Sorry about the two missing days – I'm sure addicts will have been desperate, while the rest of the world was suitably indifferent. It was all down to communication problems, which we think we have now resolved. Ironic that everything should work immaculately in Holland, but we run into problems back in France. My fault, however.
Anyway, on Thursday morning we set off punctually for the run along to the Ruyalcourt tunnel, finding the canal almost deserted. After an hour we reached the entrance, and had a short wait until this fellow emerged:
Then in we went, by ourselves, and met no-one coming the other way, which made the five-kilometre transit quite unstressful, in contrast to previous occasions. Eventually we reached the other end:
T
he lack of traffic meant we had an easy run down the half dozen or so locks to Peronne – all being open and ready for us when we arrived. At the port the pontoon was empty, so we chose a spot and plugged in:
There was no-one in the office until 4.30, so we whiled away the time, only to be told eventually that the port was closed, there was no water – we were down to empty – and we had to leave. So off we went, through the first lock up towards the next summit, where the lock-keeper allowed us to fill up with water. Then we tied up for the night, somewhat disgruntled.
The next morning we were joined by a couple of other cruisers, one Belgian and one Dutch, and an intrepid young Frenchwoman travelling alone in a small sailboat, without mast. Here we are about to enter the second tunnel on the canal:
Here's what it looks like inside:
We passed through a few more locks on the way down, one having this rather surprising statue in the garden of the lock-keeper's cottage:
Eventually we arrived and tied up in Pont l'Eveque. Any hopes of a gourmet evening were soon dashed – no sign of cheese, and very little sign of anything else. Even the boulangerie was shut for the summer holiday:
The Mairie was handsome, though, with separate school entrances for boys and girls. Not very politically correct:
Back at the port we managed to find a live electric socket – important for the fridge – but still no water. In the harbour, locals were having fun water-jousting:
This morning we set off fairly early again, determined to solve our communication problem at the rather larger town of Compiegne. Being Saturday, there were lots of fishermen on the banks of the canal. Not many other boats, though.
When we reached Compiegne, we were relieved to find the promised fuel barge in situ and functioning. The fuel tank was getting dangerously low, and in France there are very few canal or riverside fueling points. Carrying cans from a service station is no fun. We also managed to exchange a couple of empty gas cylinders for new ones.
After lunch, we walked into town, and found the solution to our internet problem. It turned out to be fairly simply, if you could only find a human being to talk to. Then we did a bit of sightseeing. This is the magnificent late Gothic town hall, with a statue of Joan of Arc in front, and splendid flower beds:
Here's a detail from the facade:
We also dropped into the church of St Jacques, which has an impressive tower:
and a fine interior, including some nice stained glass windows:
Tomorrow it's on down the Oise. As usual, we're not sure how far we'll get. It's still quite a distance to Paris!
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