Wed 27 July - A cheesy day out in Edam, etc



A breather on the dyke



Until now, most of our time in Holland has been spent in small co-operative “Jacht-havens” of around 50 boats or so max, so this morning, in the large marina of Volendam, it was like waking up in the forest, where the trees were masts of all heights and colours, the branches all short and horizontal, and the leaves were pennants and various other fluttering emblems. The pontoons are not, in fact, pontoons, since the inland sea is not tidal, but old habits are hard to shake, and ours were the only bikes lying down, as all the locals were quite happy to leave theirs on their stands.



It turned out another lovely morning, making us loiter happily  for a couple of hours in the cockpit  with teas, coffees, and suntan creams, etc before setting out for the day’s adventures.



On the way past, we checked for a few essentials—laundry, supermarket and compatible gas-bottle (luckily, the local chandler had our type in stock). Again, we cycled to Edam along the dyke, stopping for a breather to sit on a bench taking in the stunning view of many happy yachters gliding along on a rippled sea. (This is such good cruising country, cycling country, and family-holiday country).



What a get-up!

The cheese market at Edam was easy to find. We just followed the crowds, the noise, the brass-band music, and a “Beverley Hillbillies” vintage Ford pick-up truck. Everything was there– the traditional costumes, the exaggerated haggling, the wince-making hand-slapping, posing for photos, all to the background of oompah music from a band in the corner.

And watched by a thousand spectators from every corner of the globe. It was a completely enjoyable spectacle, summed up by one word—cheesy! (Perhaps the origin of the modern expression?)

 

Coffee on the terrace of a lovely little boutique hotel gave us the added attraction of seeing the cycling-bridgemaster operate one of the “see-saw” bridges to allow a couple of  cruisers continue seaward, and the cycle ride back worked up enough appetite for two bags of chips which we ate on the harbour wall. Magic!

The rest of the day flowed gently past, with shopping, gassing, laundry, and a bit of bicycle maintenance—the newly purchased foot-held pump finally got the tyres to proper pressure).

Dinner on board concluded with a course of some of the local cheeses bought earlier, and we both remarked that we have not found their equal in UK shops. (One of the vendors had told us that the “Edam” we buy at home is made some distance away—“in a factory”, he said, disparagingly. Then , in a splendid sunset, we did “Volendam by evening”, and agreed that this is definitely a place to return to…..