Maasland

1 May 2015:  We hiked today from Hoek van Holland to Maasland (19 km).  The weather was good: mostly sunny and cool, with some wind.  There was interesting variety; the trail was not just long, straight paved bicycle paths.  Most of the morning, we walked through a park and then a forest.  Later, we walked along a dike, beside enormous greenhouses used for growing fruit, with sheep running around and away from us.  We enjoyed observing aquatic birds in the nearby canals: ducks, geese, swans and others, some with young chicks.  As we approached Maasland, the trail turned into a field, and there we encountered something unique:  The trail was made by paving stones laid in straight lines and 90 degree angles across the field.  We walked through fields on those paving stones for about a kilometer.  Occasionally, large hares appeared and bounded across the fields, jumping across the bordering canal when necessary.

Maasland is a quiet and attractive residential town without much commercial activity. We're staying in a comfortable B&B that we would recommend highly for two reasons: (1) it's very comfortable – indeed, luxurious by backpacking standards, and (2) it's the only B&B in Maasland.

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Farewell to Noordzee Hotel in Hoek van Holland:

Mary points out a GR marker (white and red horizontal rectangles), which are somewhat rare on the trail here.  This one was across the street from our hotel, getting us off to a good start this morning.  We wonder how many of these markers we'll pass between here and the Mediterranean?...

We paused by a pond, and the two resident ducks immediately waddled over, hoping (with reason) for something to eat:

An old German bunker from World War II, now (with several others nearby) a reservation for bats ("Vleermuisreservaat"):

Modern windmills, generating electricity:

Old windmills, generating... tourism:

The paved way through the fields:

We're on the right trail!

Our B&B in Maasland: