The second day began very early, 5am. Left my sleeping comrades and headed for the West dock and the ferry to Dunkirk. My ticket had been donated by DFDS Ferries and even upgraded to 1st class. Therefore my thanks to Louise Graham of DFDS for her support. The rain fell, but nothing was going to dampen my spirit, with the prospect of adventure ahead. I rode on to the ferry and secured the bike . The good thing about motorcycles and ferries is that you tend to be first on and first off.

Dunkirk was wet and gloomy, but I soon left the rain clouds behind as I headed north for the Belgium border. The traffic was heavy and the going slow. I was having to stop frequently to check my map. Maybe a GPS would have come in handy after all. The first town was Brugge and I promptly got lost. A beautiful city nontheless. I rode through the cobbled streets of the medieval town enjoying the sunshine. Eventually found my way out of the city and on to Antwerp. Antwerp, Yes, bloody lost again!

Since my departure the bike has been stalling when in low revs. This was due to the fuel line not being connected properly after its service. I make a mental note to "speak" with the mechanic on my return.

Crossing over into Holland, still in heavy traffic, I was tired and started looking for a suitable place to camp for the night. I would be glad to leave this western Europe metropolis behind and yearned for the empty wilderness of the north. Approaching Arnhem, no sign of any camp sites, so, another hostel , if I could find one.

I stopped after a couple of circles of the city centre and asked for directions. Eric spoke English fluently and offered me a place to stay. It looked as if I had got lucky!

I followed Eric through the maze of streets and alleyways and eventually arrived at his home. Home? more like a palace. It turned out that Eric and his girlfriend lived in an old monestry. Together with about 40 other people, they had formed a community, complete with vegetable gardens, children's play area, pond, woodland and chickens and ducks. My bed that night was a platform suspended from the ceiling complete with ladder. The next day Eric kindly led me to the motorway and I headed for Germany.

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