Blotevoetenpad

What a wonderful adventure! The International Ladies Club has so many fun activities. The feast of the Ascension was last Thursday, and it is a Belgian holiday, a day off from work (most Catholic diocese in America celebrate the Ascension the Sunday after for better attendance at church). We spent the day in Lieteberg at the Bezoekercentrum (visitor's center) in Zutendaal. This area is part of the Hoge Kempen national park. We were supposed to see the butterflies center and the insect museum, but Rachael got sick and we had to leave. However, we were able to have a great deal of fun before leaving when we went on the Blotevoetenpad, the Barefoot Walk, through the forest. It was about 2k long, and it was amazing. Check out the link to the website: http://lieteberg.be/navigatieframeset.htm  In the orange column on the left side, click on 'blotevoetenpad.' It will take you to a page with a short video showing all that we experienced on our walk. It was fantastic! Adam went out of his comfort zone and took his shoes off, rolled up his pants, and joined us. I was so happy he did! Rachael had a bunch of fun with one of the ILC lady's two girls, except for the water and mud parts. She didn't like those, though they were my favorites =) Here are some pictures of us getting closer to nature in our bare feet!

Neat rope bridge. Rachael was kind of scared. Thankfully Dad was there to help her out =)

Our favorite substance to walk on was the sand. It was the softest and easiest on the feet. The pine needles, not so much. Nor the wood chips. But we braved those, too!

This is one of the many obstacles were could choose to encounter.

Someone in our group spotted this teeny tiny little frog. Do you see him? He's black and sitting on the stick in the middle of the picture.

Tiny black frog

How's that for comparison?! He was smaller than a fingernail! And perfectly formed. He looked like any other frog, hopped like a frog. He was just so tiny!!

The water hole

Rachael wasn't a fan. I didn't blamer her. That water was COLD!!!!

There were so many people there. It was a beautiful day. We all were having so much fun enjoying nature together!

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I loved walking up these steps in bare feet. They were made of smooth round logs. At every stair, going up or down, I had to pack Rachael on my back, though, because they kind of scared her.

The logs holding up the stair case were covered with these weird whatevers. I thought they were neat.

The crocodile log. It was nice to have a place to sit after hiking up all those stairs!!

What a ham =)

The maze, or het labyrint. We had to walk and walk and walk through this maze to get to the center. We walked on lots of wood chips, some rocks, and finally some sand when we got to the end!

I made it! Without Cheating! Oh, what wonderful sand! (I may have cheated on the way out, though =)

Rachael Ann, having a good time running through the maze =)

Two in our party running fast out of the maze

The steps

The view from the top of a 3-story wood structure we climbed. It was neat! See the nuclear plant in the distance?

Closer shot of the nuke plant

Our family, enjoying each other and the Belgium landscape

Look, Mom, no shoes!

More of the view from the top. I loved the jet streaks in the sky.

Part of the trails we walked

Looking down from the top of the structure. There were lots of people there that day!

Walking on rocks =) These didn't hurt as bad as some of the other substances.

Rachael Ann with Rachael and Sophie =) She loves being adopted by bigger girls and playing with them. They seem to flock to her =)

Cute girls =)

Bare feet

This bridge was so cool. We could hear people walking on it before we even came to it. The chains clinked and clanked.

This sign talked about how we were walking like people used to and showed the different between our feet today and those from people thousands of years.

I guess Rachael and I were slow. Adam sat there waiting for us. I don't know how he did that, keeping his feet in the water. It was freezing! This was the muddy part. I loved it!!!!

Muddy feet!!

I like this picture =)

Another fun obstacle

The waterfall, though frigid, was really cool!!

Walking back to the beginning. These were some of the beehives.

We ended our tour by washing off our feet and scrubbing them up pretty good. Adam was glad to get his shoes back on =) This was just a cool experience! I loved every minute of it, even when we were walking on the wood chips =) I live for adventures like these. I'm so glad we are a part of this group, that we are living in Belgium, and that we can have these kind of memorable experiences!! Ta ta!