Continued post...

To continue where I left off...

I was running low on food and getting rather tired of the energy bars I had with. When I  passed a small grocery store right next to the road at 2 pm I actually stopped. I felt like it was something I needed to do.

I was carb hungry and purchased a fresh loaf of bread as well as a ready-made tuna sandwich, glad they accepted my MasterCard.

The rest of the ride was slow but steady. My muscles felt depleted and in need of rest.

Colchester turned out to be a rather lovely place. Touristy, historical.

I found a place to sit in peace right by an old priory. The history in European countries continues to amaze me!

I had time to kill so I then wandered over to the Castle Park, where the remains of a 2000 year old castle stood surrounded by a lovely park.

I sat there awhile, then around 5 pm I walked over to roughly where my host lived. I didn't have her exact address and was awkwardly unsure of what to do. Traveling alone calls a person to exercise courage in a way that normally One wouldn't have to.

I finally just walked up to the door of house number 70 and asked to use their phone to call my hosts cell.they were good about it and turns out I just had to walk up to house 90 and I'd be there!

It's so lovely to be welcomed into a home, to be given a towel to use, to have wifi, to have a meal of real food provided and a safe place to sleep and keep my bike.

Debbie and Hasan were most kind. It felt difficult to be social, perhaps because my introvert self needed recharge.

I got to choose whether to sleep in the summer house shed or the house. I opted for the summer house where my bike was. It was cool but they provided sufficient blankets to keep me warm all night.

I decided it would be better to take the train to Harwich since I was feeling worn out and needed to be in Harwich (roughly 30 Km's away) for 8 am, so I got up early, packed up, made some sandwiches from my bread loaf for the trip ate a bit of breakfast and left at 6:45 am, leaving a thank you note for my hosts.

I opted to take two trains so I'd be well on time because the train that went straight there was cutting it close to final check in time. It's a bit of a scramble trying to figure out which platform to be on and which train to take and to heft my bike up and down stairs and onto trains, but I made it in good time. The ferry from Holland to England takes a good 7 hours.

I was glad to have the German touring cyclist around, we could watch each other's stuff when we needed a break from sitting around.

Finally had a chance to recharge my drained electronic batteries!

Debating whether to stay in a hostel in Den Haag tonight or take the train up to my Aunts house so I can rest...

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- Eritia