Nieuwpoort

We're  still here, and we will be here till Sunday.

Two nights ago, when I heated water to wash the dishes, the gas ran out.  They have the same gas bottles here so we thought it best to exchange the bottle today.  But, the habour master only works from 19.00 to 20.00 on Wednesdays so we had to spend another night.

Yesterday:

The marina being almost empty,

Ian spent the morning working on the coachroof.  He had done some grinding on Tuesday while we travelled along the canal, and yesterday he carried on working while I went off the supermarket by bike.  When I got back, I climbed on board as usual and heard a yell from Ian, who was inside:  Mind the epoxy! 

Too late.  I hadn't seen it and managed to get it all over the side of my jacket and my bike pannier.  Well, I didn't know he was going to be epoxying right next to gangway!  I managed to get most of it off my bike bag but my jacket looks a real mess and I'll never get it off.  And Ian had to redo the epoxy which had gouges out of it, which didn't thrill him either!

Today:

The wind picked up a lot during the night and we woke today to a dreary, grey, windy, miserable morning and forecast to get worse later and tomorrow with rain.  So we have paid up to stay here for another 3 nights, which takes us to Sunday morning.

This morning, before the wind got too bad, we untied our lines and motored slowly up and down a wide section of the canal, actually it's like a big square lake, for an hour so that Ian could do some sanding.  It was pretty chilly  - and as soon as we got back to the mooring the sun came out!

I went into the town to find a bank to draw some cash and took the opportunity to walk around the "old" town.  This is another of the towns, like Ieper and Diksmuide that were right on the front line during the First World War and was badly damaged.  It has been rebuilt in the old style but the buildings look new(ish - 90 years old instead of 500 years old).  It is pretty though.

One side of the Market Square

The other side of the Market Square

Lots of flowering planters waiting to placed around the sqaure 

The entrance to the Town Hall

The Cathedral Spire

On this large square lake there is a government watersports centre for the "Promotion of Physical Development, Sports and Outdoor Recreation" (BLOSO - we have seen them all over Belgium).  We have been watching them all day, making the most of the windy conditions on dinghies and windsurfers.  There are also some kayaks out and even a "pirate raft".  I tried to take some photos but they were too far away.  Looked like they are having fun.