Sleeuwijk to 's-Hertogenbosch 19-21 May Dalempoort in Gorinchem Jean-Marie and Leona left us in Sleeuwijk and out next guest Tony arrived. We had a couple of days cruising to Den Bosch, where we will participate in a barge rally. In Sleeuwijk there were no buses on a Sunday, and no ferries until 12 noon. Leona and J-M needed to catch a train, so we caught the first ferry over to Gorinchem with them to meet our next guest Tony. Tony recently joined the Melbourne barging group, and is thinking of buying a boat over here, so we invited him to join us for a couple of days cruising. First though we had lunch and a walk around the lovely city of Gorinchem. Howard was very disappointed that the map shop we had visited before had closed. An unusual roof in Gorinchem The weather was quite cold and the wind was picking up that evening, but luckily had dropped off the next morning so didn't add an extra complication to our backing out in the morning. We headed to Heusden, a pleasant 3 hour cruise along the Afgedamde Maas. Tony went through his first European lock and we saw a lovely cruiser Evening Shadow, which looked perfect for Tony (although perhaps a little out of his price range). Like Howard, Tony wears shorts in all weathers. It was 12 degrees! After lunch we cycled into town for a look around. We have been here twice before but still find this quaint town lovely. Many interesting signs on houses (and shops). Below: this one says DOMICILIA DEI ANTIPODI (home of the antipodes), so perhaps owned by an Aussie or Kiwi. Initially we planned to make two days of cruising to our mooring in Den Bosch, one to the north of the city, which would only take a couple of hours, and then on Wednesday morning through the lock to our mooring at 11am (as the lock only opens 3 times a week). But Howard thought it would be best do the trip in one day so we left at 8am and got to the mobile bridge by 12 noon. As the bridge doesn't open until 1pm we had lunch while we waited, and then proceeded into the harbour. Someone being pushed home. There was already one barge in the harbour, Rebecca and Michel from t'Majeur, who we knew from last year. Sid and Jan on the Sherborne just missed the 1pm bridge and had to wait for 4pm. Then Tom and Liza on Daffodil and Chris and Diana on Esme just missed the 4pm bridge and had to wait until 7pm. So by Tuesday evening there are already 5 large barges in the harbour. I am sure more will start arriving.
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AuthorWe are sharing stories about and travels on our barge Moondance. Archives
August 2023
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