Old peat grounds

June 21, 2007

Goëngahuizen-Earnewoude: 1,5 hours

Earnewoude - Bergumer meer: 3 hours

From Goëngahuizen to Eernewoude, the heart of the Alde Feanen - Friesian language for old peat grounds (http://www.dealdefeanen.nl/) it is less than 2 hours to go. This area (a national parc) is a very popular destination for motoryachts, and plenty of partyship-companies find there homebase here. For good reasons. Numereous little islands, with plente of Marrekrites to moor. As we arrive around 11:00 AM we have plenty of time before lunch to visit the local supermarket and the recommended butcher opposite, a few hundred meters from quay of municipal harbour, and have our lunch as well.

Eernewoude, municipal quay

After having taken care of these human needs, we plan to go and search for one of the free nature mooring places. But as the clouds bundle, raindrops starting to fall and the nicest spots we can find are either occupied or depth becomes an issue, we decide to leave the area and take a few hours to continue our route further north. Let's do this area on our return route, and now take the time to make a few more miles.

We think the Bergumer Meer which provides the entrance to the canal with 4 names (same canal, but crossing the province border might cause that name change) that will lead us to the province of Groningen (planned for tomorrow) will be a nice place to spend the night.

Indeed, this stretched lake offers wide views, but it proofs to be rather windy, so we better make a choice for the sheltered side of islands in the north part of the lake where the few Marrekrites are located. We find a good place, but once moored we see several yachts on the wrong wind-side struggling to relocate. An effort that doesn't always succeed immediately on the wrong (low wind) side the buoys the lake is rather shallow. We are fine for tonight, but overall we do not recommend this place as a destination for the night, despite the views.

Noteworthy:

• Nature parc Alde Faenen (better known as Princenhof, but this is the name of hotel-restaurant in the center of this area) offers plenty of Marrekrites to moor. But it is busy and the nicest are occupied very early during the day
• Eernewoude has a convinient municipal quay close to supermarket and butcher
• Bergumer Meer most of the times too windy to have convinient mooring