There are different kinds of road surfaces. So far I’ve walked on asphalt, gravel (both very rocky or more sandy), wide forest paths or narrow ones. The forest paths are definitely the nicest to walk on. The wide ones are even better than the narrow ones. You can walk there for hours. Gravel can come with a lot of large loose stones, which is terrible to walk on, especially when they’ve just put new gravel on. And even worse when it goes up or down. When it’s going up, it feels like you’re taking two steps forwards and one step back. It’s incredibly exhausting. And I’ve never given much thought to the fact that a paved road is actually highest in the centre. In other words, if you walk on the side of the road, you walk at an angle. It adds to the effort. It’s best to walk in the middle of the road. At least there you go straight, but unfortunately there are also most of the stones because the cars haven’t swept them away. When most of the stones are gone and there’s only stuck sand left, it’s perfectly fine to walk on.
The last two days, it occurred to me, I’ve almost exclusively walked on roads with large, loose stones. And since the terrain has become more hilly, there was also a lot of up and down. That’s probably why it felt so heavy yesterday. So I made a decision for today. I hiked into the town of Bottnaryd – that’s always been the plan – buy Saturday sweets, go to the pizzeria and eat while I recharge, then walk just a couple of kilometres to a shelter and stop for the day. Rain is predicted for the night, so I can stay there, protected from the rain and wind, eat sweets and watch a bit of Matator (an old danish TV-series, which I happen to have with me 😊). That’s not too bad for a Saturday night.
In the pizzeria, I had a long chat with the owner Salom, who is originally from Iraqi Kurdistan but has been in Sweden for 40 years (he’s 50 this year). He lived in Piteå for a long time, which he loves, not least because his brother is there too. But he has a girlfriend in Bottnaryd and she doesn’t want to go to Piteå, where he would much rather be. He talked about that a lot. What a shame for him. What a lovely bloke he is.
The worst road surface to walk on
Bottnaryd ‘City Centre’
Salom
Sweets (Strange what you choose when walking 😳)
I wonder if you notice it : you are sitting really upright. When you take your rucksack off, it probably releases all those anti gravity systems and up you go!
Or else it’s the force of a pizza!
Probably the pizza 😅
Taken me a while to catch up with you Angelica, but I am here now! I think back to the stress of clearing out your house a few weeks back and look at you now! Lovely to read about your travels, both the good and not so good bits.
Hello Sheila. Nice to see you here
Hello Salom! I must say that I really dislike gravel, to walk or cycle on. It’s so unstable.
It’s terrible
Piteå is an amazing city. If you ever happen to be there, I strongly recommended to visit their restaurant specialised in pitepalt. It is the only pitepalt restaurant in Sweden and oh my godness, it is extremely tasty and filling, too.
I shall remember that, should I come to Piteå