Pufferjies in Edam

It was something of a relief to leave Amsterdam. An amazing city, with amazing things to visit and see – many of which we did – but unbelievably crowded at this time of year. Without question the most touristy place we have visited on the trip so far, and we are not really used to that. The congestion in the marina reflected the general overcrowdedness: many boats were trying to leave,  but the way latecomers had been crammed in yesterday meant that it was 11.30 before we finally reached open water. One delay came when the lady on a large yacht blocking the way out was found to be taking a shower!

Good humour prevailed, however, and eventually it all came good. We set off up a small canal heading for Edam. At first we passed a line of rather hippyish looking boats, many openly growing cannabis in pots on deck. There were canoeists out too, and we wondered what the English health and safety brigade would say about this little fellow's equipment:

Finally we managed to photograph one of the constructions that have intrigued me in Holland, which is the device for keeping the rain off your hay stack. The roof can be wound up and down on pulleys at the top of the four posts at the corners. Very clever, these Dutch:

Much of the time we were cruising along above, indeed well above, the level of the surrounding countryside. Unexpected to be looking down on the cows:

We arrived at Edam in mid-afternoon, to find that the lifting bridge giving access to the centre only lifts once an hour, and we had just missed one opening. So we decided to moor up anyway and walk in – it is not a large town. To our delight we found that they were having their big day of the year – a sort of car boot sale, or vide grenier in French. Dozens of families laying out their unwanted stuff along the streets and canals and hoping to make a bob or two. The children entered enthusiastically into the spirit of the thing, bawling out their special offers:

This stall caught the eye – perhaps for the wrong reasons:

But the big moment came when we came across a stall selling pufferjies, a kind of little puffy pancake that you can eat with honey or chocolate, though we chose the classic butter and icing sugar. We had read about this national dish, which is a specialty for holidays, fairs and parties, but always failed to find them. The mother and daughter selling them from a little van had nearly run out, so we were definitely lucky – and they were delicious:

The main square had a comfortable café for refreshment ...

... then it was back to the boat via a cheese shop that also sold wine and ham and chocolate: