Not a lot to report

Nothing much happened today: but we did cover 40 kilometres and negotiate around 20 locks, which was good going. We had a false start, setting off at eight, only to find the locks open at nine: I should have checked last night. Anyway, that meant others caught up, and we travelled a good part of the day with a Belgian registered boat, though I think the couple aboard were actually French. We persuaded them to go ahead of us in the locks – the worse position going uphill  - and he was active in bounding up ladders and catching mooring lines. So it all went quite well. There was a great deal of rain in the morning, and in one lock it was so heavy that we both simply kept position with the engines, and didn’t tie up at all. Not very legal, and perhaps not very safe, but quite effective. We left the other boat at Charmes, the first biggish town we encountered, but its charms did not appeal, not least because it was only three o’clock, and so we came on alone here to Nomexey, where there is a comfortable quayside, occupied only by a rather comfortable looking British barge. The village also boasts a pharmacy, which we both needed for refilling prescriptions. In fact the woman in the pharmacy knew Bandol, and told us it was 28 or 29 degrees down there, which confirms reports from Alex. Rubbing salt in the wounds.

The landscape was mostly uninspiring today, as you can see:

In the locks, we made good use of a new gadget, which you can see in the picture, a floating grappling hook made of tough plastic. Very handy for holding us steady against a ladder in the lock. These locks are difficult for small boats going uphill, being about three metres high, beyond range for lassoing bollards. So our new technique is to zip into the lock and come to a halt by the control rods. Diana then starts the lock cycle, and while the doors are closing, we reverse to a ladder and hook on, just in time before the water rushes in. So far, so good. The picture also shows the weed growth on the lock wall: a veritable bio-wall.

With luck, tomorrow we should reach the summit: the last 16 locks form a continuous staircase. Quite dramatic and quite hard work, but worth it. We are hoping it will be a bit drier