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As forecast it is grey and cold today. We service the van and check out of what has been a very peaceful and restful stop. There is a bit of a surprise, we've had the electric heating on so much we incur a moderate surcharge but it's been worth it to stay warm when we haven't been feeling our best.
The road from Noordwijkerhout north is quite narrow and goes through a few small towns. We take a slight detour west to Zandvoort, once the home of the Dutch Grand Prix. It's a large, seaside resort but partially hidden among the dunes on our right we can see bits of the circuit, pits and grandstands. To our left the cold, grey north sea makes it look like the last place to have a race today.
Globetrotting further north we bypass Harlem and from there on we see numerous windmills, canals and flower fields. Most are bare but a few are coloured with flowers even through the drizzle.
Near IJmuden a brightly lit tunnel takes us under the estuary. We leave the motorway at Alkmeer and join the dyke road toward Den Helder. It's long, mostly straight and not very wide with canals running along one side or both. The dyke above us to the left is keeping out the north sea whose level we are 5 meters below.
Approaching Den Helder we are right alongside the busy harbour. Tugs, dredgers and a floating drydock line the canal then as we enter town there are rows of wooden boats. We find the camperstop and a free space in the heart of a former barracks, now a series of museums.
After lunch Ali has a quick look around but cannot find the TI where we are supposed to pay. Anyway the wind and drizzle makes it far too cold to go wandering along the quays or into town and as it's 14:45 it's too late to do justice to any one on the many museums.
Options; stay here the night in a windy, bleak carpark and hope for better tomorrow or move on and mayby come another time when better weather would make a better visit. We opt to move on.
Thirty minutes away is an agri-turism site on a flower farm. Well it would have been 30 minutes but for being in the box seat of the hold-up while a bridge opens to let a barge up the canal.
When we arrive at the farm at Slootdorp there is a brief outbreak of sunshine. It's a lovely spot parked next to a field of ponies.
Sandra, the farmer's wife, invites us into the greenhouses and gives us a fascinating tour.
http://tulpenexcursie.nl/?lang=en
In a computer controlled climate they pick 100,000 bulb per day! When the colour shows they are lifted from the sand trays including the bulb. A machine x-rays and sorts stems by length and crushes off the bulb, then aligns the heads and bands up bunches of 10. These are palletised in buckets of water and held in cold storage for collection to the auction. The crushed bulbs are processed on site and become bio-fuel to create energy which is used on the farm.
After being overloaded with facts, two newly frozen tulip xperts return to the van for tea and cake.
Feeling much better over our colds we push the boat out this evening with steak dinner and our first glass of wine since Sunday.
P.S. According to Sandra we are 8 metres below sea level. Last time the dyke was breached only rooftops were visible, but, she adds, that was from German bombs in WWII and it won't happen again. Such faith.
Ahhgggg! there were 6 German motorhomes back at Den Helder!
Cue Titanic theme dear readers.....
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