Day Three - why does it always rain on me?

I guess the first thing to say is that generally I don’t really think it always rains on me but OMG it did today!

Last night we were both pretty exhausted and so rather than venture out, and having picked up supplies at a supermarket earlier on, we decide that campsite pasta is the future. Shortly (and by that I mean almost immediately) we crash out, tired but happy with our achievement.

Given I have not really been able to sleep properly for over 12 months I have not been looking forward to “tenting”. In the hope that I can somehow mitigate the horror of zero sleep on top of massive miles each day I have invested eleventy billion pounds in a (allegedly!) super deluxe, top of the line, one of a kind “sleep system”…..and miracle of miracles it seems to work. My head hits the pillow around 2200 and I have no recollection of waking again until …..!

We are both woken up at around 4am by a huge downpour on the tent which waxes and wanes but never actually stops. No words are exchanged but it’s clear that both of us are trying to pretend it’s not happening…..this is neither what we hoped for or what was forecast and as sure as eggs is eggs neither of us fancy leaving the tent until it’s stops. Regrettably that will not get the miles we need to do done and so eventually around 630, we brave the elements. I have included the photo of me only so that it can no longer be denied that I am turning into my grandmother!

After commandeering one of the wash rooms so we can make our porridge and banana breakfast out of the elements we set off around 830…..and it is wet!

Second breakfast comes courtesy of a very kind shopkeeper who when he realises he doesn’t sell anything we actually need (we basically just wanted to be out of the weather) very kindly provides two coffees and two bananas from his own personal stash.

As we build miles through the country side, the rain persists, sometimes a shower, sometimes a torrent but always wet until around 1300 when finally it looks like it might have passed.

Ps …you can insert your own jokes about Ms van Hoof.

We stop for supermarket lunch around 1400 and use the time to dry some of our absolutely sodden kit. I forgot to mention that last night we thought we were oh so clever leaving our towels out to air on the tent overnight ….turns out not so much!

As we press on through the countryside neither of us even notice that we have now crossed the border from Holland to Germany (yes our third country).

Around mile 80, around 5 miles from our campsite for the night, we pull over at a bar on the banks of the Rhine for a celebratory beer and then around 1730 we arrive at “Camping Strandterrasse” resplendent with beach and chickens ….slightly scary chickens as it turns out as they can definitely smell my fear and perhaps my last remaining apple pastry. Thanks for all your birthday wishes, I have had an exhausting, wet, but fantastic day.