I found a sunny spot about 200 meters from the Tunnel and spent the day reading and walking around the area, not much to see but thick autumn forests. Some fishermen came down to the canal and fished for a while catching nothing and left after a couple of hours. At about 5 PM, just as the sun was at the horizon, I could see a barge coming up the canal. He slowly slid up behind me about 50 meters away, and tied off to the bollards. I continued reading until they had settled in and then walked over to get to know my new neighbors. The ship, named the Traveler, was a pretty one. I liked the red, white and blue although, I wasn't sure if it was French or Dutch, the same color as their flags, or if it was of another nation and liked the colors red, white and blue. There was only one way to find out. I introduced myself and asked if they spoke English, which they did almost without accent. There's only 2 groups of people in Europe that speak English with almost no discernible accent, and that's the Scandinavians and the Dutch. I was pretty sure this boat was not from Scandinavia although, the colors do match the Norwegian flag, my assumption was correct, she was a Dutch vessel. Piet and Suzanno introduced themselves, they are the owner/operators of the Traveler. Claus Jacob was with them, I had assumed he was the deckhand but no, he was just a friend of theirs and was just along for the ride. Claus Jacob had worked for years as a Lock Master but had never been on a canal barge and had a arrange a ride-along with Piet and Suzanno which, he had known for years and had befriended.

Introductions done, I walked back to my tent, sat is the last sunshine of the day and continued reading my book. Just as the sun was disappearing over the hill, Suzanno and Piet walked over and invited me to dinner and gave me the time to be there. But Piet also explained that he was going to  move the Traveler across the canal and moor up on the other side for the night, he had only moored on this side to catch the sun on his solar panels before it disappeared over the hill.