April 17th 2019
Yesterday was quite exhausting so we weren’t in the mood to leave immediately. Not only our physical state was a reason to prolong our stay, but we also want to visit the town of Middelharnis and do some small chores before we leave again. So we asked the harbour master if we could stay two days longer, which was not a problem, and went for a walk to Middelharnis.
A lot of small towns in this region are connected to the big sea arms via a long canal. In the past there were no Delta Works, no dykes and other measures to close off the sea arms. Towns like Middelharnis were built on the shore line and the fishing boats had easy access to the sea. But slowly the silt formed new patches of highly fertile land left and right from the reinforced harbour entrance, which the farmers then claimed for agriculture. The land grew, and canals were dug to maintain the connection to those sea arms. But the silt kept building up thus the canals were getting longer and longer. The canal to Middelharnis is now over 2 kilometers long, and since our marina was situated at the start of the canal, right after the lock, we had to follow the canal all the way towards the town.
It turned out to be a pleasant walk through a landscape with lots of remnants of a maritime past. Old tow paths, derelict molds for hulls, shipyards still in business since their establishment in 1750 and finally the old harbour in the town center.
There are lots of fashion stores in this small town, although fashion might be a bit of a stretch to describe the goods these shops sell. It seemed like all the clothes of all the shops came from the same forgotten warehouse with a big stash of early eighties clothes. Weird.
We met a friend of ours who works in a store in Middelharnis. They are liveaboards as well and used to live in Marina Stellendam too before they moved to another marina. It was great to do a bit of catching up. It turned out they’ve moved again and are now living in the city marina of Middelharnis. What a small world.
Meanwhile we were getting a bit peckish, so we stopped at the local tea room to eat a pastry and watch the inhabitants of Middelharnis go about their business. And after visiting all the touristic sights we took the path on the other side of the canal back to the boat again to enjoy a quiet evening with Captain Fluffy.