24th August
Biesbosch to Gorinchem

OMG, hot, hot, hot.

We opened the front windscreen window, which now leans precariously on the folded-down mast, but lets in a welcome breeze especially underway and believe me we needed it as we made our way up a windless channel to the Biesboschsluis leading out to the Merwede River.



The central window-pane folded down gave a welcome breeze.

This bit of channel is feeling quite familiar, as we have now done it twice before by boat and once with the bikes.



For awhile we followed a day-tripper. You can see from the tree how shallow the channel is in places. This was obvious, others not so much.

There were a lot of boats of all sizes and shapes out enjoying the summer weather. A lot of them are open boats and I just don't know how they can stand the heat with no shade.

Lots of boats out enjoying the sunny morning.

The big river Merwede was also flat calm, except when a speed boat or fast ferry would pass by creating lots of wake. There were plenty of huge barges cruising up and down too, but they seem to create minimal wake.

The Biesbosch lock leading out to the Merwede River.

I was surprised at how many beaches there were. Real proper sandy beaches. Definitely more sand than Praia Almoxarife ;), and many of them with swimmers and sunbathers - and the odd herd of cows enjoying a long drink or huddling under the trees to get out of the sun.

The cows did'nt seem to mind sharing their beaches ....

... with the humans.

From the minute we got to the Jachtensluis leading into the small town of Gorinchem we knew we would like the place. It had all the small town feel we like and the hanging baskets full of petunias and geraniums on all the lamp posts and bridges were a colourful touch.

The Jachtensluis into Gorinchem. The small lock only takes two boats our size, plus a few little ones tucked under our bow. 

Just beyond the lock is a low, fixed bridge which today was 2.75 (it can vary). We stopped to take down the awnings and windscreens and scraped through although Skip had to duck. There is another bridge, same height, a little further along and then one of 3m.

The pretty town lies just beyond the lock. There are three low bridges 2.75m, so we had to take the tent and windows down.

There are good moorings all along this narrow canal through the center of town and we eventually picked one near the end because, at the time, there was some shade from the trees lining the road. Unfortunately our shade moved across with the sun and we spent the late afternoon in full sunshine and, oh boy, is it hot.

We hoped the shade from these trees would last. Sadly it did'nt.

I took a walk through town to escape the heat, stopping in every air-conditioned shop I could find. "Just browsing," I prevaricated when approached by shop assistants. You'll be surprised at how interesting home-wares become when displayed in an air-conditioned shop.

I also had to locate the harbour office to pay the dues (13 euros, elec & showers extra) and it was way back down the canal at the lock. The shower complex and washerette (their term) are also down there. I might put the bedding in tomorrow as they have good commercial machines - not the piddly home ones you find in some places - although it is rather a long way to schlep the laundry bag.

The mooring between the last two bridges. Zoe is furthest at the end.

Skip was supposed to be cooking again, but we both decided it was too hot. There were Dominos Pizza delivery guys flitting about on their scooters, so no prizes for guessing what we had for dinner.