Nivernais Again

12th September, 2013 (Sally)

One lazy day followed another as we cruised ever so slowly back along the Nivernais, enjoying the glorious weather and revisiting villages that we have become quite familiar with: Mailly la Ville, Mailly le Chateau, Chatel Sensoir, Chatillon en Bazois, Cerecy la Tour; the names unfortunately are more enticing than the villages as time and the faltering economy have not dealt kindly with them. Shops once so essential to every french village, i.e. boulangeries and boucheries that we have shopped at in the last few years are now closed and there are empty premises in every street. Of course the supermarkets are drawing most of the custom but it is obvious as one travels through rural France that the country is not doing very well. We had hoped to use the time to explore more of the surrounding country on our motorbikes, they have hardly been used all year, but something is sadly amiss with mine and in spite of Tony stripping it down, cleaning everything he can, it still coughs and struggles to get to any speed. We rode them up to Vezelay to visit the magnificent church that is the starting point for many pilgrims on their long walk to Santiago de Compestella, a lovely trip but a worrying ride home with many coughs and splutters. We have decided they will stay aboard until we reach a reputable repair shop. It is a good thing we are not in a hurry as the canal is particularly busy with hire boats. The Germans seem to have discovered the delights of canal travel for they are very prevalent. One interesting delay was caused by someone driving their car into a lock. How they managed to do that is a mystery, and by the time we arrived there the next morning all signs of the mishap had disappeared.

We arrived back at Clamecy a week after leaving to cruise down to Auxerre. It's an interesting port with a long history as the centre of the firewood trade that supplied Paris for over three hundred years. Logs were cut in all the surrounding villages, thrown into the rivers and collected at Clamecy and bound together into cubes measuring a metre square. These then were constructed into rafts 75m long with a small thatched hut on board and floated down the Yonne and then the Seine to Paris. The quantity that was taken from the forests was huge and judging from the piles of firewood outside most houses today there is still plenty of available timber left. After Clamecy it was not far to another favoured stop, Chitry les Mines, where we met up with our old friend Ted Johnson who runs one of the very few chandlerys in France. His sister-in-law has converted part of the old port building into a very basic restaurant, a canvas marquee that has seen better days, mismatched tables and chairs and a very rudimentary menu of steak and chips, beefburger and chips or andouilette [a type of offal sausage] and chips. The dessert menu is a crepe, with sugar, lemon juice, or nutella. I don't know why but she does a great trade, busy every day for lunch and dinner. Well who can complain — at 7€ it's a welcome meal at the end of a days cruising. Part of the attraction may be the totally delightful waitress. She is the daughter of the house and recently won the title of Miss Bourgogne which included in the prize a modelling contract in Hong Kong. She comes home from there to help Mum run the cafe for five months then jets off to the catwalks of Hong Kong. Talk about contrasts in life.

We are often disappointed in the lack of initiative from the French people, part of living in a socialist country Iguess, so when we do see something starting up it is always nice to support them. One such opportunity was not far from Chitry where one of the abandoned lock keepers' cottages has been made into a cute little restaurant-bar. We biked there for Sunday lunch, selected a table in the sun and after a drink indicated we would like to eat. The waitress who must have failed her first semester at charm school and then been expelled told us we had to move to one of the tables already set for lunch, in the shade. No, we said, we'll stay in the sun as the breeze is cool, that is "If you don't mind." She grunted, stomped off and returned with the table setting from one of the shaded tables, dropped it in front of us and with a huge sigh of exasperation flounced off to the kitchen. Her attitude was so bad it was funny and when the next customer did exactly the same as us and got the same reaction I got a fit of giggles. The French lady being given the treatment saw me and we had a good grin together. Needless to say she did not get a tip. Such a shame as wait staff here are usually very good, and friendly.

From Chitry there is a flight of 16 locks that takes one to the top pond at Baye and the start of the downward stretch. Very pretty even though hard work and it is always nice to moor by the two huge lakes that provide the water for both sides of the canal. We took an extra day there and took advantage of the lovely weather to walk around one of the lakes. There is a well marked nature trail that could circumnavigate the 47 hectare lake; we took the lesser trail across the causeway that divides the pair and walked around the 19 hectare one. Lots of birdlife, herons, waterfowl and plenty of notices telling us to watch for kingfishers. Missed those but were rewarded later when they flitted in front of us down the canal stopping on overhanging branches to be admired. It is a popular holiday spot for nature lovers and fishing folk with several of the farms having converted outbuildings into holiday accommodation, so nice to see the old buildings getting a new lease of life. As we came back into the village we were delightfully surprised to see a very smart new renovation which will soon be opening as a restaurant. The tables and umbrellas were already there so a welcome stop for a coffee was made. Hopefully she will survive the winter and be there for the holiday season next year.

Now we are on the downward side and suddenly the weather has changed and it is Autumn. Gold in the leaves of the poplars, brilliant red of the virginia creeper and delicious, ripe blackberries in every hedgegrow. Almost overnight heaters are on and it's soup instead of salad with plans for a boeuf bourguignogne or a cassoulet before too long. At Chatillon en Bazois, our first stop on the downward side, we were joined in the port by a boat similar to Sable which was travelling up the canal. As it arrived we noticed considerable damage to the windows and wheelhouse. They had struck one of the low arched bridges. Interestingly it was the same one we had had a close encounter with on our very first voyage six years ago. However theirs was more 'up close and personal' as the front window was completely smashed and one side window, complete with frame, had been dislodged and disappeared into the canal. It must have been a horrible experience and they were still a bit shaken from it all and wondering how they were going to get all the damage repaired. In the course of conversation they mentioned if only they had a grappling hook they would have tried to recover the window. Lucky for them we were able to lend them one and they set off the next morning by taxi and after a few attempts not only retrieved the frame but also were delighted to find the glass still intact. What a bonus, then a passing boat gave them and the window a lift back to port so it was a good result after a daunting experience. Our grappling hook is now back on board hopefully never to be needed again.

We are now at Decize, the last stop on the Nivernais, on the Loire. The hills and forests of the Morvan are well behind us now, its all ordered fields with the white cattle of the Charolais and barns stocked with huge bales of hay for the winter. Thoughts are turning towards home, beach walks and barbeques are on the agenda.