Re-cap Wednesday 31st July

And on the programme: Day off......

And we headed off to Amsterdam, with the intention of going to a Swiming pool, and then some shopping, we caught the train from the station just outside the campsite, weather wise it was a little cloudy, with some rain showers in the forecast

 Fortunalty this time round the ticket machine was a little easier ( at the last jamborette it would only let us buy tickets in small bathces) and the train tickets were soon obtained

The trains run frequently between the Campsite station at Halfweg and Amsterdam Centraal Station, with the added bonus that Amsterdam Centraal is the last stop on that route, so its impossible to miss the stop, once at the Station we headed outside to find a Tram to a poo, at a previous Haarlem Jamborette we stumbled across a public pool at a place called Sloterpark, so we headed back there, to get there it was a simple tram journey. ( tram 13 for future reference :) )  note you have to tap on and tap off with the tram ticket

As soon as we got off the tram for the short walk to the pool, it stated to rain, not much just a little, and we made it inside before it go too heavy.

Unlike ( most if not all) pools in the UK, they have a smart wristband system, where your wristband contains a chip that grants ( or denies) access to various parts of the complex, tap your wristband on an area by the turnstile, and it lets you in the changing room/cubicle area, tap your wristband on a scanner in the locker are and it opens a locker for you, telling you which locker is open, no keys, no coins just a tap.
 Edit: the inside of pool is on google streetview  here: click here for a look inside

And from then it was into the pool, there are several pools at sloterpark, from an olympic size pool, to a high diving board pool, training pool, and a recreational pool  which consisted of a flume, a rapids area, and a swimming area- (we were in the recreation pool) in which they set up a floating bridge for the Scouts to run across to see if they could make to the other end.

 While all this was going off, outside the sky had turned an ominous shade of black, and the heavens opened up, meanwhile, back on Camp we were missing this:

After the pool visit, it was off to catch a tram, last time we caught a tram (nr17) which took us to Dam Square, in the middle of Amsterdam, this time,  we had to change trams to get to our destination.
 After putting the Scouts in groups we gave them some time to explore the city ( or to be more precise the main shopping area)
The Scouts Found Mc Donalds, we found a steak house

All the Scouts made it on time to the meet point, and after a short while the rain cleared up, and we headed back to the station, after a short battle with the ticket barriers - Green means Go, Red means Stop, and the no entry sign, or a cross just confused some of the Scouts (who tried tapping on anyway) To add to the confusion there were two tickets - Blue for the Tram, and Yellow for the train,
Which despite being a simple concept to explain the execution in some cases was different ( and I'm not talking about just the scouts here )

After that, a little bit of free time ( we did the evening meal later- after the leaders meeting) Mokkie, and bed

The Next Day was Aqua.............