#8: [09-Jun-22]

#7: [31-Dec-17]

#6: [14-Jun-14]

#3: [22-Mar-05]

#2: [25-Aug-01]

#1: [22-Aug-01]

#4: [02-Aug-06] (incomplete)

30-Jul-2011 -- Willem Vermandere, a Belgium singer-songwriter of 71 years old (in 2011), is well-known in Flanders and The Netherlands. Over 25 years my family and I like his songs and concerts.

One of his beautiful and emotional songs is about an old Belgium lady living since the Great War (1914-1918) in Chaumont-le-Bois (France), titled La Belle Rosselle de Chaumont-le-Bois.

Last week I learned that not only the village exists but also that La Belle Rosselle was a real person. She died in 1995 at the age of 89 year; she lived 24 years in solitude and poverty after the death of her man.

And … Willem Vermandere is giving a concert in the church on Saturday. With some luck I got a last-minute ticket. I collected my camping stuff and drove 600 km into France. The concert and the evening after were an emotional happening.

At only 32 km from Chaumont-le-Bois is confluence 48°N 5°E, which is on my “to-visit” list. With the aid of GoogleEarth and Streetview I had already prepared a plan of attack.

The road starting at the picnic place along the D3 near Cour-l’Eveque looked promising. But I warn you: it starts as a good road but it gets worse and worse, climbing at 3% with mud and holes. At the end the path meets a beautiful wide, dry, smooth and straight road named “Route des Saussies”. After a short distance you can easily oversee a fainted sign in the verge but at 750m there is a sign signalling load and clear “proceeding by car is forbidden”.

I parked the car (the blue P in the detailed map) and continued by foot (the red track). Close to the DCP I entered a forest path and finally found my way through the forest.

Pictures 1 to 5 show the DCP and the surrounding forest, looking North, East, South and West. At 14m of “my” DCP I detected a bundle of dry grass; a marker placed by another confluence hunter?

Again some examples of “what grows and multiplies” are collected.

Continued at 48°N 7°E.