Not every
day on the canal can be exciting … but this really was an exceptionally
ordinary day. We disentangled ourselves from Joinville with some relief, though
it took a few locks before we left most of the weed behind. In fact our efforts
to make an early start – 8 a.m. – were stymied by having forgotten it’s Sunday,
so the locks didn’t open till 9. Here’s some more weed, in case you’ve
forgotten:
As we
pottered along, our gaze was taken by a house falling down:
As the
morning progressed, cocktail hour loomed, which is always welcome. Here’s the helmsman’s
position primed for action:
At the tiny village of Eurville-Bienville we passed a museum dedicated to
General George Patton, of WWII fame, with a tank from the period parked
outside. However we only noticed it as we were about to negotiate a lifting
bridge – with cars waiting – so couldn’t stop, and the other side there was
nowhere to stop and anyway we had to go on through a linked lock. Checking out
google, it seems to be a very small museum, owned and run by an enthusiast, so
maybe we didn’t miss too much.
We arrived
at Saint Dizier rather earlier than expected, but decided to stop anyway since
the next stretch of canal is not very appealing, and in fact last time we came
along there was a large gipsy encampment half way along, which seemed quite threatening.
Saint Dizier is investing in a brand new pleasure port – but it won’t be fully open for a couple of weeks, so no electricity or water so far. Also, only one
other boat, an Australian flagged barge, and the landscaping still to be done.
However business is looking up – since I started writing this, two more boats
have appeared!
Vitry
tomorrow, and with luck the shower will get fixed!
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