Geithoorn - Rest day

June 16 - Day 11

No riding day

                                                                              

Total distance on the trip 520.9

                                                                    

Total elevation 1026

Weather - 16-20 degrees with a rain shower about 3pm.

Today was a complete rest day. We had a leisurely breakfast,  did all of our washing and hung  it out, then lounged about reading books in the beautiful sunshine coming through the windows and skylights. 

Wayne had noticed his tyre was going down, so about lunch time we headed downstairs to fix this. I was coming down with something nasty, so I sat in the sun and drank some honey rooibos tea while he worked in the shed on his bike. The manager of the hotel came out to have a chat, she had spent quite a bit of time in Australia a few years ago and was eager to talk about her travels here, and I wanted to know more about Geithoorn.

Lunch time came around, and we had lunch in the hotel restaurant. It had been very quiet for most of the day, and did not seem to be doing much business. We went upstairs to get changed and be ready for an afternoon walk, we came downstairs and the restaurant was packed. It was Fathers day in the Netherlands, and it was raining. So people had come for a day out in Geithoorn, the rains came and they decided to have lunch to wait it out. We were lucky to get a table.

After our leisurely day we walked into the main town and canals of Geithoorn to see what was going on. Being Sunday, it was really busy with many people in little electric boats zooming around in the canals. When we first came into town and the little boats came around the corner, it was like being in a very large Disney "it's a small world" ride. We were expecting the music. It was a little bit surreal.

Geithoorn is beautiful and very quaint. We did not hire a boat, as it was about 5pm by the time we thought about it, and the boat hire finishes about 6pm, even in the summer when it is light until about 10pm. I think the people who live here are very happy for the tourists to leave.

There was always someone going the wrong way in the canals, which are all one way to reduce crashes, confusion and  congestion.

There were many places to stay here, and if you were staying on one of the little islands in the middle, you needed to lug your gear over the little bridges. Best to pack light. We were staying in a B&B just out of the crazy part of town.

So pretty, so much water everywhere. 

On our walk we noticed a number of people waiting on the side of the canal. We asked someone what was going on, we thought they were standing around being amused by the tourists crashing, but no, about 50 of the villagers had been away on the weekend sailing in the traditional sailing boats and were now on their way home. There was a flotilla of them heading down the canal into the village. It was quite fun to be part of the welcoming crowd. 

We ended up having dinner in town and headed back to the B&B for more rest.