A morning visit to the Alfred Vogel herb garden made a welcome change to our usual diet of monuments and museum's. A.Vogel is a major brand of homeopathic remedies in Holland, and their production facility is situated in Elburg. Based on herbal recipes developed by Vogel from American Indian teachings, his products cover a vast range of symptoms, and are manufactured from herbs grown on site. A comprehensive exhibition and visitor centre tells the story of Vogel and his travels, but unfortunately, with no English interpretation at all, we were at a loss to understand all but the basics. Plant lovers would have stood more chance with the Latin names in the extensive gardens. With another hot and sultry day in prospect, and coach loads of tourists already descended on the town, we were reduced to embarking on an afternoon cruise just to generate a breeze.

We made our first stop at the island of Eekt in the Drontermeer, where an unserviced harbour made a convenient lunch stop. Being free, the moorings were well populated with the "stay-on-the-boat" brand of boaters, and children who enjoyed splashing about in the sheltered basin. The Roggebotsluis forms the junction of the Drontermeer and the Vossemeer, with a nominal 5m road bridge. However, we were just about able to interpret the bridgekeepers tannoyed announcement that the clearance was "Vijf meter, vijfenviertig", deducing that we should be clear to pass under the bridge. At the junction of the Vossemeer with the Ketelmeer we turned into the well marked Keteldiep channel towards the Gelderse IJssel river and our next destination of Kampen an de IJssel.

Kampen is a six mile detour from the Randmeren up the river IJssel, which flows into and gives its name to the IJsselmeer. Our first choice of mooring spot was in the PassentenHaven, next to the city walls and closest to the town. Here we were greeted by the familiar suggestion that perhaps there would be more space in the next harbour! On this occasion they were right and we took the last spot in the adjacent Buitenhaven, although being close to the harbour entrance it was exposed to the wash of passing traffic. The welcome reception from Kampen's harbour master included a full colour brochure of the town in three languages and recommendations on local restaurants. A feature of the town is the Nieuwe Tower, from where a cow is hung every summer. During dinner in the Plantage square, we learnt the origins of the tradition, based on an old story that grazing was available there. This and other unlikely tales are called the "Kamper Uien" - available in booklet form from the VVV.

Cruising Statistics

Distance: 17 nm

Total to date: 1371 nm

Avg Speed: 4.5 knots

Duration: 3:45 hours

Diesel: 54 litres

Mooring: €10

Electricity: €0,50 meter

Bridges

Roggebotsluisbrug (5.45m)

Eilandbrug (16m)

Locks

Roggebotsluis

Charts

1810.7

1810.8