Day 111: Makkum to Enkhuizen, Netherlands: Going in giant circles

September 7, 2012

Our campsite had a view of both old and new windmills, something we much enjoyed. However in terms of enjoyment it is also hard to beat the small and dingy kitchen, containing so many luxuries, like chairs, and power!

We set off own the Fryslan coast, in the direction of Stavoren, where the map indicated there might be a passenger ferry back to Holland. Failing that, we would carry on back to Lelystad, and repeat our stunt of cyclng the 30 km dike over to Enkuizen.

In the meantime, our game was to look at the coastal Fryslan towns. First up was Makkum, and then Workum. But when it came to the crunch, in that the path skirted the towns, we found ourselves reluctant to detour. At Hindeloopen, on the other hand, the path went into the town, and we were (unjustly) rewarded with one of the cutest little port towns imaginable. Once again we had the dollhouse type buildings, narrow streets, canals, and in this case, the harbour.

There were lots of really inviting looking restaurants in Hindeloopen, but we decided to hold out for Stavoren. It wasn’t only that we greedily hoped to find even more inviting places on the “other side of the fence”. Rather we really were hoping for that ferry and were eager to go see what the story would be.

The way to Stavoren led beside the dike, and as we now expected, we passed by lots of sheep mowing the grass. In places the sheep shared the path with us, meaning that we were dodging the sheep poo so eloquently warned of by Catherine Croucher in the guestbook.

We also came to an area set aside for wind surfing, or whatever you call it when a kite pulls you on a surfboard. On the leeward side of the dike the wind was quite gentle, but on the windward side it was brisk – perfect for any wind sports. It is logical that the Dutch should exploit the abundant wind – so we see not only windmills but windsurfing schools, and much sailing.

Stavoren looked to be yet another super cute little port, but it turned out we could not see much of it. There was a ferry, and we had arrived just 30 minutes before departure. We had been told that the ferries marked on our map (the one from the old farmer) no longer existed, and that had coloured our planning. Now that we had found one, we were eager to hop on it. But that meant we missed the further towns down the coast, including Urk, which is said to be really worth visiting. Oh well … “next time”.

What we could see of Stavoren had interesting ships, including some with full rigging, and one “pirate ship” with black sails that passed our boat as we pulled out of the harbour.

We pulled into Enkhuizen, which was as beautiful as the first time we had arrived - on the dike. Found a camping spot just outside of town and came back in with unloaded bikes. Wow, are they ever jumpy with no load.

We found a restaurant run by an Egyptian family. It is called the Nooit Gedacht. We had sashlik and grilled lamb chops. It was a welcome change from Dutch food, sorry to say. Also they had wifi, which is why you are reading this. And they let us keep our bikes by our table, which is why we confidently expect to make it back to our campsite for a long night's nap!

The view from our campsite: old and new windmills

Look at this map of both sides of the Zuiderzee area. We assume the open areas of North Holland (left), Fryslan (upper right) and Flevoland (lower left) we guess to be relatively newly reclaimed.

Bakery in Makkum. The quality was equal to or less than Canada, which is quite a condemnation. We think we are swearing off Dutch bakeries!

The real vee roosters are actually very dangerous to your wheel

A passing tourist - we have not seen many in Netherlands, but there are still enough that they do not stop to say hello.

Look at all the lakes in Fryslan. We are going down the left coast.

What Catherine was talking about in the guestbook!

Electric bikes are big here, but still cost many thousand euros

Where are our cannons when we need them!

See the flag? This would have been a fierce headwind had we cycled over the Marker dike today.

The kids enjoyed the splash as our ferry powered along

Today's ride: 60 km (37 miles)
Total: 5,809 km (3,607 miles)

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