Lyon to Avignon

Avignon

The Rhone has treated us fairly gently on the whole. The current was slight, a disappointment to one of us and a relief to the other whilst the weather remained almost continuously hot. The 'almost' being a sudden, major thunderstorm which caught us out in the middle of  a section of the river so wide it was like a lake. Seeing a huge electricity pylon light up like a Christmas tree when struck by lightning was spectacular but a minute later we were somewhat unnerved (to put it mildly) when it seemed like we might be next as there was a flash and an almighty crash right over us causing our instrument panel to crackle alarmingly. As I write there is another thunderstorm going on but this time we are safely tied up and there are other, taller boats around us. I have to say, however, that I'm not enjoying the spectacle quite as much as I used to.

There are power generation facilities all along the Rhone. Hydro, wind,solar and nuclear. Here's how to give your nuclear power station a more friendly, 'soft focus' kind of look.

 There is a fair amount of commercial traffic on the Rhone although not as much as we expected. There is no shortage of cruise ships though. Several of them pass every day. When we called in at Avignon I counted 8 moored up!
The locks on the Rhone are enormous  190m x 11.40m - the deepest is 23m - but very easy to navigate as they have floating bollards to tie up to. These bollards make a groaning noise as they operate. As the lock becomes emptier they begin to echo around the cavernous chamber sounding like an unearthly orchestra.

Bollene Lock - 23m deep

There's a lot of water behind those gates!

Despite the huge volume of water required to operate each lock we have mostly passed through them on our own and without much delay. I call up the keeper on the VHF when we are around 20 minutes away and then we tie up at the waiting pontoon until he or she gives us the green light.
The river passes through lots of interesting looking towns and villages but a difficulty with river cruising is finding somewhere secure to moor and quite often there is either nowhere or it's been taken or it's reserved for the cruise ships. We made stops at Condrieu les Roches, a small village with a decent port and Valence which has a huge port. After Valence the mooring we had planned was taken and the back up port was 'ferme' for 2015 so we had to go on to the waiting pontoon at the Bollene lock (the deepest one). I called up the keeper and asked if we could overnight which fortunately we could. We had planned to stay in Avignon but being August and the holidays it seems that half the world was there. There was no room alongside the quay (apparently the pontoons were swept away in a flood some years ago and never replaced). So we just did a little cruise around the famous Pont (sous le pont). There are notices on the bridge forbidding navigation through the arches. It is quite a temptation to do so but I hate to think what the consequences might be.

Tain l'Hermitage

The character of the villages and the landscape has changed completely as we've moved further south. The lush farmland of Burgundy has been replaced by craggy hillsides. There are still vineyards - the cotes du Rhone is renowned for its wine - but here they cling to steep rocky hillsides. The more famous wine makers have huge signs advertising their names in often quite small vineyards. The strategic importance of the river is obvious from the ancient castles and fortifications on top of the hills. Not accessible to visit by boat though.

We are currently moored at a great 'halte fluviale' at the pretty village of Aramon a few km south of Avignon. We've been here for a week now trying to sort out our problems with our air conditioner. Without going into the boring details it has been an expensive disaster and the cause of some frayed tempers. We've now given up on it entirely and the company we bought it from is sending a courier to collect it tomorrow. (update - guess what? They never turned up. Why doesn't that surprise me?)
Our harbour captain, Olivier, is enterprising and helpful and  tries to provide interesting 'entertainments' for vistors to the port. Being an ex fighter pilot he has an obvious interest in flying and so far this week we've had a helicopter land on his barge roof before taking people on joy flights and a hot air balloon doing similarly, only it took off from the bank before skimming the river. Air force planes regularly do fly overs (Olivier also trained  pilots) and a couple of days ago we had seaplanes practising landings and take offs alongside. To be fair I think these last were incidental and not organised for our benefit. Of course the Rhone valley is a great wine growing area and so there have also been wine tastings.

Since we've been in Amaron a few days we hired a car to see a little further afield. Yesterday we visited, quite by accident, yet another of France's 'most beautiful villages' - Baux de Provence. It sits on top of a hillside and there really wasn't room for all the tourists crammed into it. It was lovely though with amazing views from the ruined chateau atop the plateau.

A few days ago we visited Pont du Gard, an enormous Roman aqueduct and a favourite spot for swimming (swimming in the Rhone can be dangerous). It is the most visited historic monument in France apparently.  I can well believe it.

Pont du Gard

We have also seen some bull running in a village close by. Unfortunately I haven't any pictures due to every time a bull was 'coaxed' out of the holding arena (by young boys kicking a football at its legs) the crowd went wild and jumped on chairs and tables and it was virtually impossible to see anything other than the tips of the horns of a very confused bull.

Provence vineyards and olive groves from Baux de Provence