The Great Flood continues at times. It rained all night and there is a lot of mud around the tent.
The first three days put a strain on our enthusiasm for adventure. The endless rain led us to spend sleepless nights listening to the constant tapping of the water on the sides of the tent, wondering if this very cheap tent would actually be waterproof. This state of continuous tension will result in a fight in the middle of the night with a threat from Pollo to “turn around and go to Spain, so you stop complaining!! `{`...`}`”
Luckily, the fourth day begins without rain and it allows us to pack the tent and set off to the next city: Dorderecht.
Notes:
The mood of the troop, which during the night was considering whether to go home or not, improves significantly with the sun.
DINNER:
After 4 days of navigation ``Quequa`` joined the crew, it’s the Yellow Pump deckhand who has already proved his worth.. (it's the foot pump we were looking for yesterday).
Here in Dorderecht we also have to report the meeting with the port keeper PaperRyo who bit my thumb (a duck that keeps attacking our tent, and my fingers when I try to pet it). Unfortunately we already have some losses: Boo the GoodShampoo and Dulb the LightBulb who do not answer the roll call.
Today we went to the Kinderdijk mills. The guy from the campsite told us to take the boat. From there the mills should be practically a stone’s throw away. We took the ferry (€ 7.50 RT) then we looked for the mills until we found ourselves in front of a sign indicating them in 6 km (4 miles). Grabbing lunch at the supermarket we asked if it was possible to rent bikes or take a bus to these damned mills, but nothing!
So saddle up and go! …Until, exhausted by the kilometers walked and hurt by lying road signs saying “in 200 meters” (220 yards), we stopped and took a bus.
After a journey that took a lot of effort and resembled a via crucis, we eventually arrived. 17/19 mills stood out in front of us… Truly impressive! There, to see all of them, we rented two bicycles for the modest price of €2.50.
Going to the museum mill, we barely had time to chain the bikes and avoid getting rained on …Which happened anyway half an hour later while we were cycling towards the other mills.
This evening we ate in the Dorderecht city center, but first we had a tour of the city which seems to be halfway between Pirates of the Caribbean and the houses of Mary Poppins.
Side Notes: here the sheep respond like the dogs: you whistle and they run.
