Map of part of the Ahoy's Itinary

TO GORINCHEM AND ON

 The bicycle riders were off as soon as breakfast was over to ride the 30 Kilometres to our next port, Gorinchem. The ship left on it’s 9:AM schedule as we headed through two bridges, one a swing bridge, the other a lift. Along the road that bordered the houses on one side and the canal on the other, we saw a man in a two seater horse drawn carriage trotting his two horses along at a steady clip. 

Rows of trees bordered the canal and sometimes there were tall reeds of different types.  Wide bicycle paths run along both sides of all the canals and there were numerous cyclists along our route. 

Windmills are all along our route

Gorinchem is another charming old town, larger than Vianen with a large square full of cafes for drinks, food and ice-cream.  There is also a museum.  The current shows were: Unusual Modern Jewellery Designs (sorry I didn’t take pictures. I thought they were all extremely ugly.), the history of the city, and also an historic moment in the late 1500s, over 500 years ago. Earlier in the country’s history,Philip II of Spain, had seized the Country of Holland (now known as the Netherlands) as one of his colonies, and tried to impose Catholicism on the Dutch population.  But in 1572, the citizens of Northern Holland rebelled against King Philip and his religion.  During the rebellion, 19 Roman Catholic priests and any fervent believers among the local population who had converted to Catholicism were captured, tortured then killed by the local populace.  Today, in modern Holland one finds that there are more Catholics living in the south of Netherlands than in the north.  Probably because of the influence of this and other uprisings in Northern Holland that eventually drove Philip II of Spain, and his minions from their land. ( Some of this information was translated from a museum brochure by Corry, a fellow passenger.)

Cyclists meeting us at Gorinchen

One thing I found quite interesting is that a number of the bicycles, the ladies on the boat ride, are electric.  They can be ridden at speeds of as much as 30 to 35 Kilometres and hour. Riek, a hardy 81 year old, traveling with her friend Wilma, told me, “Oh! no, I don’t go those speeds, I only go 20 to 25 kilometres an hour. I have traveled as much as 100 kilometres, I swim two days a week, play tennis two days a week, garden and clean my own house.  I am very fortunate.” 

 I am highly  impressed by Reik’s stamina and vigor, and hope that I too can travel at those speeds on a bike, swim and play tennis when I reach 81 years of age.  She also told me, she will be 82 on October 4th, which is Animal Day in Holland, “A good day for animals.” Riek said.

Museum entrance on the square

A grass roofed house along the way - very expensive to insure

Upon tying up at the dock in Gorinchem, we found that one of the little ladies who rode an electric bike had caught the tire of her bike in a rut and had toppled over down the side of the bike path. She hurt her leg and damaged her hand and arm. The ambulance had arrived and taken her to the hospital before the boat had docked.  After dinner a couple of the other lady passengers went over to the hospital to check out her condition.  I was told she had internal bleeding in her chest and had to stay in the hospital for at least two days.  It was about three days later, that she hired a taxi and was back on the cruise.  She arrived with a great bandage on her leg and an enormous cast on up her arm which covered her whole arm from the elbow down and her hand.  And what did she brake to require such a big cast - her pinky finger.  Of course the bicycling part of the cruise was over for her, but she was out walking  about the towns enjoying the sites with the rest of us.  

.

2ND FULL DAY

Today we are on our way to Zierkzee via Bruinisse.  We were suppose to leave at 7 AM, stop at Bruinisse at 11:30 for two and a half hours, then go on. Unfortunately, it is raining heavily. There is thunder in the distance,  and the rain streams down the sides of the main cabin’s glass windows. Outside big drops hurl down on the canopied covered deck keeping most of my fellow passengers(except the smokers) in the main cabin. We are unable to leave port until 9: AM.  Instead of bikers off on their rides, we have most of the 17 of us in the main dining room chatting, reading, doing puzzles, and a small group delighting us with their melodious voices singing in English, Cockles and Mussels, Michael Row Your Boat Ashore, and then singing some really lovely Dutch songs, (to which almost everyone joins in singing ). 

Hanging out in the main cabin

Our120 foot boat is dwarfed by enormous barges (or tankers carrying gasoline) that pass us, some three or four times our length. Outside the land is verdant from the rain.  A weather report informs us of extreme flooding in Amsterdam a city built below sea level, and of the road closings there and throughout other parts of the country. Holland is saturated.  It sounds much like the weather we experienced at home in south Florida in surrounding communities this spring..  We cruise along in a more misty rain passing through bridges and into the Krammer Volkarat (a rather wide river) as if nothing has happened. Yet, those individuals who find road closings in and around Amsterdam know better.

Although everyone is lovely, probably because I live alone, I am finding it hard to be confined daily on a boat with so many individuals.  I crave some quiet solitude, which I could certainly enjoy in my cabin, but then I would miss seeing the scenery.  So I tough it out, and when we finally reach Ziekerzee, I am the first to disembark. I find it odd that in this group of people surrounded by water, many of my companions do not like fish. I plan to miss dinner, as I am going out on the town to eat FISH.

My Bass fish dinner - the white oblong in the front is also sea food but I don't know what it is??? 

Magen, and old Golden Lab taking her walk wearing her boots

I also have some very definite errands, post cards to mail, finding an English language newspaper, and hopefully the Internet.  Thus, when I got off the boat, I immediately ask the first local I see, a nice young man, Foris, who happened to be working in the ice cream shop next to the pier.  He was full of all kinds of knowledge, the location of the newsstand, the tourist office for stamps across from the his shop. Best of all, the ice cream stand shared their Internet with me at no charge, in gratitude I bought a carmel ice cream sundae with nuts and went merrily on my way.  

The town of Ziekerzee is just one big photo opportunity, the cameraman's dream.  It has every Dutch architectural style and cliche one could ever want, masses of interesting boats, and again, interesting people.

in town lift bridge - extended part at the top, a weight

  Speaking of boats, the harbor is full of all types of  boats - old and new, yachts and monstrous fishing vessels. Ziekerzee  was first settled sometime during the 17th and 18th centuries.  It’s extensive harbor is protected by great solid sea gates and a long man-made canal that runs from the river to the gates.  The canal is lined with a revetment of stones and/or grass on the lower level, with an upper border of cement, a grassy edge and then a fence between the canal sides and the bike path above.  I doubt if the bike path is more then 10 feet above the canal, if that.  Ziekerzee, on an island, is one of those  typically irresistible tourist villages   - the Swarovski sign says it all - with shops and restaurants oriented to the visiting boat/yacht and land-lover tourist trade alike. It is full of lots of ice cream and fried fish Kiosks and restaurants, as well as a couple of really good places that serve fish, baked and broiled rather than fried.  Lovely. 

seeing right through to their outside garden

See little bear in the window 

Boat going through the town lock 

THE NEXT MORING

After unloading the bikers who will ride the 55 kilometres to our next port, we leave Ziekerzee, crossing Keetenon Mastgat (I understand Mastagat -translates to something like small body of water - check the map), and will be going through another small canal heading to Middlelburg.  

For those readers who are not boaters below are a few nautical terms:

FOR(forward) or BOW - the front of a boat.

AFT(afterward) or STERN - the back of a boat.

MAIN CABIN - sitting and/or dinning room.

CABIN - bedroom

BUNK - bed

HEAD - toilet

GALLEY - kitchen

PORT or PORTHOLE - window

Now you have the lingo, you can go on to become real sailors. Or you can go to AMAZON.COM and buy my novel DISPOSABLE ASSETS, where you can read about the main character’s number of sailing adventures.

AHOY

I arrived at the the Ahoy Vakantie Vaaten, (translation: Ahoy, Bicycle Vacations), at about 9:30 PM, the evening before the cruise.  Captain Teun Hoelistra and his wife Margreet greeted me.  This charter boat has been run by this lovely, hard working couple for 48 years (this will be there last season). 

The Ahoy

(The Ahoy is a120 ft converted steamboat, built in 1914, at the Dir. H. De Ridder yard in Rotterdam. It is 5 meters 25 centimeters wide (do the math),  and has a draft of 1 meter 50 centimeters or about 5 feet.  It carries 1500 meters of diesel, 12000 meters of water, has two rows of solar panels on the upper deck and carries 44 passengers, although there are only 17 oldsters on our eight day cruise.  The Hoelistras used to cruise with 16 and 17 year old youngsters on bicycle tours which is a great idea. 

Some of the guests inside the main cabin

Others studying charts of our trip

 Because the boat will be for sale after their last September cruise, it would be a great idea for a USA travel agency to add this to their student tours for high schoolers (or adults cyclers) from the US and Canada to add to their itineraries.  A good bike tour leader would really make this a great trip for kids.  Captain Hoelistras is selling out because after 48 years, he is ready to retire. Their email address is:

ahoyvakantievaaten@gmail.com

During the first morning, I observed the sixteen other passengers arrive, fourteen women including me, and three men.  Except for two female teachers, all the other passengers are retirees.  Ten of the guests brought their bicycles, while the rest, like me, were on board just to enjoy the countryside, and our visits to the quaint Dutch villages along the way.  

Although most  of the cabins have four bunks, other than the couples, each individual traveler had their own cabin, which gives each of us a great amount of space.  

Breakfasts and lunches consist (with small additions daily) of an assortment of breads, cheeses and meats, with a large bowl of fruit added to our breakfast fare.

The first dinner consisted of roast pork, a slice for each (I am not a pork eater), a lovely endive, apple, raisin salad, buttered potatoes and one of my favorites, cooked spinach.  This was all topped off with a very light, delicious banana pudding; recipe below. 

A Dutch bridge and lock

a raised lock

video of a lock gate in action

The first day we left Utrecht at 1:30, and traveled on two canals, one the Amsterdam-Rijnkanaal passing through two locks.  Once we entered a lock and secured the boat to the inside cleats, the water was raised about a foot in each lock.

Vianen city gate over a small stream

Another building in the town - I think the town hall

  Our destination was Vianen, which was declared a city in 1335 A.D.  This small village community about 30 Kilometers from Utrecht is full of many charming, old fashion, very well maintained houses.  During a quiet after dinner walk with a companion passenger, we were amazed by the beauty and evening silence of Vianen, which appeared to us to be a bedroom community for the larger city of Utrecht.  

A large bardge we passed on our way

After my first day experiencing sailing on the Dutch canals, it was off to my bunk and a night of I hoped, deep sleep.  

Banana Pudding Recipe

(for sixteen)

2 bananas mashed 

1 liter of lemon yogurt

a pinch of citron 

a pinch of sugar 

and chill

.  

LONDON CONTINUED

The weather has been perfect for me, but unusually warm for the locals.  I have enjoyed walking all around London, the time I spend walking impedes on my actual activities, but the walks have been a real joy.  For those readers who have not been here, London is like a series of small villages that have grown up as a large attached city with lots of gardens. We all hear about Kensington Gardens, Hyde Park and Regent’s Park, but there are numerous smaller and very pleasant gardens throughout out the city.  Some are private to which one must have a key to enter, yet many are public venues that are used daily by Londoners and tourists alike.  At noon-time these parks are full of people sitting on the benches and on blankets on the grass lunching with their friends and co-workers. There are joggers, walkers many with dogs, skipping children, all manner of society enjoying this lovely very green city.

This visit, I was staying very near Covent Garden and the theatre district, so I enjoyed walking there. I also walked to Folye’s bookstore, advertised as the largest bookstore in the world. Folyes has recently moved to new ‘digs’ down the road from it’s old store, which was so full of books it had become a hodgepodge of confusion.  The help understood the system, but I don’t believe I have ever gotten above the third floor of its seven floors full of books.  The new Folyes is a mastery of organization, and I enjoyed being on every floor. I even bought a book for my new grandson, little Max, which he can take in the bath.  After all, books should be read everywhere.

Set for Matilda

Matilda

Matilda, the British theatre rendition of Roald Dahl’s children’s book is a smash hit still going strong after three years, with full houses every matinee and evening. I had wanted to see the Book of Mormons but it was no longer on, so I checked out Matilda. On the one day I could attend there were only four seats left.  Andy, a very charming ‘senior’ staffer, who shared this information with me, actually took me into the theatre and showed me my choices.  How could I resist; and what a charming play.  There were no really memorably hummable songs for me, but over all it is a wonderful play about a brilliant little bookworm who is discriminated against by her boorish family and her school principal for being bright.  

The cast is made up of mainly children, and each part has four different children cast, so different children play their specific part on different nights and matinees.  I was highly impressed by the incredible talent of all of the youngsters among the cast members I saw. The show is a smash and well it should be.  

I was also impressed by the audience. I was surrounded by children, an international group of children. The smalls next to me were from Argentina, on the other side of me were children from China, in front of me, the family was Japanese.  There were also lots of English kids and their moms and some dads as well.  They were all full of Oohs, Ahs and laughs. A great afternoon from all aspects.  

List of some of the inventions at the Design Museum

Design Museum

A walk to the Design Museum to see a history of Kahn’s architecture, Weil’s clocks and designs, and Winning New Designs and Inventions, which included everything from fashion, medical equipment, fantastic cars,  a folding electric bicycle, stand alone materials for clothing designs, and on and on.  Wonderful stuff.  

VW electric car 

Front - isn't it WOW?!

After, I enjoyed a long walk from the museum up to tower bridge and beyond to the Tate Modern Museum along the River Thames.  

Tower bridge

sailing on the Thames River

Then across the Millennium Bridge to the underground and home to my College Hall rooms at the University of London.  After a nice dinner, I went back to my room to pack for Netherlands the next day.

Hurray for London, my favorite city in all the world, and hello to Holland and the Dutch canal boat, the Ahoy.  

Dear Readers, Please feel free to share with me during these entries of my blog any questions, comments, personal experiences or thoughts.  I am always delighted to hear from you.  And - if you are enjoying my blog, please share my blog address and/or website with your friends.  

 MONTY PYTHON LIVE (ALMOST

ONE DOWN AND FIVE TO GO is how the Monty Pythons refer to themselves after the of death of the sixth python, Graham Chapman.  

The last Monty Python show ever was at the 02 Arena on July 20, 2014, which was also broadcast live on the telly worldwide..  Although the reviews were mixed and probably correct, by and large the crowd loved it. Crude, Rude, Intelligently cheesy and exceedingly fun, but that is what Monty Python is all about, funny.  The show(s) was really a retrospective of their body of work. Whereas years ago I might have rolled on the floor in gales of laughter, this time around many of my ruckus laughs were replaced with the soft glow of a smile, and reminders of past. For me, it was a delightful smash, and why? 

 Monty Python is an institution; our everyman’s adolescence. And I was there for the last night.  I felt the verve of the crowd, and their love for these five left over funny men for whom straight-laced sanity has no place.  They are funny, they are gross and they are 'the nasty little boy behind the barn’ in all of us.  

The show, Monty Python Live (Almost), was originally suppose to be just one show, but it sold out in 43.5 seconds.  So they added four more shows and those were sold in three hours.  Finally they settled on doing 10 shows and the last night was July 20th.  

The O2 arena where they did the shows holds Approximately 16000.  The tickets in England originally started at 32.50 pounds and went up to 106.75.  By the time my friend Mark, in Nottingham, bought my ticket the cheapest ticket was 45 pounds, and cost 485 pounds for premium seating which included the added opportunity of meeting the five remaining Monty Pythons after the show.  I saw an ad in the states for what were called Premium platinum seats for the show starting at 195 pounds and going up to 2500 pounds.  The exchange rate is about $1.75 for one English pound. So you can do the math.

I have heard it cost 4.5 million (pounds/dollars?) to mount the show. My seat, from which I had a great view of the stage and even the faces of the five silly men cost $200 (97t pounds). The man who sat next to me from Florida, USA, bought his ticket in the US and paid $1000 for his seat (He flew in and out of London just for the show).

 Was it worth it - corny, outrageous, and maybe a wee wearisome if you’ve watched much of it often before  - but seeing it all again live…  ABSOLUTELY YES!

But don’t fret if you weren’t there, or you missed the live TV showing on July 20th, there will be a dvd.   Just:

                                             "Always look at the bright side of life."

A LONDON ARRIVAL

A  LONDON ARRIVAL

Finally made it.  Norwegian Air is a lovely airline with one exception. The cabin is freezing.  I ask for a blanket and was told, “ This is a budget airline, and if you’d like to buy a blanket, once we get underway you can buy one on the screen for six dollars.”  

‘How barbaric,’ I thought.  I waited for the Duty Free or blanket sales to open but nether ever did.  Even with a little sleeping pill, I shivered for at least six hours of the flight.  Arctic air flow certainly impedes one’s sleep. At least Inuits have igloos and bear skins.  Me nada.   

When in London, I like to stay in University Rooms - www.Universityrooms.com.  You can book these on the internet, and they offer every room choice from a B&B room selection  with the bath down the hall, to ensuite rooms, some of which include breakfast.  Depending which location you choose, you may even have the use of their university gym and pool. Most also offer in room Wifi.  These rooms are less expensive than a regular hotel and conveniently located throughout central London.  But book early or or choices will thin.  I prefer to stay in South Kensington, but because I booked late, I am staying in perfectly adequate ‘digs’ within the University of London, next to the British Museum, around the corner from the Russell Square tube station.  Everyone is exceedingly helpful and the Breakfast (although some mornings not too delectable) has every choice one would wish for even Oatmeal on occasion.  Keep in mind these are student dorm rooms, not the Ritz.

My dear friends, Mark and Sarah were waiting my arrival and had glorious plans for the evening, but as I was falling asleep over my pub dinner, (I was alert enough to have a 

Pimms and lemonade

Pub Interior

Pimms and lemonade - delicious -see recipe below.), they went off on other adventures, and left me to regenerate so I would be fresh in the morning for our Sunday Birthday celebrations and adventures.  

On Sunday, the weather was glorious, and we walked from Russell Square to the far end of Kensington Gardens and the Palace to have lunch at the Orangery.  If you don’t know London this is quite distance.  So upon our arrival, we able to not only enjoy a great lunch but also a  scrumptious desert without guilt; Raspberry “Eton” Mess - meringue and whipped cream mixed together with raspberries.   

The Orangery

 

Mark and Sarah

After we attended a travel photography show with entrants from all over the world.  There is even a 14 and under category.  The contest is put on by tpoty.com if you are interested in finding out more, or entering some of your own work.  

2014 Photograpic winner

A show runner up  

After the photography show, Mark and Sarah headed home to Nottingham, while I headed of to another event.  More about that in the next post.  

My other planned event was with an friend Carol.  We meant at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre to see a concert by Madhup Mudgal ‘one of the leading Indian classical singers of he is generation.  He is also a scholar in gharanas, Indian musical tradition and has received one of the highest civilian awards in 2006 from the Government of India, the Padma Shri.  

Carol and the bike she rode a half an hour to get to the concert 

Indian singer, Madhup Mudgal

During the first few days, I went to Covent Garden to the Apple store to have my Skype fixed.  There Acer kindly sent me Emma who was brilliant and helpful.  Then it was off shopping  at Harrods for three bears, Eliot, for my new grandson and Frankie and Gilbert bears for two little new borns in Leh, Ladakh, and some other adventures. 

Bears: Eliot, Frankie and Gilbert ready for their own adventures

Pimms and Lemonade recipe

Two shots of Pimms

slices of:

strawberries 

orange

cucumber 

big chunk  of mint crushed 

then fill the rest of the glass with lemonade 

delicious!

GETTING UNDERWAY, HURRAY!

Yes!  I know.  I said I was leaving in June, but we have a lovely new baby, little Max. Delightfully, he and his mother visited until mid June.  It has taken me a month to switch gears from baby play to a travel mode. After all, when one decides to go on a journey for more that a few weeks, preparations and packing become astounding.  Closing up a house, persuading responsible friends to cover the mail, any mishaps that might arise, and packing for three climates can be daunting.  

My good friends, Jim and Bonnie, have stepped in as caretakers of my house, collect and sort the mail, and give the car an occasional run to keep the hybrid battery tuned.  As I write,  all the bushes and hedges are being trimmed in preparation for hurricane season, just in case.  

    Don't mess with us!  Jim & Bonnie

Even though I have hard-fast rules about packing (see my very first entry: February 14, 2011), packing for this trip is a real challenge.  As usual I am traveling with my 23 inch high EAGLE CREEK suitcase (I purchased it in 2002, and only had to send it in to their free lifetime repair service once - the luggage fobs needed replacing),  and a ONE POLAR  computer backpack, I bought in Pokara, Nepal, in 2010, a quality piece for only $35.00 US.   The elimination process of necessary clothes is particularly hard because during this trip, I am attending some dressier affairs than usual. Also, I will be traversing three climate zones.  The one saving grace is that in most of the warm climate countries, it is unacceptable for a woman to go bare legged, so my plethora of long pants - three - will be suitable for most of my travel destinations.  

No matter what my packing rules, shoes are always a problem not only for me, but I think for most women travelers.  Am I going trekking?  I don’t know.  Ladakh and Nepal are screaming ‘take the plunge again.’  So in my undecided state, that means I should take my trekking shoes, knowing I must wear them on every plane, train bus, and car ride during my travels because they are too cumbersome to carry,.  Not a big sacrifice but…  Then there is the need for comfortable walking shoes, something dressy enough for London theatre and sturdy enough for the often rutty, dusty  potholed  streets of Kathmandu, the Paharganj neighborhood of Delhi, and mountain walks in Old Manali and Leh.  I also want shoes that are leather with no laces or ties, as I must remove my shoes at most temples.  Such a puzzlement.  During my last trip, I lost one of my wonderful leather Merrells while boarding a train in Chakki Bank, India.  Therefore, if I can’t replace my Merrells, I think I shall  have to resort to my old Sperry Top-siders and be done with it.  

Tosh on these preparation and packing problems.  I know you, my reader friends, are really more interested in where I am going?  Ever though I do return to many of my old haunts, seeing dear friends during most of my trips, I always have some new experiences in both old and new venues.  This trip has lots of new adventures.  Although I have been to Amsterdam a number of times, this year I am going to spend about  two weeks in the Netherlands.  Last year was the first time during a visit to England that I did not spend some time in London, so I will rectify that as well.  Below is my the basic itinerary.

> Friday: July 18th, fly to London 

> Friday: July 25th, fly to Amsterdam

                                          An 8 day cruise on canals through small Dutch villages.

                                          A stay in Rotterdam 

                                          A night in Amsterdam

> Flight to Delhi India, continuing to Leh, Ladakh                              

                                          A visit to Old Manali

                                         A stay in McLeod Ganj

Near the end of September I will go to Delhi.  Then I would like to visit Gujarat and also go to a Ayurvedic health spa in Kerala.  If any readers have health spa suggestions, please let me know.

> Kathmandu, Nepal

> No stedfast plans after Nepal.  I will have a month and a half before I must be home in December.  It’s fun to have the freedom of no plan. Who knows what mischief I will get into - what surprise adventures I will have.  You’ll just have to wait and see.  Also maybe you have some wonderful suggestions?  Let me know.  

Next stop London and to quote Jenny the Dog in Higglety Pigglety Pop.  “What I need is experience(s).” 

And my retort is, “and I shall have them.”

          

News of my activities

Thanks for Coming!

Yesterday, March 16, 2014, I did a presentation for the Boca Raton Friends of the Library.  I want to thank those 75 brave souls who came out and also the members of the audience who stayed after for the question answer period.  If any of you have more questions or would like me to clarify any information please feel free to email me at the address listed on this blog. 

For those readers in other lands, I am now in the old US of A, working on my third novel and waiting for the second to be published.  I will be traveling again with more adventures in late June.  My first stop, Ladakh. 

Best wishes to all my readers, and thanks for your continued interest.