Egmond

The next day we took the ferry to Texel. We cycled 8km to the Post Huis where we were picked up by the 'sand truck' for the 10km ride trip along the sand to the jetty. The sand trucks are large four wheel drive trucks that offer various tours around the island.

The name of the company is engraved in mirror writing in the rubber of the rear tires and so the tracks in the sand become strip advertisements for the tours (see inset photo).

We disembarked onto a similar jetty on Texel and cycled the easy 30km to the accommodation at Den Hoorn. It was basically a motel room at the back of a restaurant.

We had dinner at the Bil Jef which is recommended by the Lonely Planet and was just a couple of hundred meters from the hotel. It used fresh foods obtained locally and the food and service was excellent.

The day had been cool but the motel room was still very hot. There was a bright light just outside the window so we had to close the heavy curtains. About 4am we were awakened by a persistent plumbing noise. Although not terribly loud the night was hot and still, and otherwise dead quiet and it stopped us sleeping. When we mentioned it at breakfast the manager made only a desultory attempt to identify the cause, so we decided to move on.