After a couple of nights we
left Brugges and sailed along the coast to Vlissingen
pronounced Flushing. This is where the Dutch
canal system can be entered and the 'mast up route' through Holland taken. It was a gentle trip just
making around 30 miles a day ending up passing through Amsterdam
on the North Sea Canal and out into Marker Meer.
While passing through the
town of Haarlem
we watched a rather different type of street cleaner. It was a small barge
which not only cleaned the surface of any trash but also had a grab which was
used to find and retrieve the bikes that had fallen into the water. There was a
pile of them aboard.
Strange street cleaner.
When I was younger we knew
this as the Zeider Zee. It is a vast inlet which has been dammed in two places.
The Southern part renamed Marker Meer and the North called Ijssel Meer.
In the South part is the island of Marken. The whole island is below the
level of the surrounding water with a dyke all the way round the island and the
harbour.
Houses behind the dyke at Marken.
The whole place is incredibly
'quaint' or 'picture squeaky' as Mo and her friends describe these sort of
places. Ti Gitu entered the harbour to find that for three days the mooring
there is free. Surprising as it is a very popular place and even in the cold
weather we are having, the island is full of tourists all day.
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