12th May 2016
Volendam to Almere

We have been dithering about where to go next. We were planning to go down to Monnickendam to meet up with Gerrit and Sandra, but they can´t make it til Saturday, and we need to be heading back to Strandhorst by then.  

We had thought about 2 nights in Volendam, but Skip could´nt contemplate another day with all the tourists. We then thought we would go across to Marken (on the peninsula) for lunch and spend the night in Monnickendam anyway. 

I expect that everyone who has ever visited Monnickendam has this same photo sat next to the monk next to the town square.

"Don´t bother to photograph that" said Skip, 
"There are too many trucks and cars."
"I´ll be able to crop them out." I thought. And so I have. But truthfully, the streets were lined with many many vans. This 16thC building used to be the weigh house, where goods were weighed and taxed.

The day started sunny but windy, so we changed our minds again and decided to cycle down to Monnickendam (7km down the coast) and check it out. If it proved unmissable we could then take the boat down, if not we would just head across the meer and get the crossing over and done with. 

Narrow canal and lock in the centre of Monnickendam.

Even Jaqui had kibbeling for lunch. (Fish & chips, without the chips)

The ride down the coast, protected by the sea dijk, was pretty and rural and we enjoyed the cycle around the town, but it´s by no means "unmissable" so here we are now moored up inside the polder just outside Almere. 

The 15km crossing was as unpleasant as we expected especially as the wind had picked up to a steady 25 knots and 1m short chop. It was not as bouncy as the other day, although the way everything was tied down, we would´nt have lost anything over the side, even if it had been. It was, nonetheless, a relief to get back on a canal, protected as we are by a forest on the windward side. 

Moored up in a small basin off the canal just outside Almere - no stroom, no water, no wifi, nobody else and NO CHARGE! Wonderful.