Wow. time certainly moves on. I am now into the Netherlands, and have made some important decisions. Travelling through Belgium, I mad ‘fast tracks’ because of Covid issues. No contact with the shore people, except at at a distance, and rapid movement through the country. Then into the Netherlands. I moored just across the border in a bumpy (lots of commercial traffic) mooring, at Gavre. Then, across the Scheldt to Sint Annaland, which was my first opportunity to deal with the complex issues about the future of me and boating. Sint Annaland is a large yacht mooring- more than 350 boats, on salt water and quite isolated by land. Expensive mooring, but the harbourmaster spent more than 2h helping me with next steps.
first operating traditional mill I have seen
private residence with affluence on display with their own carillon (drool!).
another municipal carillon. They are SO cool
Weesp. Waiting for the bridge is no hassle wen serenaded with this carillon. Bells…
I motored towards the northeast on the Scheldt and stopped for a few days in Gornichrem. Lovely city, lots to see, and (especially appealing) from my mooring, I could hear the city carillon, playing every hour during the day. The main route is the Amsterdam-Rijn canal which is the ‘superhighway’ that connects Amsterdam and the Rijn river, but that has tons of commercial traffic, no scenery (high banks), and no amenities like secure stopping places. I avoided that by taking the winding, slow (6 km/h speed limit) Vecht river, which has lots of stuff to see, and lots of places to moor.
Then, on to the meers (the seas that have been reclaimed and ‘tamed’). I am headed northeast and sheltered in an island lagoon at de Schelp. Then, onward to the next sheltered mooring at WIJ-land. The weather is decidedly autumn-like- cool nights, showers and windy days. Then on to the very best mooring I have seen in 4 years: Eekt Island, just northeast of Elburg. A sheltered, island mooring. Absolute peace and quiet, no wakes, no cost, and…
