Challenges and Joys
Many people wonder why Rick and I have gone on this adventure/trip with a sailboat in Europe. “Why take the risk at your age? and are you crazy!”, are some of the comments I have heard. Others are thrilled that we are taking it and wish that maybe they could do something like it some day.
To give an answer, I thought I would show some of the things that we experience along the way. There are some challenges but there are many joys to encourage us on. One of these challenges in every location is finding out where food can be acquired. We have had great selections in Holland. France was a little harder for one has to translate as one goes along and food preferences are different in each country. So of course our selection of foods varied.
Another challenge is navigating rivers and going through locks. Sometimes it can be a little difficult if the water is gushing through at a clip, but this doesn’t happen too often. Mostly you have to become aware of all the people and boats around you and what they are doing and how they are doing it. If they are having trouble and need a hand or if they have to raft up to you and you need to catch there lines for them. This is something like life. One needs to be aware of the actions of others around us and especially to their needs. It took me a while to get comfortable in locks and being conscious concerning others. I’m still practicing.
Another challenge is the weather. Sometimes you can see the weather/storm coming. Most of the time you can look up the weather forecasts and decide whether you want to be out that day or not. Sometimes on the Ijsselmeer a storm can come up suddenly after very hot weather and light winds And of course, when it hits you can see very little around you and must follow a compass course. It’s something like using radar in a snowstorm for an airplane. Here it is very sudden and very wet. Not my favorite challenge.
Getting out of the way of big ships is another very important aspect of sailing down rivers and especially through the English Channel. We have been fortunate not to have encountered many and have been easily able to steer clear of them.
We have had to make many choices on our journey and most have been a lot of fun. We have had to pause and think at times to know which way to go or what to do next. Here I am visiting the Widow Joustra’s old business/home. As the story goes, Mr. Joustra sold herbs and many of the fishermen would put his herbs into their Genever (a locally made liquor). Unfortunately, Mr. Joustra died young and his wife continued to produce this product and the family has operated this business for 150 years in the same location. It is like a museum, now. You can go upstairs and enjoy a sip or two or …. and then if possible go down a steep flight of stairs and purchase the kind of brew that you favored. I guess perseverance in the face of tragedy is sometimes what gets us through and has lasting effects. Another story with meaning and food for thought.
We even have had to work at times.
All in all there have been a lot more joys then challenges and I guess that is why we continue on our travels. For one we have met so many interesting and soulful people from many countries.
We also experienced many gastronomical pleasures and surprises.
And of course when there are people eating on a nice afternoon there are bound to be others who wish to join in.
We have wondered through many towns, shopped, have walked many pounds off, have enjoyed many styles of architecture and enjoyed many interesting sights. We also took a couple of trips bicycling in Southern Holland and around Dunkerque, France. We have enjoyed much beautiful scenery this way and down the rivers.
There are many curious creatures out there that we have been able to greet and have greeted us.
Along the Vecht River we saw many beautiful homes and these are just a few.
Traveling through town one day we encountered some historical people being interviewed for their opinions and impressions. I guess we all want to know how did they live back in the “old days”
Sometimes walking through a new town can be very entertaining. In Europe there are individual musicians who play in the streets or train stations. However, here we had a whole band and the music was terrific.
Around every corner there is something new to discover….
If it leads to something like this … I think it is worth pursuing. We all need to find our joy and wonder. May we finally find it in the Lord, and in our promised beautiful home.
May you all find your peace!
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