The last days before our final departure were absolutely crazy. We were still busy packing the last minute things. One more box had to be filled which needed to be shipped to Manila. Erwin would drive two or three times a day to the recycling center to bring the things needed to be disposed of. The pile of things we wanted to take with us was now so big we had no idea how to fit it all in the boat (that’s what worried Erwin the most). Well, at the last moment we could always decide to leave some things behind, but how on hell do you choose between leaving a life raft or 50 bottles of wine behind!

We visited Erwin’s parents for the last time. Marc, Ingrid and Fleur van Schaik were there too and some friends (Hans and Monique) dropped by to say good-bye.

The house had to be cleaned the next day and Erwin still needed to drive to the recycling center a few times to dispose of more things. You would think that the house was already empty but things still kept popping out in places where we forgot to look. Luckily, friends (Jan and Conny) unexpectedly dropped by to give us a hand.

We already drove a few times earlier that week to bring a carful of things to the boat but despite of that, Erwin still needed to drive two times on our last day to load everything. The last load was so full we were packed like sardines. Since, it’s a one hour drive to the boat, he spent four hours that day driving back and forth. That gave me a few hours time to stay home and clean the house.

At the end of the afternoon, we finally shut the door to our house and headed off to the boat which was now our new home. As soon as we reached the marina, the plan was to load everything on the boat and have a quick take home Chinese dinner before Jan and Conny, who were kind enough to help us drive our car back and help us with the car arrangements, arrive at the marina. When they arrived, they were not alone because they came with friends (Kevin, Margreet, Merric and Esther) and they all surprised us by taking us out for a farewell dinner.

Close friends surprised us with a farewell dinner 😊😊😊

The next day, we spent the whole day unpacking and filling in every nook and cranny (hoeken en gaten) of the boat. We had to make a note of the Iocation of every single item we stored otherwise it would take us forever to find something. It was definitely a challenge but at the end of the day, everything was neatly stored away.

We finally cast off and sailed two hours to Stellendam from where we would depart early the next morning. Once we arrived in Stellendam, we laid back, opened a bottle of Prosecco and toasted to a very good ending of a chapter and the beginning of a new one.

Thanks to Lydia and Piet of the “Spotvogel” for the picture.