L'Avenir - Cruising Europe's Inland Waterways

Next stop was Valence. The marina itself is enormous; the largest river port in France, it has 450+ berths. A shortish hike away, through the 17 hectares of sporting ovals, is a Géant Casino hyperrmarket - a bit sad to get excited about a supermarket I know but there you go. The other main attractions at the port are a launderette and a restaurant. With all that excitement on offer we decided to stay 2 nights.  The restaurant specialises in fish, is quite pricey but the servings are huge. We shared a plate of the biggest oysters I have ever seen followed by a giant plate each of cabillaud (cod). cauliflower, carrots, zucchini and potatoes. Everything here seemed to be super sized - including, I was a bit horrified to discover on my plate, whelks. Hot this time. Against my better judgment, I was persuaded to give them another try. Never again. Despite the port being large and fairly full there were only a couple of boats 'en voyage.' We were joined, on the second day, by Boschpl...

Cruas - frozen in time After 2 nights and a rather mediocre dinner at the cafe at Viviers port (memo to self: don't buy any more menu items called 'fish 'n chips'. In France anyway) we decided to move on. The first lock  (Chateauneuf 19m deep) is just around the first bend. We were called straight in and on our own. That was about as good as it got for the day though. We travelled for about three and a half hours in very blowy conditions, with intermittent downpours and quite a strong current: so slow-going. I remembered this section from our trip south when we were caught in a bad thunderstorm and it was quite frightening. The river opens out into some very wide sections: lake-like and exposed. It would have been pleasant on a normal August day but what is normal these days? A couple of boats stormed past us at high speed really knocking us around. Enough we thought. We'll stop at Cruas. This port has a tricky entrance necessitating its own special blow-up s...

Our next port of call was to be Viviers in the Ardeche. When we travelled south a few years ago this port had been closed. It is now one of the major stops for the cruise ships so we were keen to see what was there. The day was, once again, windy and overcast which was a pity as this stretch eventually passes through the dramatic scenery of the Donzère Gorge. First though we said goodbye to the river itself and travelled 30km along a straight canalised section before negotiating the deepest (23m) lock of them all - the écluse Bollene. Entering this vast lock from downstream feels slightly intimidating. It is dark, dank, dripping and slimy and the sky is a long way off. This watery elevator needed to lift us the height of a 7 storey building. The upstream gates are unusual in that they are curved to better withstand the force of the river behind them. It doesn't do to think too much about all that water pressing against. After the gates behind close there are a couple of ...

Now where were we? Ah yes, the Rhone..... Sorry for the long delay in finishing the blog for the 2019 season. We did make it up the Rhone! I'll do my best to catch up before this year's trip. Chateau de l'Hers, Chateauneuf-du-Pape Leaving Aramon we bypassed Avignon (sadly) and stopped over in the pretty village of St Etienne. There is a little pontoon which can accommodate 2 boats and we were very happy and relieved to find only one small boat on it as we had no back up plan. We stayed only one night in Saint Etienne. It was a Sunday so the sole restaurant was closed. The cafe was also closed for renovation and there was, unusually, no baker at all. The prospect of no baguette or croissants in the morning was cause for some consternation. I think we've been too long in France! Saint Etienne-des-Sorts  If you have no other option you can, with permission, overnight on the small waiting pontoons at the locks. We haven't needed to do ...

Chateau de roi René, Taracson - 12th/15th century Our overnight mooring on a small jetty near Saint Gilles was to be our final stop on the French canals for this year. We still had a long way to travel but it would all be by river; firstly the Petite Rhone, then the Rhone and finally the Saone (with a short side trip onto the Seille). Excluding the Seille, a distance of about 500km and all against the current. By this time it was mid August. Summer continued to be very hot and dry so we were anticipating conditions would be as favourable as they would ever be but you never can tell. Final night on the canals - near Saint Gilles The first of the 19 locks ahead of us (onto the Petite Rhone) is 190m long x 11.40 - the same dimensions as the locks on the Rhone itself. However, unlike the others the change in water level was virtually imperceptible. From the lock to the Rhone proper is 21 km, a little over 2 hours. We saw no one on the river bar a couple of small fishing boats....

Aigues Mortes The name Aigues Mortes means Dead Water (stagnant water) presumably from the marshlands surrounding the city. Not a very attractive name but for once a place outshines its moniker. The city dates from 1240 and was built as a Mediterranean seaport from which King Louis 1X launched 2 Crusades. Ramparts, 10m high and 1.750km long, surround the city. Residential area a few streets away from the tourist centre - Aigues Mortes Town basin and swing railway bridge - Aigues Mortes l'Avenir at Aigues Mortes Salt pyramids and pink salt marsh Aigues Mortes.  View from the ramparts We arrived a week too early for the medieval festival which seems to be par for the course this trip. We had been there for it on our previous visit   when our timing seemed better so we weren't too disappointed. The town was full of tourists but away from the immediate centre of cafes, restaurants and gift shops it is remarkably quiet. Aigues Mortes seems...