Heading for Haarlem

When the time came to sail, it was fun to see the bridge keeper teaching his young son – one assumes – to do all the necessary, and even wind the handle that raise the roadway to let us through onto the river Amstel. The first part of the journey was water we had sailed before, but after an hour or so, just past Uithoorn, we turned off onto the tranquil river Drecht.

Wildlife was abundant, and horses grazing:

Dutch people taking lots of exercise too – cyclists and runners, as well as motorcycle clubs and fishermen:

There were more and more thatched houses, though not all in immaculate condition. This one needed quite a lot of attention:

Eventually we joined the famous, or infamous, Ringvaart van de Haarlemmermeerpolder, which, and I quote, forms the main drainage system for one of Holland’s most important areas of reclaimed land, as well as being a principle navigation for waterborne traffic. Well, that was certainly the case:

Though some people were taking a fairly relaxed approach, trusting to the old rule, steam gives way to sail:

We also were amused to see a Dutch cow doing what lots of Dutch people do – watching the boats go by, a somewhat bemused look on its face:

In a narrow part through a small town, a ferry caused us to make an emergency stop – but no harm done:

Many of the open launches had groups of young people having a party - lots of eating, drinking, and in this case, singing and dancing:

Eventually we found a comfortable canal-side mooring, with water and electricity and a private lawn for us to relax on. 

Rather late in the evening we found it also provided free WiFi, which explains why this is being posted the morning after. Anyway, on to Haarlem tomorrow (now today), and hopefully a better solution to our internet problem.