Working in Bokhoven

Well I officially started work on August 4^th at the apple farm in Bokhoven. Bokhoven is a small village nicely situated along the Maas River. It’s not a very big place, but a beautiful location. Henri has a few acres of apple trees there; I think we estimated around 1,400 with 6 different kinds of apples. Henri himself doesn’t live in Bokhoven, but only a few kilometers away in Den Bosch.

There I met Dave (from Britain), Leo (young student living in Den Bosch) and his brother, Rodrick.

We started our week off with picking the rotten, old, rusted, bird eaten apples from the trees and then moved onto pruning the trees to let more light in for the apples. They prune the trees right before harvest so that the light can reach the apples and give them a bit more color, that and cooler evenings help add the color to the apples.

It’s pretty peaceful walking through the rows of trees; you don’t hear anything except the birds and wind, and sometimes Henri singing.

Dave has been in the Netherlands on-and-off for the last 16years, he came over here because there was better money to be made then back in Britain. He says Britain still has really low minimum wage, even crap wage for those who have a professional job and have been doing it for years. Apparently a lot of people have left to find better-paid jobs in other countries.

Henri first planted the trees back in the early 90’s for something to do and to spend some more time outside, he started organic and later on 6 different farm built a cooperative to help market and sell there organic fruits to grocery stores in the country (the next farm I go to is also a part of this cooperative). All three of his kids are grown up and left the area for other careers, so I am not sure what he will do when he decides to retire. But he is a super nice man and I can see why the people keep coming back every year to work for him.

Leo is going to school to acquire all his levels for carpentry and I think he hopes to go to Australia one day and find work there with his family. Pretty nice kid and his brother, Rodrick came on Friday to help out too; he just came back from Mexico where he had been volunteering in orphanages. Now I think he is just looking to make some money and go traveling again.

Everyone else will start next Monday for the picking season. It sounds like all them are the usual people who come to work for Henri. I'm told there will be two other girls, one Dutch and one Polish and a few extra guys.

Mocha loves it in the apple fields, she doesn’t go far and Henri appreciates that she doesn’t make much noise. She hangs out in the shade, chases the frogs in the grass and sneaks into the caravan for naps, so I think she is enjoying it. She is even pretty good with the 30min bike ride in the basket there and back, she hasn’t barked yet and sits most of the time, unless we are passing by the sheep – then she gets excited. But she didn’t like the bike home in the rain, she was pretty soaked by the time we got back, we both were. Maybe she needs a rain jacket, ha ha or if I can make her lay down, I could throw a small quick dry towel or rain jacket over. But thankfully I have a little electric heater for the camper and she and my clothes were dried out in an hour!

We only worked a half-day on Friday, which was great as I needed to go to Eindenhoven to get my BSN number (tax number) and the brothers wanted to go fishing for the weekend. Didn’t spend much time in the city, but got my number and off to the camping store to pick up a few small things.

The weekend was spent driving around trying to find the right stores for this and that with some laundry and cleaning on the side. I attempted to rig up a mosquito netting from two sheets I bought at the store, even bought a citronella candle and air device to see if that will cut down on the many mosquito’s that haunt me at night. Apparently it is a bad year for them, I have the bites on my arms and face to prove it, even one on my eyelid – little buggers!! On early inspection before bed I didn’t find any, but early in the morning a few buzzed by my head, so they must have a really good hiding spot or are getting in another way. At least the mosquito netting seems to work and I can have my sliding door open later in the evenings to cool off the van on warm days, but the temperature has started to drop.

This was a short week as well as we finished all the pruning of the trees and are all ready for picking starting next Monday. An extra day off, but with the rain coming and going, not sure if much will get done but some lazing around mixed with some short walks and bike rides.

Excited to meet the new people on Monday and start picking the apples and see how it goes, hopefully it's good work as it will be in the plans for the next 10 weeks!

(Heusden)

 (Along the river Maas)

 (Bokhoven)

Well the last two weeks have flown by and crept along at the same time. I left the farm in Bant two weeks ago to do some exploring and camping before starting work in Bokhoven come this August.

Leaving the farm I headed north to a small town called Balk, definitely a tourist stop for the local Hollanders. The campground was right next to where the river met with the lake, which was the perfect stop for a weekend of 30 plus degrees – or so I would have thought.  With the weather being so hot, there wasn’t much to do but relax in the shade and try to keep cool. I attempted to go swimming in the lake, but as my feet sunk about a foot in thick weeded clay and what seemed like a long trudge through it, it didn’t seem to get any cooler, deeper or clearer – so it was a short lived experience.

A few short bike rides left me tired and sweaty and the dog looking for shade, so there was a whole lot of sitting and lying around for the weekend. In the evenings the camper didn’t seem to cool down enough and it was early wake ups as the heat poured into the camper.

So it was time to head for another area and hopefully a bit cooler temperatures, at least for sleeping. I packed the camper and we were off heading south in the Maastricht area. As I started to drive through the area, I started to feel a little bit more comfortable at the scenery around me. Rolling hills made it feel a little more like home and the cooler temperatures were even better!

Three attempts later, James finally found me a campsite worth spending some time at. In the small village of Noorbeek, sat a small campground on the side of the hill. Arriving after suppertime with late showers and fog, I had no idea what views or the area had to offer.

Finally a day to sleep in till 8:30 and not be completely overwhelmed by the heat. The fog still lay in the hills and the view was still out of sight, but a nice hot (free) shower (most showers are coin operated around here) some breakfast and the fog slowly lifted to see some rolling hills covered in green and trees, with farmers fields splitting them up.

Me and Mocha adventured off on foot (there was no way my 4 gear bike was going to go up the hills, let alone the steep descent with Mocha in the basket) towards the village center, up through the village and on the other side of the valley looking back at the campground we had just come from as we wandered through apple orchids, vineyards and dairy cow fields. It was complete with the old wooden apple picking latter still leaning against a tree as a horse grazed by, a perfect walk.

So it was decided then, this was a perfect spot to camp for a few days. Although the temperatures still rose above 25 degrees, the evenings gave some relief as the temperatures cooled down.

The next few days we did some more walking, trails leading us through fields, forests and orchids, even through the surrounding villages and across the border into Belgium. I spent a few hours in the next village over in Mheer, walking round the old church and castle stealing photos when I could. I was pretty sure that the castle was either a hotel of some kind or apartments, but no one seemed to be bothered by me, so walking I continued.

Then it was off to Nadrin, Belgium to meet up with Paula and hang out a few days as she prepared to get ready for “Belgium’s toughest triathlon!”

As I was driving farther south, it was remarkable to see the different change in landscape and cities and know that I was in Belgium. Although no actual sign to say it, none that I could of seen anyways, the hills got bigger with more trees and green grass. I drove through the first city as a river divided it and there was no way to get around it, then I was in the thick of it – climbing huge hills with this old beast of a camper as I watched the speed gauge slowly go down. Thankfully they have 4 lanes of traffic on these sections, as I wasn’t sure if we were going to make it, a detour off the main road made for more scenic and less inclined roads. Although they offered a lot more curves and sharp turns, the cars behind me had to slow down or pass when they got a chance, ha ha!

But I finally reached the small village of Nadrin and a second pass by the campground and I finally saw the sign. A quick wander around and finally I found Paula and her tent at the end of the site. A quick hello, quick set up of the camper van and then the clouds let loose and the rain poured down! Thankfully Paula had a tarp system all set up, so I joined her at her site as we waited for the rain to subside.

Paula had been to this area many of times and new what was around or what was to do, so our first adventure took us to Achouffe, where the famous brewery complete with the gnome on the bottle had began. I think the village runs solely on the tourism of this brewery, side note – it’s shipped to Quebec for my Canadian friends and it’s suppose to be one of Belgium’s more popular beers!

The next day was full of relax and a cool morning of waking up as Paula collected her things to get ready for the triathlon that would take place the following day. Then it was decided, with temperatures on the rise – why not a swim? Close by there was a grass beach and a river for swimming; surprisingly it was quiet the little beach. Even better, although a few rocks on the bottom, it was cooler and no thick clay to wade through.

All in all it was a perfect lazy Saturday complete with a hook up with her friends in Houffalize for drinks and diner.

The next day we were out of the campground by 8am heading towards the triathlon site for the days adventures. Paula and Carlo got ready for the day and me and Bianca headed down to the lake to watch their first 1km swim. We made it 10 minutes just before the start to watch the group of about 100 people huddled together, with not too many people saying much or looking at each other as nerves started to flow and then they were off! We got to see both Paula and Carlo leave the swim area and on to the road bike section, cheering them on. We took the long way back to see them come down the big hill side-by-side.  We stopped at another section for the beginning of the mountain bike, this time they were a little spread out. Once they had passed it was time for Bianca, Mocha and I to get something to eat while waiting to see them come into the final part for running. I managed to get a few words out of Paula as she was getting her running shoes on, all I know is that is was really hard and super technical and the look on her face was enough. But I can’t blame her at a 23% grade incline in 1800 meters for one of the hills, 1 km swim, 42km of road biking, 15km of mountain biking and 10km of running, her expression was well deserved.

Paula completed the race around a whopping five hours and forty minutes!!!!! I was so proud of her, such a great time for her first official triathlon at Belgium’s hardest. Unfortunately Carlo didn’t complete a race as a fall on the mountain bike course left a squeaky bike, hole in his gear and some nasty cuts on his side to prove it, but all in all I was proud of both of them for doing it!

As you can imagine they were a little bit tired and both hungry and thirsty after! After a clean up back at the campground it was time for greasy fries and beer!!

Monday was definitely a sleep in relaxing morning. Although a bit tired, a little dehydrated Paula was looking pretty good and no sore muscles!

The rain let go that day, so we headed into La Roche en Ardenne to wander a bit and sit for a warm bowl of soup, then off back to Holland for me to find a place to live for the month of August.

We Spent the night right in Bokhoven on a beautiful campground with a very nice owner, although perfect for a few days or a weekend, I was looking for bit more if I was going to stay for the month. After six campgrounds to look at with too expensive, no longer in existence or a horrible location, it was back to the first one I had stopped at by Heusden. A nice little mini campground just opened this spring, complete with a new building with Free hot showers, a wash center, fridge/freezer for use and even TP and hot water in the sinks, this was the place! The owners were super nice and when I asked if there was a Laundromat near by, the didn’t think so – so instead they hooked up there old one to another building for me to use, how awesome is that!

Mocha and I walked into the town of Heusden, which is surrounded by water and the Maas River (I think it was an old fort) to the town center, with a main docking area it is a definite tourist town, but a nice one at that with lot’s of biking and walking trails around. We even biked back to Bokhoven to see how long it would take, a leisurely ride took about 30 minutes, so the perfect distance to bike to work!

Now I am just exploring the area and seeing what’s around as I start work on August 4^th. I will be working at a biological apple farm for Henri Alberts. I am told that there is also a British man working there camping with his dog as well, so at least I won’t be alone!

Hopefully work at the new farm will be great for August and then it’s off to another fruit farm near the border of Germany for September and October!!

Keeping my fingers crossed that things all work out and I will have a great fall in the Netherlands, complete with a great winter in Spain!!
(Balk)

(Mheer & Noorbeek)

(Achouffe, Belgium)

 (Nadrin, Belgium)

 (Paula's Triathlon)

 (La Roche en Ardenne, Belgium)