L'Avenir - cruising Europe's inland waterways

One week tomorrow we will be off the boat and on a convoluted journey home. I've spent the last 2 days on the internet trying to organise trains and hotels. All are booked now - let's just hope that when we turn up at the station/hotel lobby everything goes smoothly. Things have not been made easier by the fact that Visa (CBA) cancelled our credit cards not long after we left home claiming that they had been 'compromised'. According to them 'someone' had tried to make a $1 dollar purchase over the internet using our cards, so hard luck to us. Who on earth would attempt a measly $1 puchase? I was particularly annoyed as I had made a point of personally visiting the bank before we left and had told them where we were going and for how long. Their emergency card replacement service (based in a call centre in a far off universe) was useless as they couldn't understand we were travelling on a boat, wouldn't deliver to a post office and if we wanted new cards ...

Today there was a general strike. There have been a couple over the summer but to be honest we haven't really noticed. It's a bit hard to come to grips with normal working French hours never mind when they are being 'difficult'. For instance, the entire country closes down and goes on holiday for the month of August. Want a restaurant? Sorry, 'Ferme'. Hungry foreign tourists wander through deserted towns across the country gazing forlornly at scrawled messages taped in dusty windows announcing the proprietors are off on their 'vacances' and see you in a month or so. Well, no you won't. We'll all have gone home by then. 'So what' shrugs the French proprietor - ah! the Gallic shrug. It's a pretty useful gesture. I've been practising. If it's not August and thus normal working hours then everything shuts down at mid day - on the dot (some places there's even a siren) - and everyone goes to lunch. Now, there's a bit of var...

Chevroches on the Canal du Nivernais Chevroches is a pretty village of stone houses, dry stone walls, stone wells, stone seats, stone steps..... yes there was once a stone quarry here. The stones were transported along the canal and where we are moored used to be the port. There are no shops unfortunately, not even a boulangerie but the countryside is beautiful. This is as far along the Nivernais that we can go with confidence as it has become pretty shallow and whilst we are keen to give this lovely canal a go in the future we don't have enough time left this year to factor in getting stuck or worse, doing any damage.The canal is much used by hire boats which have a much shallower draft than us and, as I have previously mentioned, often go at speed (they understandably want to see as much as possible in their week's expensive holiday). At the risk of sounding like a boring boatie speed is not good in shallow water; it causes wash which damages fragile banks and it cau...

Just came back from this market in tiny Chatel Censoir (who buys a mattress at the village market I wonder) to find our boat adrift and across the canal. We had been moored here on pins for 2 nights waiting for the rain to let up. Fortunately the local lock keeper  had spotted what was happening and  raced down in his car and was hauling her back in as we arrived leaving some unfortunate in the lock. Some dimwit cruising at car speed had caused our pins to pull out. I suppose we shoud really have been more cautious and one of us should have stayed with the boat. Anyway, thank you lock keeper and a request to anyone thinking of hiring a canal boat. Can you please slow down when you're passing moored boats. Mailly-le-Chateau

From the moment you leave Auxerre you realise things are going to be a little different. Approaching the first arched bridge we glided to a panicked halt (a contradiction I know but it just means the panic lasts lomger) when we realised that lowering the nav frame wouldn't be sufficient to get through. We would also have to pull down the canvas canopy - and don't forget the flag pole! So, a few minutes dizzying around mid river and entertaining the locals. Immediately through the bridge we entered the first lock of the Nivernais. Nice locks, keepered, worked manually and you need to get off and help. There is no commercial traffic on the Nivernais which is perhaps one reason why it has become a hugely popular tourist waterway. The other reason is that it is very pretty. So, lots of hire boats which, with all their rubber fenders, resemble dodgem cars (thanks Libby) and are occasionally driven in a similar fashion. Sharing the locks has been an interesting experience (I even met...

One of the joys of travelling is the unexpected. Moret-sur -Loing had surprised me in the discovery that half timbered buildings are not the preserve of ye olde England. The towns of Sens, Joigny and Auxerre are full of narrow winding streets of ancient, sagging, leaning buildings. Part of their charm is that many are pretty shabby looking - not having been given the equivalent of botox and a face lift they look their age and in my opinion all the better for it. Most of these towns are dominated by wonderful Gothic churches set high on hills. The mean streets below seem to be full of hairdressers. Being August, everyone is on holiday the only people around being tourists roaming the streets looking in vain for an open restaurant. So far I have learned that between 12 and 4 each day and for the whole of the month of August, France is closed. Sens At the last lock before Joigny the lock keeper was at pains to tell us something. We weren't sure what though. Eventually he pointed t...

Now September and so we're into our final month afloat. We've come a long way and every day there's something new to surprise us or snap us out of complacency. After leaving Moret-sur-Loing, ten days ago we were quickly reminded that we're not as expert as we might have imagined we were - note to self, beware smugness. Pride comes before a fall etc etc. We had been forewarned about the locks on the River Yonne but forewarned is not really fore-armed. Having passed through them I still don't know what the best way to go about it is. They are big and have sloping sides - I haven't researched why as yet. We were locking up so I jumped off before the first one and went to check things out and talk to the keeper. He told me that I should catch a stern rope as Rob drove into the lock, loop it round a bollard  in the back half of the lock and pass it back. Then Rob was to throw a bow rope and repeat. He should then attempt to stay in the middle of the lock by using ...