We enjoyed
barbecued chicken thighs last night, with enough left over for a salad at lunch
time today. Afterwards, however, a bit of a storm came along, cutting our
internet connection, and bringing wind and rain with it. This tested, so some
extent, the repairs done to the leaks above our bed, and we remained dry.
We woke
early, as usual on the boat, showered pleasantly and then encountered the first
crisis of the voyage: the pump that removes the waste water from the shower had
stopped working, and the bilge was flooding. Fortunately I had thought to check
the bilge, being early in the trip. Anyway, much cursing and swearing and
bailing and sponging – before breakfast. But the pump started to work again. We
will be keeping a close eye on it!
We set off
about 8.15. There was hardly any traffic on the canal – in fact we only met two
boats all day, so we made excellent progress.
This gives
an idea of the canal:
Though
later we heard that an automatic lifting bridge, which we negotiated
successfully early on, had broken down (a key term on the canals is en panne). Our informant was a canal guy
who came to rescue us when one of the locks jammed shut in our faces. We lost
half an hour, but otherwise everything was fine.
Frustration!
We stopped
for half an hour for lunch, tied to a tree, and arrived at a pleasant little
quayside halte nautique at Cusey,
which generously provides free water and electricity, at about 5.30. The
barbecue was in action again for supper:
The only
downside of the day was the profusion of weeds growing in the canal. They get
sucked into the engine cooling system and need to be regularly removed from the
filter basket – twice at least today.
A canal lady
has just been by and says we should have no trouble in reaching the summit of
the canal tomorrow – where there is a long tunnel – and the pleasant town of
Langres the other side. This first stretch has been very rustic, missing most
of the villages, so not much to see or photograph. It should be better the
other side.
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