Antwerpen to Sint Amands – May 28/13 – 40 km

Also, near the market square is a church called Cathedral of Our Lady that took 169 years to build and is still going through on going restoration.

From here we rode to an elevator designed for bikes and walkers that holds up to 40 people and it goes down 31 metres and takes you under the river Scheldt. Once you exit the elevator you ride through a tunnel that is 500 metres to the other side of the river where you take another elevator back to the road.

After we rode through the countryside and ended up at a little City Recreation Courtyard designed for travellers passing through the area. We tasted a local Belgian Beer which had about 8% alcohol and this was our lunch stop.

From there it was to a local artisan shop run by a fellow and his wife. They travel to the Sahara Desert to gather rocks, wood, fossils, etc. that they then turn into artwork and he has designed their home with their collection. It was a very unique place.

Then it was off to the barge and it was just in time as the skies opened up soon after we arrived.

It was an amazing day of riding in total sunshine and countryside so spectacular.

Dinner tonight was a barbeque. It included a selection of salads, buns/rolls and an assortment of meat, from sausages to steaks, to hamburgers, all very delicious after a good days ride.

The real story comes after the barbecue. Our new found Brazilian friends started by feeding us one of their national drinks Caipirinha which is a mixture of lime, sugar, vodka, crushed ice and attitude. Then they really started dancing and partying to their South American Latin/Salsa music.  Pretty soon everyone (Americans, English and Us) were all up shaking our hips, swaying our hands and forming a conga line. Brenda was in there like a “dirty shirt”; I think she thought it was one of her Zumba classes. Sorry no photos or YouTube clips; we think!

We are happy to report that in the morning the barge was still floating.