May 18, 2024 Antwerp to Dordrecht

We were up before 6 a.m. for an early morning boat departure from our mooring place at Kattendijkdok in Antwerp. It was a bit foggy with about 5 km visibility (marine layer moisture) like yesterday morning. Temperature was 12°C, but by 8 a.m. it was a 15°C, hardly any wind, There was just a possible of a late afternoon shower which was predicted. The boat went right past the Havenhuis, Antwerp port authority building and a lift bridge opened to allow the boat to pass by. There were half a dozen other passengers up, too. In less than 30 minutes, the boat was at a water station topping up the water storage, which couldn’t be done yesterday.

Breakfast was at 8 a.m. with the usual variety of food including a light chocolate mousse which went well with the cubed melon. Peter announced the itinerary for today at breakfast. That is usually done after dinner, but there was no one on board for dinner last evening.

After we crossed the Belgium Netherlands border, the boat stopped at the Kreekrak lock for the cyclists to disembark to cycle to Tholen. It was after 10:15 a.m. when the bikes were offloaded for today’s 32 km “forest” ride. There were three groups - the five independent cyclists; Peter’s group of mostly Quebecois and Mieke’s group of the 12 remaining. Three people stayed onboard. Just after two kilometres we stopped to find that a bike in Pete’s group had lost a screw for a pedal. People were searching for it in the grass by the side of the bicycle path. After much discussion between the guides for more than 20 minutes, it was decided that we all continue. Less than two kilometres later, Peter’s group had stopped because the pedal would no longer stay attached without its screw. A lost bicycle pedal screw had not happened in Peter and Mieke’s years as guides, so they did not have a spare with them. It was over 40 minutes before it was decided, after conferring with a bicycle repair shop in the closest town, that Mieke ride to the nearest bicycle repair shop to get the necessary parts. The bike shop employees did not want to come to us, in a taxi, and a €100 inconvenience fee suggested by Peter didn’t work, since they would miss their lunch. They agreed to stay open for Mieke to obtain the parts. It was Claude’s bike that had the problem. He waited for Mieke, while the rest of us continued as one large group on the route.

It was a ride of nine kilometres to the apple pie rest stop at Bozlust Brassiere. If you buy something at the restaurant, you do not need to pay €0.50 or €1 to use the toilet. There were outdoor tables on the grass or indoor tables. At 15°C it was fine to sit outside. We ordered a piece of apple pie to share and cappuccinos. There was a minor incident, when a waitress accidentally knocked a glass onto the table which broke and a piece cut Todd’s hand. He was sitting two seats away from where the glass shattered. Denise had a first aid kit in her pannier, but the waitress brought out a large gauze bandage. Todd said it did not hurt during the rest of the ride. Also at Bozlust were a group of about 12 or 15 girls and boys taking a rest from a hike, plus another dozen cyclists for another biking tour.

It was almost 1 p.m. and we still had two more hours of cycling before rejoining Magnifique 1. We were cycling along wide asphalt bicycle paths most of the time mixed with a few damp dirt paths or town streets. The paths were through woodland. Shortly we stopped for 20 minutes at the Bergan-op-Zoom Canadian War Cemetery where Canadian soldiers who died in World War 2 are buried. There are also British and other Commonwealth and American cemeteries nearby.

About 45 minutes later we stopped at what was supposed to be our lunch stop, but we were already an hour behind schedule. Here was the “Moses” bridge. We heard from Peter that Mieke and Claude were taking a shorter route to meet the boat in Tholen. After lunch we checked out the “Moses” bridge. It was part of a restored old defence system. The Dutch regions of Holland and Zeeland had been under Spanish rule a few centuries ago. From a tower that is also a seating area for concerts, you can look toward the river and see people from their waists up walking normally in the middle of the river. The sides of the bridge act as barriers to the water. The bridge is accessed from a steep 15 meter high bank and looks like you are just crossing a low bridge until you get to the water and your feet are on the deck that is over a meter below the water level on each side. With the 35 minutes lunch break finished, we were on the final leg of today’s cycle.

We arrived at about 3:15 p.m. at the dock where boat was waiting. Mieke and laude had already arrived. There was room for all the bikes on the dock. The crew put all the bikes onboard while the cyclists went for showers. For the first hour onboard, the lights and Wi-Fi went off for intervals of two to five minutes, then it was fine. The emergency light above our cabin door came on when the power failed, but the reading lamp over the bed stayed on and daylight came in through the porthole. Once the bicycles were on board, the captain moved into the canal for the cruise from Tholen to Dordrecht. Back in the boat’s lounge there were snacks for everyone, devilled eggs, olives, small slices of pineapple pie and pastry sicks. The bar was open or you could make an expresso or cappuccino.

As the boat got closer to Dordrecht, the sky got greyer and looked like rain for the final 30 minutes. Dinner was during the cruise beginning about 6:30 p.m. Chef Michel announced the menu and Janneke and Madi brought the first course which was mini shrimp, smoked mackerel, a slice of smoked salmon with a dash of a sauce. Next was a surprise, a delicate salad in angled glass bowls containing a couple of leaves of Belgian endive, a slice of sun-dried tomato in oil, a slice of Italian sausage wrapped around cream cheese and pesto. Shortly after sitting down there was a big flack of lightning and a big clap of thunder. The rain pours for almost half an hour and lightning flashed in the sky. The rain was so intense we were expecting hail. The meat course was medium rare filet mignon with white asparagus, carrot, mashed & baked potatoes. As a special treat everyone was served a glass of the chef’s favourite red wine. Later Peter said this dinner had extras because of the issues from yesterday with the boat arriving late in Antwerp and having to wait in the rain which meant going for dinner without being able to change first. The boat was delayed after some slight damage and not being able to get the water top up. During dessert the ran ended and the sun poked through patches of blue sky.

After dinner Peter and Mieke took over 20 of us on a walking tour of Dordrecht. The first landmark we spotted was Watertoren Zwijndrecht across the Oude Maas river from our morning pier. On our side the most obvious structure was the Church of Our Lady, also known as the Dordrecht Minster, built between 1284 and 1470. There is no steeple because the church was originally built on wooden piles. When the tower was being constructed it was realized that the foundation would not support a steeple, since it was starting to lean. Construction stopped and clocks were added. We proceeded into the inner harbour lined with small yachts and crossed the Long Iron Bridge (Lange IJzeren Brug). The 60 meter bridge, with a movable 10 meter center section, replaced a wooden bridge in built in 1855. The harbour was started to be dug in 1409 and named New Harbour. Next we walked down one of the older narrow streets, Vleeshouersstraat. We continued on the walk watching the grey sky. Soon there was a lightning flash and distinct thunder. Peter decided to have a faster pace and get back to the boat in case it rained. We were within a block of the boat when a few drops fell. Everyone made it back to the boat before a light shower started.

We are moored on the Oude Maas river. Any passing boat makes some waves which ripped under the boat. Mieke said there should not be too much shipping traffic during the night. We are used to ships rocking.

The GPS tracking recorded the cycling distance as 31.94 km. Steps today were 7,017