Day 31, Day of the Dike!

Den Helder certainly looked like a nice place to explore! We got up and went out for a walk to do just that. We walked past some of the historic ships in the harbour, and then crossed the busy road to the dike. The road was so busy with traffic; then we realised that it was all the cars going to the ferry to the offshore island of Texel.

We would have liked to visit Texel but just didn't have the time just now. It is the biggest of the Wadden islands and looks fantastic with over 30km of sandy beaches.

We could see the beaches of Texel across the water from the top of the dike. The view just went on forever. The long flat paths of the dike made it so popular for walking, cycling and running. There were loads of people out enjoying the sunshine, but it never got busy.

We turned inland after our dike walk and looked for somewhere for breakfast. Even though Den Helder is a bustling port town, the actual town centre was very quiet, with many places not opening till 12pm, despite it being a Saturday.

We walked back near our camping spot and went to one of the water front places we had drunk at last night. They were just opening up at 10am and we were the first ones there. We sat outside in the sunshine, and ordered our breakfast. Oh boy! It was our favourite breakfast of the holiday. I had a cheese and onion toastie which was heart shaped, with an iced coffee with a salted caramel bottom. Lyn's farmer's omelette was huge and really tasty. We also had tiny Dutch liquers with whipped cream as a free extra. I was gutted we were leaving! I wanted lunch and dinner there!

We headed off again in Harvey, knowing our holiday was nearly at an end. Lyn found us another fab place to chill for a couple of hours, on a grass bank above the sea. There was a tiny little beach, filled with people, and we spent a few happy hours there, reading and chilling, watching the boats and jetskis in the water.

We were in Zeeland now in the Netherlands, which has got a fascinating coastal history. In reality, the Netherlands is not meant to be built on; one third is under sea level and the other two thirds liable to flooding. The Dutch have had to become world experts in keeping the water at bay in order to live. We found ourselves chilling on one of the dikes on the Deltaworks,

The Deltaworks has been declared one of the wonders of the modern engineering world. It is a series of construction projects in the southwest of the Netherlands to protect a large area of land around the Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt delta from the sea. The works consist of dams, sluices, locks, dykes, levees, and storm surge barriers.

The aim is to shorten the Dutch coastline, reducing the number of dikes that had to be raised. Major areas to be protected from flooding are identified.The cost of flooding is assessed using a statistical model involving damage to property, lost production, and a given amount per human life lost. For the purpose of the model, a human life is valued at €2.2 million.

We knew we couldn't stay, however, due to the Dutch camping rules, so we had to find a campsite. We ended up in the overspill carpark of a large camp site nearby. It was like the village of the damned! We had a little old guy who kept walking really close to our van back and forth all the time, plus a big guy in another van who kept blocking cars in with his motorbike so he could get them to move and he could then move his van into their space. He did this several times! He then parked up right next to us (of course he did!), and made friends with the people in the van opposite.. They all then proceeded to drink together and look at us, before eventually he went back to his van and started singing across to his new friends, who then responded in song back! And on and on it went... It was a long night!