December 22 2000
Nederlands English
The 22nd of December. Five people start the crossing to Ameland. It is a cold, clear day, "the best day of the year", they joke. On the other side of the dike await the frozen shallows. On the horizon, through a veil of birds, Ameland is visible. Beyond, seemingly larger than the island itself, are the first drilling rigs...

Maps show the channels, sandbank and buoys. With a GPS, one can pre-plan a route. Crossing sands by low tide is dangerous, nevertheless, and one should be well acquinted with the sands and the tides. A wet suit or wading outfit is necessary in this season. The walk to Ameland is 9 km long.
Wind-force zero. It's like entering a concert hall. The first steps on the crisp ice break the silence, like turning a page of a newspaper. After this comes the sucking mud. Then the dragging of boots through the water.

Further on, the silence and emptiness increase. Water and sand join in ever changing patterns. Shellfish cling to each other. The cockles are commercially exploited; traces of dragging nets reveal the recent visits of fishermen.

The birds of the lagoons distrustfully follow the hiker's movements. Ducks carry out reconnaissance flights in long formations. The gulls are more courageous and accompany them with screams. Almost unnoticed, sandpipers fly up from the sandbanks.
Along the coast of Ameland, ice floats. The hikers set foot ashore. Now, they feel the cold really well. The day comes to an end. Many birds take flight for a last time. And in the West, the ferry crosses to Holwerd.
Henk Nouws - January 2001

link to Wadden vereniging