Last night it rained heavily and there are still plenty of showers this morning. We send a few 'Happy Easter' messages then prepare to set off, hoping we get off the sloping grass pitch OK after all the rain. We do, then go to the service point before setting off to Gouda. It's a busy and relatively uninteresting 90 minute motorway journey until the last 3 miles into the camperstop where we are lucky to get the last free electricity point. After a quick coffe...

Another morning, another marina. The German school ships start sailing away from 08:30, hoisting vast areas of sail as they process down the dyke. By the time we get underway ourselves nearly all of the ships that were in last night have returned to sea. We head towards Hoorn over more areas of wetland and canals, but there are noticably more trees here than we've seen to date. Approaching Edam we decide to see if there is any camper parking in the town and w...

At 09:00 the harbour master arrives on his golf buggy to collect our mooring fee of €7.50, half the advertised amount and a bargain considering the amount of electric heating we've used. Ali asks if there is a grey water dump here. "Yes", He says and races off on his cart. Phlegmatic islanders again. Next to the washblock is a drain so we drop our waste there and get on our way. Just ouside Urk we stop for fuel. It's attendant service by a happy chap who '...

The beauty of having no real itinerary is the freedom to change your mind. Last night we decided to get going early and cross the inner dyke to Enkhuizen but this morning after checking the laundry facilities Ali decides to get some washing done. The harbour master provides the key and gives some friendly but unnecessary advice and instruction on how to operate the washing machine. The most helpful bit is that the 1 hour cycle is quicker than the 2 hour cycle....

Quite a bit of rain in the night but it's quiet and dry this morning and doesn't have the raw cold feel of the last few days. We crawl along the canal-side and through narrow suburban streets, all brick paved, where drivers give way to one another and no one is hurried. A few miles of rural roads and then it's busy motorway for the next hour. We are still close to Germany for a third of the way and there are a lot more trees than we have seen so far. At 13:00...