A day of some frustrations

Kampen to Harderwijk

We got away at a reasonable hour, easing ourselves out of a tight berth, astern with a couple of right-angle turns and a cross wind. Not easy, particularly with the worried owner of a mighty 67-footer standing on his bows and watching critically. We managed not to hit him, or anyone else, and got away down the river to the mouth of the Ijssel, where it debouches into the Ijsselmeer, and eventually the North Sea.

It was quite bumpy, with a fresh breeze on the nose as we reached the mouth of the river, but soon we turned almost 180 degrees onto the more sheltered waterway between Flevoland and the mainland. Here we are cruising happily in company:

After an hour or so, however, we were warned by boats coming the other way that the waterway was blocked, either by a bridge or a lock wasn't clear. So it was about-turn, to retrace our steps for another hour, to approach the lock taking us into the heart of Flevoland – which, in case you don't know, is largely reclaimed land of fairly recent date.

There were five boats queuing for the lock, one rather large, so we didn't get in for the first locking and had to await another cycle. By the time we were through it was time for lunch, and there was a comfortable quayside to tie up alongside. Interestingly, the lock dropped us some five metres, below sea level!

After lunch we set off, and it has to be said, the landscape was not very inspiring:

A high point was some teenage boys jumping off a road bridge into the canal. About six or seven metres, I think. Look carefully and you will see one caught in mid-air:

Flevoland also has a large proportion of the Netherlands' 2,000 or so onshore wind turbines, and indeed they seemed to be everywhere. But for the most part remote from human habitation, not least because the place seems to be sparsely populated. Lots of agriculture, and we failed to identify most of the crops – shaming for ex-FAO staff! Anyway, here are some wind turbines:

And also a family of swans:

To get back to the main waterway we had to go through another five-metre lock, upwards this time. Unfortunately it was small and there was a boat ahead of us, so it took about an hour of waiting. But eventually we emerged for the final couple of kilometres to Harderwijk – which looks inviting from the water:

Even the obligatory windmill on the way into port:

But unfortunately they haven't excavated the town's new marina, advertised on our navigation software. Just a building site. Although that didn't stop the man coming around to claim 11 euros fee for mooring on a dilapidated pier:

Tomorrow we will head for Muiden, where there is a castle we failed to visit last year. Maybe we'll have better luck this time, though it will be Monday, which tends to be a bad day for visiting things.