Chased by the Rain – heading to the Hook of Holland

It was hard to believe that there was a storm brewing this morning as we packed up from camp. We’d ordered some bread and pastries from the farmer last night and they were delivered to the breakfast table at 08:30. Good service!

Although we had plenty of time to get to the ferry port at the Hook of Holland, we decided to get going as riding in the sunshine is significantly nicer than on the rain.

Off we went, through the farm lands…

We had to cross a few big bridges and exposed causeways, which happily involved a solid tale wind.

Canal locks, barges and a little place for an early snack…

And one ‘bridge’ turned out to be a ferry crossing! But luckily, not too long to wait..

The industrial section south of Rotterdam was interested – what on earth is it all for and how does it all work? It looked like a space station…

Another ferry took us from Rozenberg back to Maassluis, where we knew it was only a 15km straight line to the Stenna Line ferry port. So far we were still dry…

Best of all was the coffee shop by the canal that we found. What a find! Ice cream on the side and a portion of fresh apple pie helped to revive us. And still it remained dry!

We sat outside, with no rush, enjoying the vibe, watching passers by as the skies began to darken. Eventually it became clear that the downpour was on its way. Having reached our caffeine and ice cream limits, we scurried over to the cafe we’d visited on our first day as we knew they had inside space and somewhere to put the bikes. We got there just in the nick of time! It absolutely threw it down again!

After eeking out a green tea with passion fruit, we saw a weather window approaching. We got on the bikes and peddled fast for the ferry!

The tail wind blew us along nicely, but also blew the black clouds faster! We ducked into an underpass as one squall went overhead, then made our sprint finish dash!

As the new wave of rain hit, we were locking up the bikes outside a designated restaurant opposite the ferry terminal, that turned out to be rather posher than anticipated. Happily, the waiter greeted us with a smile and found us a nice table, despite us dripping on the floor a bit and not quite being as well attired as the other guests! Tea was served from a splendid selection box…