Wet and Wild in Noordijk

Those dark clouds that threatened all day finally deliver rain when I get to the beach at Noordwijk in late afternoon.  The beach is deserted by humans and the sea gulls are looking at me strangely when I stomp through the surf with a cigarette and a grin.  Picture taking is limited to one direction, because the wind comes heavily from the West and is bringing big rain drops with it, which my camera's objective lens probably would object to.

But look at the rain's benefit:  After a few liters human footprints are all but eradicated and all that remains are the seagull's impressions.  Too bad the rain can't erase dumb smoker's cigarette butts!

When I get back to the hotel after about 40 minutes in the rain I ask myself why I have carried the bloody Goretex jacket in my saddle bags the whole way.  It is dripping wet and water is starting to seep through.  Gonna buy myself a 10 Euro plastic poncho tomorrow because it looks like the 40 km trip to Amsterdam on Friday might just be happening in steady rain.

For my beach walk early the next morning things look completely different.

Restaurant employees putting up the wind-screens for their wind-sensitive guests

A haze still clings to inland portions at 9 am

getting wet feet

Good Morning !!

For lunch I ride the bike to a 'beach' restaurant 10 km east of Noordwijk. The restaurant is in the dunes, but one can't actually see the beach ;-(.  But I see something else.  A tracked vehicle that can load about 9 people in wheelchairs on the back and then heads down to the beach. Brilliant!

Later in the evening, I think for a split second whether I and the broken Velo could hitch a ride on that ;-)