It’s a cold and misty morning today. Sandra arrives, says to Ali ‘I think you came here before’, and apologises for not being around yesterday. She has a coach parties from Germany and USA this morning but if we wait until around 13:00 we can see the flower houses.
Ali and Grete go for a walk and we loaf about and have an early lunch.
In the growing houses Sandra bursts into bloom with numbers; they plant 8 million bulbs each year in their 40 hectares. These are matured in the glass house and from there 80,000 to 100,000 are sent to market daily! She says their average profit each year would buy them a motorhome, but doesn’t say how new or big.
We leave the farm, knowing now that the flowering is late due to the wet autumn rather than cold spring, and head onto the A7 leading to the Afsluitdijk.
Conceived by Cornelius Lely in the 1890s and built in the 1930s, the Afsluitdijk stretches 30km across the North sea, and has a dual carriageway, a number of sluices, a man-made island and a visitor centre with monument to Lely. After a pause at the monument, where all but Nick climb the bridge and tower, we continue driving across this giant causeway with the waters of the Islemeer only a few feet below us.
When we return to ’mainland’ it is wet reedbeds, windmills and canals. The late start and hazy weather mean it’s not worth deviating to minor roads but we divert into Franeker for refuelling then go north about Leeuwarden.
We are less than a mile from our intended stop when roadworks block our route so it’s a 5 mile, round the perimeter detour until we arrive at Kuikhorne marina. Ironically roadworks frustrated our arrival here two years ago as well.
We get two prime pitches on the water’s edge overlooking the basin and jetties absolutely full of boats.
Grete picks up some tourist info brochures from reception so we may think about including some of them in the coming days.
Ali cooks rice with chicken, prawns and some of the buffalo saucisson we bought back in Chauvigny.
As a bonus the sun breaks through for the evening.