Genemuiden was finally left behind on Monday the 22nd of June at 12:32PM, after 4 nights without any trace of a harbourmaster. That’s to say, we stopped after an 11 minutes cruise to take in water. That took us one-and-a-half hour, while Jay watched attentively.

Our next destination: Hasselt, where we switched off the engine at 3:21PM. Yes, again Hasselt, because we like it there – though until recently it was ‘a hearth of contamination’ (as we say in Dutch – perhaps in English too) regarding Covid19. According to the De Stentor-paper of the 21st of March ‘Hasselt corona epicentre in region’. See https://www.destentor.nl/zwartewaterland/hasselt-corona-epicentrum-in-regio-kies-vrijwillig-voor-thuisisolatie~a96e3e24/?referrer=https://nl.search.yahoo.com/ (Dutch).

One of the first things we did after arrival was buying two large glasses of The Netherlands’ most famous lager. Half a litre each. Delicious!

The next morning we left at 10:05AM, planning to cruise towards a close-by situated little lake, named ‘Streng’ (meaning strict as well as cord in Dutch). We had been there a few years before, accompanied by our daughter’s dog (Macy), and had a wonderful time. It is a great place to be with a dog – that’s why we wanted to have the opportunity to walk our own dog there as well. To our disappointment Streng was closed off, probably related to Covid19-restrictions. After some deliberation we decided to return to Hasselt. This is where we moored – at 10:57AM. A short cruise indeed! Furthermore we decided to sit out the predicted heatwave here. That has to do with the availability of water and, if desired, electricity. Furthermore, far from being unimportant is the fact that Hasselt, like Genemuiden, does not collect a mooring-fee. The Covid19-problem influences the economy evidently in this region. We are careful indeed.
Both girls did not object against being photographed after we assured them they would be portrayed beyond recognition.
Note the sheet we installed between our little ship and the shore, in order to create some shadow.

Minimizing the effects of the heat wave (I).

Minimizing the effects of the heat wave (II).

Minimizing the effects of the heat wave (III).

The curtains, manufactured by a lovely female co-hibernator in Amersfoort, protect the wheelhouse from becoming overheated. It makes a huge difference and is decorative at the same time.

Honour where credit is due. She made not only the curtains but this seat cushion and backrest-cover too. The unimaginative old bench brightens up considerably after the addition of these two accessories.

In front of where we are moored there’s the bridge spanning the river Zwarte Water. As usual the bridge is protected against collision (large commercial (container)ships up to a length of 110(!) metres) with, sometimes heavily laden, commercials. The protection often consists of heavy wooden structures, as shown by this picture. The first one is decorated by a boat most of us know through paper folding art. Could this be an imaginative radar-reflector? There is no supporting arch above the movable part of the bridge.

Our Epson printer, type XP-452, refused to print – due to an empty cartridge, the blue one. Don’t think ‘I can do without blue’. No, all -repeat: all- colours must, repeat: must- be available. The only shop we could think of to buy the original Epson-cartridges is in nearby Zwolle – Media Markt to be exact. So our male half took the bus into Zwolle on Friday the 26th. Present Covid19-regulations make it mandatory to cover one’s face with a mouth-mask. This is what it looks like. Who could have imagined that the day would come we would look like an Asian tourist??

This is what we needed. Admittedly not that revolutionary. The price, though, IS absolutely revolutionary. Even almost € 80,00!! That’s about 133,33% of a new printer. Well, dear reader, we all know now how they -the printer-makers- easily survive. At least we have the XL-version for that amount of money. Nevertheless when we know how to find a store that sells imitation cartridges, they’ll have a new customer!

The foregoing does not take away the prettiness of the town of Zwolle. This is just an example.

At last! Saturday morning (we’re still in Hasselt) it started raining severely. Not for very long, though. Now 2:35PM on Saturday afternoon, it still feels sweaty and sticky.