If there is something that characterizes the coastal area of De Marne, its inhabitants, and the landscape, it is resilience. The water rose and fell, left behind sand and clay, brought fertile land, but sometimes also flooded it, with disastrous consequences. Villages emerged and disappeared, farmers came and went. You can feel this stark dynamism in the simple, unadorned churches, as well as walking and cycling over riverbanks, salt marsh ridges, and reclaimed fields.