An easy way to see new horizons is to physically change position. Trickier, but perhaps more rewarding, is to navigate through attitudes. My recent day trip served as a reflection on both.
I hopped on a train and enjoyed watching the flat landscape turn wavy. It always feels nice. Saturated spring greenery also lifted my mood, so the journey went by, and I soon stepped out in Coo village. Coo is famous for its waterfalls and amusement park, but I set off in the opposite direction, though. Not too far away is the city of Stavelot, which I wanted to take a closer look at ever since I passed through last November. Today was the day.
Stavelot is separated from Coo by a hill, so that's where I went. It only took about 200 meters from the station, and I was on a dirt road leading into the forest. Excellent! I was happy to be in some calmer settings after being in a city for a while. The road soon changed to a narrow trail that climbed the hill. As I hiked up, almost everyone I met said hello, further adding to the positive vibes. Some of those people even ran! I was happy to maintain walking speed with my backpack, so seeing multiple trailrunners in both directions felt crazy. However, I imagined that most locals would think the same about a proposition of riding a bike here, something I had thought about ever since I joined the trail and saw its tight switchbacks and rocky sections. The hiking trail was quite busy to fit bikers, but the area could easily accommodate a separate trail network. The hill already caters to a variety of recreational tastes besides hiking; there are two paragliding sites and a chairlift running from the amusement park, yet no sanctioned downhill runs.
The chairlift, like the hiking trail, led to another attraction, an observation tower. It was free to visit and had enough space for everyone to enjoy the vistas of the surroundings.
The view from the tower was one of the best I've seen in Belgium. It also further reinforced my stance: this region could become the Tweed Valley of Benelux, if locals wanted. It appears, though, that most do not; I often end up feeling like an outsider when I share my view of sporting opportunities with locals. However, that encourages me to broaden my outlook on the matter. The state of MTB in Belgium pushed me to embrace road cycling, and because Belgium has made open-water swimming illegal for most, I picked up an inflatable boat and learned that kayaking can be pretty great. So it happened, the backpack I carried today had the said boat in it. Stavelot and Coo are connected by the Amblève River, and I planned to take a ride on it on my way back.
The terrain leveled, and another pretty road took me out of the forest. There, I run into two guys who unloaded heavy-hitting mountain bikes from a van. A-ha! I couldn't resist a small chat, and while they confirmed the unofficial status of the local MTB scene, it was a glimpse of hope. I walked away with reassurance that there ARE people who think as I do.
From the parking lot, I started a descent to Stavelot's center. It felt like an open-air museum of villas; a selection of styles, years of build, and different sizes. A few had square footage that some hotels wouldn't shy away from. Indeed, one mansion featured a "for rent" sign. Curious, I did a quick internet search for the offer: €1.5K per night. Phew!
Closer to downtown, the urban setting grew denser, and when I said bonjour to a small group I passed, nobody replied. Different world again. About a block later, I saw a group of road cyclists in colorful jerseys followed by two team cars. As they rode on, some bystanders took photos. I reflected that, while such a scene wouldn't have meant anything to me before a couple of years ago, moving to Belgium taught me to understand some of the bystanders' excitement. The team's livery was of this year's Roubaix winner!
I thought that, in Stavelot, I would find a restaurant with outdoor seating to eat lunch. However, when I got to the main square, I was somewhat underwhelmed. The square was beautiful, but instead of being full of people shopping, eating, sipping an afternoon drink in the shade of some greenery, it was just full of cars.
Granted, there was a cafe, but it was closed, and honestly, eating at a parking lot wasn't what I had in mind anyway. Moreover, besides the traffic on the square, one could hear a distant but prominent noise of revved engines. Near Stavelot is an F1 race circuit that, as I learned, hosted a 12h endurance race for GT cars that day. It didn't give Stavelot extra points for prolonging my stay: I didn't use to question this, but the pleasant experience of Belgian cities with main squares sounding chatter rather than vehicular racket changed my mind. The situation got a bit better when I went to check out what was left of the local abbey a bit further down the way, but I still opted to keep walking towards the Ambléve.
I could see rapids downstream from the location where I set up the boat. They probably wouldn't be worth a mention to an experienced kayaker; however, with my skill level, I thought that it was better that I hadn't eaten. Comfort zone feels different, but that's not why I came. Off we go!
The city gave way to the countryside shortly after the first rapids, but the river's character remained, requiring vigilance. Slalom between liberally distributed big boulders, bracing through rapids, picking a line not to get stuck on rocks in shallow waters, and repeat. Oh, and stunning views of forests and glades in between. It was terrific!
Between Stavelot and Coo, the Ambléve flows through the village of Trois-Ponts, which translates as 'Three Bridges' in English. Nowadays, there are more than three, and the most impressive is the railway viaduct with a modern extension for bikes and pedestrians, a part of a RAVeL greenway. Passing beneath it was another happy moment of the trip.
About 100 meters after the viaduct, the Amblève is joined by the river Salm, and continues towards Coo. This section was calmer, but no less fun. Once in Coo, I folded the boat back into the backpack and checked out the falls. Finally, I got myself a late lunch before catching a train home, and took the trip's refreshing nature into the workweek to come.
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