L'Avenir - cruising Europe's inland waterways

Chatillon sur Loire Leaving Chatillon was a difficult business. Several days were needed to scour 7 months of grime from the outside of the boat. A pity that paint doesn't adhere as well as dirt. We now have an embarrassingly patchy deck screaming 'paint me' every time we look at it. L'Avenir may be requiring a bit of an exterior make over but she has a good heart. After de-winterising, her engine kicked into life first time and so far we've had no problems. Mind you, she hasn't exactly been put to the test. We are excelling ourselves this year. So far, we've travelled 11km and passed through one lock. Even by our sloth-like standards that's pretty relaxed progress. Removing dirt (and paint) with the pressure hose at Beaulieu We had been ready to leave port by Sunday but suddenly remembered our port captain had the spare boat key. She reminded us (through the window of her boat) that Sundays are days of rest and we'd have to wait until of...

Port de Plaisance, Chatillon sur Loire 'It's better than swimming' (long pause) 'Ma'am.' I'm nominating this as the new slogan for Qantas, the observation having been made to me 10 hours into a 13 hour flight by a senior (very) flight attendant. She was waiting for someone to let her into the crew rest room for a lie down (lucky her) whilst I was attempting to ward off DVT and stretch my cramped muscles. We'd met earlier in the flight when, on one of my regular circuits of the plane I'd paused at the galley and had the temerity to ask for a cup of tea, it having been some hours since our welcome aboard drink of cranberry and apple cordial (those 13 hours were going to be long ones).  She'd make some tea, she said, when she had time in her busy schedule of not handing out meals, snacks or drinks.  I'd come back in a bit, I said, thereby saving her the walk to my seat.  When I returned she barked out something that sounded like, 'Juh...

Here we are once more; the end of summer. Time to tie up, clean up, pack up, pay up and say goodbye to l'Avenir for 2014. I've made my phone call to order the taxi for tomorrow which hopefully will turn up without any misunderstanding. If nothing else I have gained confidence this year in calling people on the phone and the VHF radio. The past couple of weeks have been everything that cruising should be. Having rushed south from the Somme we found we had more time than we expected at the end enabling us to have a very leisurely trip down the canal de Briare. The weather over the past couple of weeks has been perfect;often a misty start but clearing to sunny, warm days. It is most definitely autumn now - the leaves are beginning to fall and as we waited for locks we collected walnuts and hazelnuts to add to our breakfast muesli. Canal de Briare Ouzouer Geese 'having a gander' as we go through a lock Baguette for breakfast (a coypu) The cruising se...

Remontee du Saumon  A step back in time. The annual re-enactment of the old working sailing boats travelling (at high speed due to the fierce current) on the Loire. In the old days the boats had sails. These intrepid re-enactors have cleverly concealed outboards. 'Les Valeureux Mariniers' exiting the ancient Mantelot lock onto the River Loire at Chatillon Until such time as 'Tardis Travel' eventuates, getting from here to there, when 'there' is on the other side of the planet, is never going to be anywhere near the top of my list of fun things to do. I recognise, however, that we are lucky to be able to travel at all and to whinge about its drawbacks seems churlish in the extreme. So, I am not complaining. Just making some observations on what I learned/was reminded of on our latest long haul in the hope that it makes your next journey more pleasant. when you book, look at the plane as well as the price. We had 2 legs on a 777 and one on an A3...

Lavoir  (wash house) -Chatillon This spring morning I woke very early (jetlag) and went out to buy a baguette for breakfast. The sun was beginning to clear the mist over the canal and as I walked the air was full of birdsong although the birds themsevles remained hidden in the lush trees and shrubs. It was as if the trees themselves were singing. There weren't many people about but each of those I did meet nodded and said, 'Bonjour Madame.' As it was such a lovely morning I kept walking, past the baker's and on into town where the weekly market was just setting up. Each of the stallholder's bid me good morning and I spent 10 minutes chatting with one lady who was most excited to hear I was from Australia. Did I know that an Australian family lived in town with their young children? Just around the corner in fact. If it hadn't been quite so early I think she may have rushed me there and introduced me. After buying some strawberries from the veg stall I stop...

My phone call in French was a success! As you can see, our taxi not only turned up but was precisely on time. Furthermore the phone call must have been convincing enough as our charming driver chatted away to us as if he expected we should have no difficulty at all in understanding. Departure day itself was a bit dismal weather-wise which seemed appropriate as the end of season pack up is always a little sad. As we are in a different winter port this year we didn't have any farewells to make other than to L'Avenir herself. A night in Paris meant we had a good sleep before the 2 long flights to Melbourne about which there is nothing interesting to be said which I suppose is a good thing. There is nothing remotely glamorous about long distance flying; it is just something to be endured. Perhaps it's different behind the curtain in Business and First and the champagne makes the films look better. I suspect I'll never know. So, that's it for another year. As a...

Restored round lock at Apremont. Now unused this lock once allowed barges to navigate between  the river Loire and the canal system The taxi to the station is booked for tomorrow morning. At least I hope it is. Conducting a phone conversation in a foreign language is just about the most excruciatingly difficult task you can put yourself through when travelling and best avoided if possible. Those finely honed miming skills are completely useless and if you can’t see the baffled look on the person you’re talking to how can you tell if you’re speaking complete gibberish? Anyway, I hope the taxi will arrive here at 10.30 and take us to the station. But did I tell him to pick us up at Chatillon sur Loire or Chatillon sur Saone? I meant the former but I’m worried that I got a bit confused. Unfortunately for both of us the two places are nowhere near each other. I should really phone him back and check but somehow I’d rather miss the train than go through all that again. In the...