We skipped
the blog post yesterday feeling that after the Not a Lot Happened one, Even
Less Happened would not be riveting for our faithful readers. The previous one was described as desultory by one discerning
follower – one would expect no less accuracy of language from a distinguished
translator/editor! Claudia put it quite diplomatically - no need to feel obliged to post EVERY day!
Anyway, on Monday we
progressed down the rest of the Champagne-Burgundy canal – mostly dead
straight. It started off relatively weed-free, but then unleashed its secret
weapon – algae. Thick carpets of the stuff, at one stage completely blocking
the water intake. However we soldiered on and reached Vitry le Francois, in
hopes of a fix for the shower pump – it’s getting hot here too! We located a
man, but he couldn’t do it straight away. It should be done this evening, with
luck.
On the way
intro Vitry, which was a major barge centre, we passed the old Bourse, where
bargemen would come to pick up contracts on a first-come-first-served basis.
Our mooring was comfortable, with excellent WiFi, plus electricity and water,
all for 10 euro. Not bad. Reversing out this morning was a challenge. Saskia,
like many other boats, does not like going backwards in a straight line. However, we managed to avoid scraping our large Australian neighbour.
Soon we
were on the Canal Lateral a la Marne, which is altogether wider and a bit more
commercial. We saw a couple of peniches, including this one loading up with
grain.
Later he passed our mooring at Chalons heading for Paris. Just before
reaching Chalons, we stopped for a lazy canal-side lunch in a shady spot:
Once here,
we set off site-seeing, the main attraction being the Cathedral of St Etienne:
Started in
the 13th century, it is impressively tall, almost perpendicular rather
than classic gothic.
Terrific
stained glass:
And an
impressive war memorial outside.
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