Avignon to Aramon – 11 km

Our rest day in Avignon turned out well. We managed to contact a mechanic, on the recommendation of the very pleasant and efficient lady port captain. He came within an hour or so and had a look at the engine. He had a pressure device which quickly located the leak, in a rubber hose. He removed it and promised to be back today in the afternoon to replace it. Cost estimate – well, think of what the call-out plumber costs at home and double it. That’s boats for you.

That sorted, we set off to explore the city a bit – deciding to avoid the papal palace which we have seen before, considering those four hotel boats moored up downstream. We found Avignon celebrating its annual theatre festival, which works a bit like the Edinburgh Festival: lots of little amateur companies offering their performances in a myriad of venues. Almost every vertical space was plastered with show posters.

First of all, it was a matter of lunch, in the Carmes squares, which is very central. Special budget platters for the festival were everywhere on offer. This one turned out to be not bad.

Meanwhile several groups of performers passed through the square giving us tasty samples of their shows. However, we pressed on to a rather good small museum in a former private house: interesting pictures and furniture. The afternoon was turning hot and muggy, so we retreated to the boat, after a little necessary shopping, and chilled (!) out.

This morning we sorted out our business with a bus ride out of the centre. The city walls, almost unbroken around the old city, are very fine.

So too is the University. Dating originally from the 14^th century, it was closed in 1792 after the Revolution, only reopening in 1984. It now has some 7,000 students, about 15% foreign.

A stroll through the centre of town brought us back to Carmes square, and a bar serving nicely chilled beer.

Our mechanic finally turned up and installed the new hose, so we could get away. First stop was the fuel dock, which boasts an extraordinary collection of weeds growing out of the wall. We took on some 115 litres of diesel. That’s what we have used on the 443 km trip down from Saint Jean de Losne. About 3.85 km per litre, which is not bad for a boat of this size (11 metres).

Leaving the city and rejoining the main river - quite wide at this stage - we passed under the TGV (high-speed train) bridge. We have often crossed it in either direction on trips to and from Paris.

Looking back, we caught a final glimpse of the city, for the moment at least. Now we are tucked up in a new harbour on the banks of the river at Aramon. Tomorrow we should get onto the Canal de Rhône à Sète.