On Sunday, Ocober the 17^th, we went together with Katarina De Vos (Healthxl.be) and David Wolfe to the Belgian Hautes Fagnes for a Wild foods hunt.

The weather was typical for this little Belgian ‘last wilderness’, foggy and cold!

Lots of natural ‘Fast Foods’ were found: many types of mushrooms and edible plants!

It was amazing to see how David Wolfe is able to read an environment he has never been in before.

When you eat ‘free food’ you become free yourself !

When you eat wild food you become wild yourself !

“Running out of toothpaste? No problem! I’ll pick some up at the…..oh no, it has plastic!” “Forgot my water bottle for my pilates workout at the gym? Oh no! I am not gonna buy a plastic bottle.”

Our family took the challenge of not buying any plastic for 2 weeks! Of course we had read blogs and tips from other people who had set the same goal for a certain period of time as well. The reality is that as long as you don’t try it yourself, you won’t have the slightest idea of how difficult it is to ban plastic on your grocery list. What started out as a fun thing (and yes, also some frustration now and then) pretty soon became a quest that needed a fair amount of planning and creativity.

Walking through your local supermarket, you quickly realize that 95% of the sold goods (even the organic ones) are wrapped in plastic. A “no go” of course! Some of the alternatives we found were sold in “organic-shops”. But even their stores were filled with plastic. We sometimes drove further than we normally would to buy food, visiting small shops here and there we had never discovered before.

We asked the owners to pack the food in the containers we brought with us instead of in plastic. Sometimes they looked a bit confused at first. But by the next trip it was “business as usual”. We also bought more things packed in cardboard or glass. The local market was also a pretty plastic free environment on the condition that you bring your own paper bags and containers.

Two weeks without plastic is possible!

We had our ups and downs. The efforts of avoiding plastics maybe wasn't always the healthiest or most eco-friendly choice. But it was a very good mental exercise. We watched and thought before buying, and were aware of what we were buying. We also slowed down and avoided the typical rush-to-the-supermarket visits. By no means are we saying that “avoiding” plastic is the only correct way to go.

Changing the world is a complex mix of different efforts. There is no good or better or best, only good intentions!

After a visit to the Natural park Cabo de Gata in burning hot Almeria, our stay in the Catalan Serra del Cadi in the Natural Park Cadi Moixero, was a true “Call of the Wild”.

Anna Mañach and Jordi Francès’  REFUGI REBOST was the perfect Pre Pyrenees base camp.

Hiking, climbing and playing with the kids , bare foot running, being lazy and enjoying Anna’s delicious meals were on the daily menu !

The Refugio is one of the 8 refuges on the Cavalls del Vent Circuit, a 100km long traverse, going from one mountain hut to another. That might be a an adventure for the near future!
www.refugirebost.cat