Remote and beautiful Reitdiep. Heading east towards the Van Starkenborgh Kanal.

Engine on at 0935 hours. We'd refilled the fresh water tank and I'd taken all the rubbish to the recycling points. It's another gloriously sunny morning. Richard manually pushes Pirramimma off from the pontoon and we gently glide away.  I had the helm and we left the marina in a southerly direction before veering eastwards. 

The sun was so bright on the water I found it very hard to make out the shape of the channel markers, let alone the colours, and had to ask Richard for help. There are quite a few channels and a couple of cardinal marks to avoid. Once I was settled and happy, I could also enjoy the view. This is such beautiful scenery. Firstly, it was like an African savannah; wide expanses of grassland. And there were yachts and cruisers anchored just out of the main channel - no doubt their crews were breakfasting on deck and enjoying the Sunday sunshine.

Long horn cattle and wild horses were grazing the banks and standing in the water, cooling off from the already hot day. I certainly didn't expect anything like this!

Photo: V Hayes

The photo below shows the type of nature moorings in this area. Most, but not all, had no access to the land. All were in lovely locations and had good strong pontoons.  This is the view aft and looking west.

A slightly wider angle as we head further away and cruise eastwards towards Zoutkamp and the Reitdiep. You can hopefully see what a large expanse of inland water this is. 

Still a lot of reflected 'glare' from the sun on the water. But crew has her bearings and is happy. 

Photo: V Hayes

The channel continues to wind its way around to the east and is beginning to narrow a little. As you can also see, there are a lot of these moorings on this waterway. 

At this next turn to starboard, the channel becomes much narrower. Still more cattle enjoying the cool water.

The sluis at Zoutkamp usually stands open but the brug does not and we had about a 20 minute wait as road traffic came and went over the brug. In due course, we and 4 other boats motored through and continued on our way.  There's quite a sweet little marina at Zoutkamp and we marked it down for future visits. Again, the scenery changed. This time to lush-looking pastures and substantial farming operations. Far less cattle and more arable in this area. 

Another brug and a small (open) keersluis at Electra. We were now actively looking for a mooring place to stop and have some lunch.  But the moorings have changed too! They're much smaller and most have only room for one boat. Everyone else is also thinking about lunch and there was 'no room at the inn' for us.  The galley slave swung into action anyway and we had lunch on the move.

Finally, past the Aduarderzijl keersluis, we found a space just large enough for us between two other boats. Skipper skilfully slid the boat into place, the crew made fast the lines - and there we were! Perfect. This is the view aft. 

And the view forward…

We sat on deck and watched flocks of swallows and house martins as they swooped and dived, chattering away to each other. The noisiest birds were the starlings, as seemingly thousands of them moved along the bank beside us, eating insects or seed on their journey. A herd of young dairy cows ambled by, some walking down to the water to drink and eat the grasses and leaves growing on the water's edge. Later on, at about 1700 hours, we hopped onboard Pottle and made our way further east towards the town of Garnwerd. Another lovely little spot to make a note of: there's a restaurant there and also a nice looking passentenhaven. A friend told me about a nice walk of about 6 kms to be enjoyed from the village church too. 

Onwards we went in Pottle, and then turned to port into a narrow stream to the little village of Sauwerd. As you enter the little waterway, there's a pretty little brug and sluis to go through. Two hours after setting off, we were back onboard and ready for a glass of wine. It had been fun!

Galley slave prepared sautéed chicken breasts with a stir-fry of rice and vegetables. And later, we had this stunning sunset to enjoy. #nofilter

Tomorrow morning, we make our way onto the Van Starkenborgh Kanal to head south, back onto the Prinses Margriet Kanal and back into Friesland. 
Vxx