tired and out of it and thought we must have been under attack or something. As we jumped into the car, Dick informed me that he had been up since 2am fighting a fire in the county and all the local boys were headed to the local diner for breakfast, and this bunch were not to be missed. So I was formally invited by the Tunica fire brigade for breakfast. We settled in and ordered our food and got to chattin, they were a good bunch of guys, a real good laugh and a great example of good country boys. From there Dick and I went back home to ready my gear and bid our farewells. I said goodbye to Brooke, and Dick and I hopped in the car so he could take me to the point where I finished yesterday. We arrived and at my point and as Dick put my pack on my back for me I thanked him and Brooke for being so kind to me and for being such blessings in my life. He said to me very simply “The pleasure has been all mine, and do you remember what Jesus said to his disciples when he was leaving them? It wasn’t make a lot of money, or start a successful business, no, it was feed my sheep, or in other words, guide people and help them whenever you can.” Imagine the difference in the world if we all practiced this simple advice!  So I thank you both Dick and Brooke, I can tell you both, the pleasure really was all mine.
From there I headed off, feeling strong and looking forward to what the day would bring.  I arrived in a small town named “Lula.” There was not a lot there, so I filled my water bottles and kept on slogging it out. From the outskirts of Lula I made my way towards “Moon bay lake” which was a good 15km stroll. As I was making my way around this beautiful lake, the midday sun started to show his strength, it really heated up, but fortunately a fella took pity on me and invited me into his house for some cool water, I must have looked like I was struggling. This refreshed me and I picked up my pace again, but  the sun was still taking its toll. I had knocked back 7 bottles of water by the time I had passed the lake. I was now right near the river and heading dead south. Right here was about the time I nearly stood on a big bloody black snake, probably a cotton mouth the locals told me which is quite dangerous, so I have been a lot more aware from then on that’s for sure.
At this point I was really tired, I had already walked 32kms (20miles) and needed a rest. I found a nice little shady tree to take a nap under. I took a quick nap for about 20 mins and was as good as new, well almost. I lumbered on towards the town, or more so, a group of houses, that goes by the name of Farrell. When I was about 5 kms out of it a guy name Jonathan drove by and stopped to see if I was ok and if I wanted a lift. I told him I would absolutely love a lift, there is nothing I want more, but… I can’t accept for obvious reasons. After explaining what I was up to Jonathan offered his front yard in the town of Farrell for my campsite and also a nice cold bottle of water, considering I was exhausted and out of water, this was music to my ears. So this is where I am now, bunkered down in my tent in Jonathans front yard.
It has been a huge day, covering around 45kms and getting a real taste of the suns power at this time of year. Hopefully I will have a good night’s sleep and not wake up too tired and sore for tomorrows challenge. We’ll have to wait and see…