Online - sort of

Now we understand why all those Dutch boats were fleeing south along the rivers and canals: today was grey and wet, lots of drizzle and the occasional squall. Oh well, we said we wanted to avoid the great Mediterranean heat, and we are certainly doing that.

I mentioned yesterday that we are moored up in the Old Basin, but without illustration: here we are flanked by too rather grand and expensive numbers, enjoying an evening tipple (the rain stopped briefly).

We set out in the morning to do some shopping, and successfully located a supermarket that served our needs. On the way we also stopped off at a fried fish stall in the square for a nibble: very tasty calamari. The Dutch are very tidy, and like you to clean up after your best friend:

We also located a rather famous Maastricht bookshop in an old church, where we bought a guide book to Holland, which looks useful:

After a light lunch on board we returned to the centre to send various documents by courier, and also sort out the WiFi dongle problem: hopefully that is now done, at considerable cost! We wandered about in the drizzle and liked the town:

The main Markt square is very impressive:

We enjoyed seeing this lady exercising her dogs with her mobility scooter:

… and stopped for a beer at one of the many bars and cafes – keeping well under cover:

We were impressed by the indifference of the Maastrichers to the weather, and also by the fact that most scooter riders don’t bother with helmets: perhaps they are not compulsory here, as they are in most places these days.

On our way back to the boat we were also reminded that not everything is tidy here: