We set off in company with a cheery Belgian on a rather handsome twin-engined cruiser. Unfortunately, however, after the first lock we picked up the very, very slow boat that had held us up considerably yesterday. So we had plenty of time to appreciate the charms of the Ouche valley.
Waiting for the lock to fill – no amount of staring at it will get the water in faster! Here is the charming student who saw us through the afternoon, checking her shoes – she has a lot of walking to do at each lock.
As we approached Dijon, we found many of the stretches between locks were infested with weed, although it didn't give us too much trouble. However, it did do us the favour of slowing the slow boat to a standstill, and he dropped out with weed round his propeller, leaving us to go on alone at a reasonable pace. Just before Dijon we spotted a weed-eating machine – unfortunately just moored up, not doing the job it's designed for:
There was also a cement crocodile on the bank, somewhat surprisingly:
It has to be said that the approach to Dijon by water from the north does not do justice to the charms of the historic centre, which we have explored on previous occasions. This afternoon the temperature is around 33 degrees, and I don't think we'll be venturing out.
The city harbour has been more or less taken over by barges and residential boats of various sorts – no marina for passing visitors. We eventually found a shady spot on the quayside opposite and should be comfortable here. The Belgians, who stopped earlier to do some shopping, have arrived and I think they, like us, want to get away punctually in the morning for the run down to St Jean de Losne. It's a long, straight and not very interesting day – 28 kilometres across the plain, with 21 locks to negotiate. It should be possible in a single day, so long as the slow boat doesn't try to come along too!
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