Unfortunately, there is a shortage of water in the canals at the moment and so boats are being grouped to conserve the water as much as possible. Regulations say that you may have to wait for up to four hours for another boat to go through the locks with. We were locking down and needed a full lock to drive into. Another boat was coming upstream, still 20 minutes away and would need an empty lock. The lock was (of course) empty at that point so we just had to wait for the other boat to arrive, come up the lock and exit, before we could enter. By the time we got through that lock it was 10.20am. Not a fantastic start for a long day!
As the day progressed our locking partner, the Luxemburger, became less aggressive and even mildly friendly. C was even worried he might want to be our new very best friend as he started consulting on our plans for lunch and the rest of the day. J said he reminded her of Toad, of Toad Hall, complete with ubiquitous cigar. We had one other minor hold up at a badly functioning (or badly programmed) automatic lock in the morning and tied up at the entrance to a lock at 12 noon.
In true French style, the locks on this part of the canal are closed between noon and 1pm. We had a lovely, shady spot (see photo above) taken from the dining table and enjoyed a sumptious midday meal, usually our main meal. We dined on escalopes of dinde (tender turkey) with a creamy leek and mushroom sauce and new potatoes. Dessert was a bunch of the sweetest black grapes either of us have eaten for a long time. (Why IS fruit here sweeter and tastier than at home?!)
The afternoon went without incident and we enjoyed the remainder of the Briare canal and the start of the Loing canal, both very comfortable waterways to navigate on. At around quarter to six, we moored in a convenient spot on the quay in Nemours with the added bonus of free water and electricity. We sank into our especially comfortable deck chairs with a drink and a nibble and recovered from what was a long day for us.
After dinner we went for a short walk - well, a dawdle really - to get our bearings ready for a foray into the town centre tomorrow. A lovely French couple in the boat behind us had whizzed past us on their electric bicycles and returned to their boat at the same time as we did. We chatted to them and found that in the time we took to toddle no more than 400m, they had 'done the town'. We asked lots of questions about these bikes. They are wonderful but there are two main drawbacks: they are very heavy and they cost NZ $2000 each (and that's at a very favourable exchange rate!!) Catherine was offered one of the bikes to ride, she declined, scared she might damage it but more importantly that she might like it too much and would then really desire them for the two of us.
The icing on the cake this evening is listening to a woman two boats down playing a clarinet. It is a calm and warm evening and the dulcet tones add a touch of magic.
PS Next morning
We cycled into town, explored a fantastic bridge built between 1796 and 1804, visited the church, checked with the Office de Tourisme about attractions, looked around the town and enjoyed a hot capuccino, one of the best we have had in France. J nearly had a heart attack when she paid for the two cups of coffee. €14.60 registered on the till! But it was OK, that was the change from the €20 note she had handed over. J wiped her brow with relief and the shop assistant laughed in the nicest way possible. We were beguiled by the array of cakes in one of the best patisseries we have ever seen. With the active encouragement of the lovely shop assistant we were persuaded to choose one item each - such decadence! The photo doesn't do the creations justice. Despite great care, they didn't survive the journey back to the boat in the backpack unscathed and had to be reassembled!
PPS The treats were delicious, every bit as good as they looked.
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