Mussels and Sailing as a reward for biking

We finally got to the marina after riding past fields of potatoes,

sheep, rolling land and only up two little hills.  We got to cross some locks and this was one of the reasons that they keep their boat out this far so that they don’t have to go through locks to get to the sea.  Onto a great 32 foot sailboat that requires a lot more care and work in the maneuvering than our pontoon  boat.  We’ve gotten used to just pulling out and going out into the lake to sit, drink, and talk.  Well, there’s no doing

 that on a sailboat because you are constantly tacking, moving the jib, being aware of all the other traffic on the lake and avoiding sand bars.  This is a huge lake that has been created by damming the sea to prevent flooding.  So, it is half sea water and half fresh water and we were able to moor at a dock for Jean-Marie to get into the freezing cold water and get mussels off the dock.  Hester and I sat to clean them while John would replenish our water to clean the mussels and got 

  pictures of all the animals around us including: cormorants, jellyfish, deer, and a German man who thought that it was okay to walk around the dock with a shirt on, but no pants.  With almost two buckets full of huge mussels, we pushed off from this dock and went back to the marina where a  

drink could finally be broken out with snacks to tide us over for the bike ride home.  I had forgotten how different a sailboat is from other boats, how low you get to the water, sails that are more powerful than any motor at times, and this was a great day even with some more biking to go…

 We took the short cut home to Middelburg and there were times that I didn’t think that I would make it even on this short route.  This track went along the train tracks and every time the train would pass, I would think, I could jump on it and leave this bike here.  But I

did make it back to Jean-Marie and Hester’s house after waiting for the bridge to open and suffering through cobblestones at the end.  Everyone kept trying to give me a seat when we got to the house, but the last thing I wanted to do was sit.  Hester  

 has an amazing garden, so I wandered around there trying to figure out how to recreate this Eden in my own back yard (never going to happen because all I do is kill plants and gardens like this need constant tending, so Cisco would have to live at the house).  In just 10 minutes we were having the best asparagus soup, salad, mussels and homemade bread and sauces.  I have always associated mussels and oysters as slimy things that have a texture that I can’t handle,

 but cooked with garlic and mayo as a sauce, sublime.  There was something incredibly satisfying about having caught and cooked dinner from the sea.  Even with thighs and knees and an ass that will most likely hurt for the next 4 days, this day was totally worth it.