Spakenburg

Our manager got promoted recently and will be leaving our department to join a bigger department to take bigger responsibilities. A jolly good fellow and as much as we like him to stay back with us, we wish him all the best for the future. We have a team of almost 20 people and as a parting gift he decided to take us on a small boating trip.

Yesterday we visited Spakenburg, a small town near a lake. From here we took a ride on a Botter, which is a boat with sails. It is primarily a fishing boat. The boat moves on motor as well as sails. It is completely made of wood and can have 10-12 people easily. A small room can save you from rain. Fortunately we did not have rain when we were in the lake.

The trip started with garlic bread and optional tea or coffee. We were divided into two groups. We sailed through small canals slowly until we made it to the lake. The temperature was somewhere between 8-10 degree Celsius but the wind was strong which made it much colder than the actual temperature.

We had two people handling the boat who would lower or turn the sails. The strong wind on your face, the fluttering sails, the water around, the clouds making patterns and laughing and laughing with your friends is a experience in itself.

After more than 90 minutes into the lake, we made back for a barbecue dinner. We had to barbecue our own dinner instead of somebody else doing it for us. We had a good time at the dinner with everybody pulling each other leg. At the end we had laughed so much that my stomach was paining.

All in all it was an experience to cherish. Below are some of the photos we took at Spakenburg. Some good and some very good.

 

This is what is called a Botter. Although it looks small in the picture, it is actually very big. Below another view of a Botter.

 

 

 

Spakenburg and its bay. We started the journey from here.

We saw a number of Botters on a small race across the lake. The botters across the late evening sky. Below the old aand the new, a botter and a modern windmill at the background

The clouds forming a beautiful image in the sky. One of our boat.

The shipper house, a small cafe where we had our dinner.

The Shipper house, a small cosy cafe at the bay where we had our barbecue dinner and the barbecue below

The drinks the botter owner gave us to keep us warm in the lake winds. It helped a lot. hic!!

The view of the lake from the front of the boat through the anchors

The best photo of them all to display my photographic expertise (thats an overstatement). We were having a lot of fun and clicking photos by the dozens when Jolanda was posing in front of the camera. She is pregnant and was standing with her hands on her back. I asked to pose against the sun in the background which she did giggling wildly. What I could capture was the above. I am going to get a prize or something for this. I called it the “The Birth of a Son” (Son or Sun – the sun shining from behind her – get the picture). She is also known for her PJs, asked me “What if its a girl?” After much thinking we have decided to keep it a secret.

More photos here