Lottum to Sint Odilienberg: camping at our first "Haystack" campground
We knew it would be a hot ride today, but at different times we had to stop and rest in the shade. Lots of hydrating, keeping our Polar Ice scarves activated and taking breaks were necessary. Today at times, the air would hit you like a furnace- there was no relief.
We started our day with a ride on the ferry that had been our entertainment for the past two days. We followed some back roads to Venlo and enjoyed looking around this historic town.
We decided to not follow the Reitsma route which would have cut off some distance to connect with the Ruur River route. This would have taken us away from the Maas River and we were reluctant to leave this river so soon. Instead we thought we would like to see the historic city of Roermond. It was pretty, but it was too hot to appreciate what we saw. The market square was lovely, but I think a highlight was going to Albert Heijm grocery store for cold water. (Just kidding, but it was a good thing!)
After Roermond, we pushed on with a plan to get to Effeld which had a campground on the lake - but this was not to be. We were really suffering from our exertions in the heat and were ready to stop after 60 km.We luckily saw a sign on the road to a "Haystack" camping about a km back and in the forest. It was fortunate that a local woman came out of her farm and helped us to understand that this was our only opportunity for accomodation before Effeld. It was funny to us that she was horrified that we would contemplate carrying on - we knew that it was only about 10 km further, but she said that we would be at least an hour and that it was in Germany. We took advantage of this opportunity to try another type of Dutch Mini Camping and we are so glad we did. 12 euros for camping with free showers and wifi. Like the Nature Kamps, the campers are set up around the perimeter and the middle of the large area is left free. This was good for us, as all designated sites were full - so he told us to find a spot that suited us. We were surprised that this out of the way campground, with no advertising, was full. But we discovered, as various campers made their way over to see us, that a "Fietsers Fest" was on and most of the campers were there to participate in daily rides in the region. What a great concept. They would camp here for 4 days and take rides of 40-60 km each day.
Having taken the ferry, looking back at the campground and the church tower of Lottum.
This was amazing - there was a field of young animals: goats, cows, ponies, sheep...When I stepped off to take a look, they all came running wanting affection.
The heat wave has hit urban Holland, and it's not so pretty. These guys caused quite a stir as the fellow on the left is in his underwear and they were pacing trying to find somewhere cool to go. We think that they came off of a boat.
