Elburg, Holland
Rain am, sun pm...yippeeeee!
Arrghh! Get me outta here! How can I bike in 2 more weeks of this rain? The rain is heavier in Holland and this morning I heard the loudest thunder I've ever heard! Good thing there are tall trees around me. Or maybe that's a bad thing.
It's 9:26 am and it's been raining ALL morning. My tent is leaking and now things are getting wet. It could be condensation pooling then dripping. Not sure. I got all packed up while it was stopped... all packed up in my tent:)....and now it's raining heavier so I'm waiting to see if it eases up a bit. I got brave and a WTF attitude and turned on my phone to see the weather map and forecast. (I hope it doesn't cost too much!) Heaviest rain in all of Europe is over ME. And by the hour: 100%, 90%, 90%, 90%..... Not a good forecast:(. I have to bike in this. And hope it breaks long enough later to dry the tent and set up. Oh and the temperature is 57*. Balmy! I think it's letting up a bit. Let's go for coffee!!!
9:48 pm. I'm enjoying one of the few sunsets I've seen this summer as I sit outside of my tent on my yoga mat with my thermarest chair typing this. That's a first. It's not raining!!!!!!!!!!!!! Lovely chilly summer evening in a campground. Yes, I said....campground!
It was there at the end of my 60 km day and only 15 euros, so I took it. That's about $20. Another $1.50 for a lukewarm 10 minute shower and $13 for 100 minutes of wifi. I was hoping to skype some people tonight, but they couldn't hear me well even though they came through loud and clear. I don't understand why it works sometimes and not others even though I have full bars. Or why it works going one direction only smoothly.
Another day of many backtracks to see if I read the last sign correctly. The signs just don't flow. Then when I got into Lelystad, I had the hardest time...I mean a devil of a time finding the Centrum (center of town where the business are). At one time I was on a ROAD. Big no-no here! I've only biked about 1/2 mile on a road since I got to Holland. It's 100% cycle paths. And a truck honked at me:( I couldn't find the cycle path and couldn't figure out where this darn Centrum was. So confusing. I see a sign for it, then nothing. Eventually I got to the map store and decided a route to Emmen, my next big city. From my calculations I should easily be able to pedal all the way to Hamburg, and that's my new plan. I know that's going to cause a bit of problem when I get there hooking up with Heike, but I'm sure we can figure out something. I don't want to risk the train saying No to Blaze and besides, I'm back in the groove. Doesn't mean I don't want to go home. Knowing I have that flight at the end of 2 weeks is helping my mood. And I think the problem is mostly now driven by so much rain. I just don't want to fight it any more. It's so depressing and just takes the fun out of the trip. Too many things to fight. I'm also frustrated that there isn't more English information on stuff. SInce so few people probably speak Dutch, especially tourists, I would think they'd help them by adding English which so many people speak. I can't go sightseeing because I can't understand the signs or the tour. I am getting a feeling for the people and that's a big part of the experience. Everyone I've stopped for directions has been wonderfully helpful even when their English was rough. And I appreciated their efforts to help me out. And now that I've started saying Hi and waving again, I'm getting smiles back. So the question really is How much of the lack of connection is me?
Pink sky at night, sailor's delight! I wish that were going to hold true, but that's not what the weather report says. 100% rain tomorrow. 1/2 inch...and that's a lot!
I also think I do this for the camping...just the same reason I hike...and when I don't really get an enjoyable camping experience, it defeats the purpose. I like living outdoors! What more can I say?
Ah, to sleep, perchance to dream!
BagLady
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
