Akkum to Gorrekijk

Brrrr .. a bit nippy again this morning with a bit of a drizzle. Still, it brightened up after a couple of hours in time for us to have to drop our bimini and tent to get through a 3.2m bridge just outside Akkrum. Despite the overcast grey skies, the canal was just as beautiful as we expected. Yes, and pretty darn narrow in places - shallow too. 

The queen ...

... and a lady.

The passage through the pretty village of Oldebarn was a highlight of the day. After pressing the service button at the first of the combination of 4 bridges, we were met by a lovely lady who humped them open by hand - or hip, really.

 We must have been one of the first boats through the village this year as the cruise season runs from the 15th May to 15th September and being mid-week they have probably not had much traffic through.  Everyone was very friendly and waved and chatted as we went by.

All three of these picturesque bridges had to be opened by hand.

Narrow!

This little chap was happy to see us ...

..... this little one, not so much.

It was knocking on lunch-time when we got 10km or so down/up the canal so we found a handy couple of canalside pylons to tie up to for lunch. The bridges ahead of us would have been closed, so we figured we would also chill out with sandwiches on the aft deck in the, now, warm sunshine until they reopened at 13:00.  You can tell the waterfowl along here are not as used to boaters, as they were a bit nonplussed by the bread we threw them. "Huh - wadda you chuckin' that at me for? Quaaak"

Skip asked me if I had Smellovision on my blog, as he would dearly love to share the all-pervasive farmyard odour which has accompanied us most everywhere we have been since we got into Friesland. It is not exactly an unpleasant smell, just very PARTICULAR and NOTICEABLE, especially where they have just recently been spraying the fields with slurry, the contents of which I would rather not investigate too deeply. Well, Friesland is known for its cows, cheese, butter and milk. 

"Your favourite Chocomel chocolate milk comes from Friesland." I reminded Skip.

We decided to stop the night at the public moorings just after the 2nd bridge into Gorredijk and before the first lock. We wanted to cycle up to the town to take a look at the self service bridges to suss out how they work before we go through there tomorrow. Good thing too, as I would be the one hopping off to open them and I couldn't figure out how to release the lock until Skip showed me how.  

The first passantahaven is just beyond the second bridge into Gorredijk (from the Akkum side). The electricity is coin operated, as are the showers. I don't know how much the moorings cost as no-one came to collect any money. The wifi is good. Personally we prefer the moorings on the other side of town, (below), especially if you don't have bicycles as the others are a bit of a walk into town. 

The town is bigger than we expected, with three big supermarkets and lots of shops. There was also an inviting bar next to the bridge on the lock where we whiled away an hour with a fine beer and a plate of borrel (snacks). The bridge is named after the last Gorredijk man to die in WWII in an unsuccessful attempt to save the bridge for the Canadian forces who were approaching from the south. There is also a poignant memorial next to the bridge to the Jewish community who once resided in Gorredijk, almost none of whom returned after the war.

This canal was dug in the 18th & 19th centuries to facilitate the peat industry which grew up in the bog lands around these parts. Even today, the canal water is particularly black from the peaty soils the water flows through. The industry gives the canal system it's monicker - the Turf Route. The canal is operated and maintained by a preservation society as it doesn't form part of the national canal system. One usually has to purchase a permit for cruising the route, although the lock keeper informed us that for some reason this year they have waived the fee.

The orange bit in front of the windmill is a hand-operated ferry. I don't really know why it is needed, as there is a perfectly good bridge about 500m up the canal.

I spent awhile with my charts and maps when we returned to the boat, trying to figure out exactly where we will go next as the locks and bridges on the Turf Route are all closed on Sundays. "It's a pity we don't have another day in hand." I informed Skip. "It would make it much easier and we would'nt have to rush through by the end of tomorrow,  Saturday."  Just then Skip turned on Radio 2 where we heard Simon Mayo interviewing Stephanie, aged 8, asking how her Thursday school classes had gone. 
"Thursday???" we both shouted, reaching for a calendar. So, that sorts that then. Another day in hand :) :) :)

This is Skipper (he's the one in the  carriage in the back). He and his dad are staying in one of the RV's in the background. He also came by later and got left-over BBQ 'cos he's a "Good Boy".