The heat
I did write some in my previous blogs about the grey and dark weather this Spring. Or actually, that grey and depressing weather we had from November till the end of April or so. It was that coldest wettest Spring we had in decades. And now? Now the sun has been out, for over a month. There was one drop of rain yesterday and that’s it. Somebody turned the heater on and it doesn’t seem that it will get any different any time soon. Personally? I am very happy with that, a proper Summer with sunshine and blue skies. It makes me feel way more alive!
That same heater was turned on last year too, when walking around in the Balkans. Oh boy, it was so hot! It was like a baking oven. That all started around the end of April, still in Turkey but very close to the Greek border. There was a spell of good weather, temperatures almost reached 30C. I bought sunscreen at a pharmacy, factor 50 which costed more than the rate of my hotel room that night. That room was needed to provide shelter for my dog friend Bandit. He walked with me for days, but he couldn’t cross border so I had to arrange a meeting with the vet and city council. Anyway, it was there where I consumed my first ice cream. Little did I know what was still to come.
That break of good weather was short term though. A few days later there was rain, strong wind and the temperature dropped twenty degrees. It was cold. It was still cold in the Rhodope Mountains. Sun during the day made it very comfortable, but at night it was below freezing. That soon would change. Soon I would love a good frosty night. I would be begging for it. I would be begging to crawl through the snow which was still covering the Rila Mountain range near Sofia, Bulgaria.
Cause of that snow I chose to walk through the Maritsa Valley to Sofia, and eventually the Serbian border. And there in that valley, weather changed. Ok, I had rain and thunderstorms, but all in all it was around 30C all day long. I was wobbly on my feet entering Serbia. Very tired too. I felt sluggish and weak. I walked on for a day or so but needed to stop in Pirot in the far South of that awesome country. A shoe repair was needed, and a body repair too. I slept like a baby in Joca’s apartment. He brought me Pasulj, a salty broth with meat and beans. I bought some Magnesium and vitamins at the supermarket and recovered quickly. Those days there made me realize that I needed to watch myself carefully the coming time, carrying 20kg on my back walking around in the blistering heat.
I managed pretty well I think. I learned to listen to my body and to ignore my ego. Cause there was that disappointment, wanting it to be different. But you soon realize, it is what it is. I soon needed to accept the fact that another heatwave was on his way, and this time it would be even hotter.
I walked on, but slowly. I walked shorter distances, and on days above 40C heat I hardly walked at all. I learned to take things as they come. I stopped complaining. I learned to embrace the things I don’t like, I sometimes “embraced the suck”. Cause it sucked sometimes you know, sweating you’re arse off, being very tired and not being able to walk a good distance. Damn that walk learned me so much! I learned to be grateful, for everything there is, and all that isn’t.
So here we are, a new Summer and a different kind of heat. Here it is warm, more humid and less baking oven hot. I don’t mind, I like it and I am fully enjoying it. Of course it is sweaty business when walking around but that’s ok. I took people out coaching, it was wonderful to take somebody along who wants to grow and learn how to embrace that suck and still be happy!
At the end of this week, predictions still around 27C to 30C, I’ll embrace that little suck again. Walking in hot weather with a 20kg pack on my back I hope to pitch up my tent in a German forest. It will be hot, warm, sticky and sweaty. And then I know, there will be many mosquitos, ticks and other creepy crawlers out there to get a taste of my white arse. There might be that thunderstorm, there might be what-ever. I am still going, cause I love doing the thing I love most. Hiking. Also in the heat.
I will keep you posted of upcoming heated and sweaty events!
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