We start out this morning with a short sail to Willemstad, an old fortified town. There we disembark for a short walking tour. Pentecost, Whit Monday, was celebrated today, people were off work, so there was a lot going on. First we noticed walkers and cyclists in the Roparun, an annual event to raise money for cancer.

It’s a non-stop relay race from Rotterdam to Paris. Each relay team has several members, some riding bikes, some running. And they alternate, back and forth during their stage. The slogan of the event is, “Add life to the days, when no more days can be added to the life.” We stop to look at a hunting lodge built in 1623 by Prince Maurits, son of William of Orange, who ruled in this area after his father and older brother.

Leaving here, we walk by this whimsical house.

And also see this nice shop.

Next stop is the Protestantse Gemeente Willemstad.

Inside, we find the church smaller than expected and fairly plain. On our way back to the bikes we see an all-women’s drum group and stop to listen for a bit.

Back to our bikes, we get ready to ride.

We start and pass a number of groups of bikers. Again we are on fairly flat areas with a few small uphills that go to overpasses, dikes, and bridges. But we are in farmland here and one of the main crops is barley.

Another is potatoes. Huge fields of them.

We have a snack break in Dinteloord, a small town along the way.

I took a picture of the bike I’m using. VBT provides Fuji bikes and on this trip, we had to ride hybrids as we occasionally get into gravel and cobblestones.

We rode out of town along a neat row of houses. We decided a good word to describe Holland is “tidy.” Everything seems pleasantly neat and organized. Not a lot of foofaraw.

A section of the road we were on. We saw a lot of single track like this for cars and bikes. Not many cars though.

I think these are sugar beets. At least they are grown here.

Later, we have a small drawbridge to cross for lunch.

Small boats go through fairly frequently.

Our guides brought a picnic lunch provided by Franco, our chef on the boat.

After lunch we are on a bit of pavé.

Most of us stop at the Dintel levy for a photo op.

We also rode through a couple of sheep pastures after crossing cattle guards.

Next stop was a town called Raadhuisstraat which is the ancestral home of the Roosevelts – Theodore, Eleanor, and Franklin. This was the home of the original Roosevelt ancestor before he immigrated to America.

Leaving Raadhuisstraat, I lost Ross and Tom and keep watching for them to catch up and pass me but never happened. They apparently made a wrong turn somewhere and were diverted a bit. So, after about 29 miles I see the sign for Tholen.

Just after entering town I stop to take a photo of this Friesian horse.

At this point I am on my own. Fortunately the trusty GPS instructions helped me weave my way through town and find where the boat was docked. Rain had been a threat for the afternoon, but luckily it missed us today. After dinner we had the opportunity to visit a local family. Ross went and saw the windmill the family had purchased and restored.

They actually lived in the attached house. The owner also had a collection of windmills that was interesting.

Overnight we were docked in Tholen.