Cruising Home

26th October, 2010 (Tony)

Well, there you go, another fantastic season cruising the waterways of France almost over. We arrived back in Roanne just over a week ago, freezing and pleased to be moored-up in the port. We have been cruising for thirty weeks, covered 1,832 km, passed through 487 locks and (by rough estimation) consumed 135 litres of wine; over the course of 111 days that she moved Sableclocked up 387 engine hours and consumed 1,500 litres of diesel. Now I don't feel so bad about the wine... In addition, we ranged more than 2,000 km on our motorbikes; and (again a rough estimation) about 400 km on pushbikes. We entertained 21 visitors but cannot account for the number of sensational meals we shared; nor the number of chateaux and places of historic interest we have seen. All in all, it has been a wonderful summer. The weather has been incredibly pleasant, for the most part, and we have accumulated boundless fond memories — most of which are recorded among the more than 2,000 photos taken along the way.

For our last few weeks of cruising we deliberately lingered for as long as possible at each stop and tried to limit the number of kilometres between stopovers to less than twenty. Corres les Barres is a lovely port with good facilities and within easy biking distance of Nevers, across the Loire. Nevers of course has a port of its own but it's up a tedious deviation that is inclined to be shallow, plus the port is usually full at this time of year with boats already moored up for winter. But it is a town always worth a visit although we were disappointed to find the whole place virtually deserted on the Sunday when we decided to go into town for lunch. The place beside the river where we enjoyed a magic Easter Sunday lunch two years ago has been converted into a Japanese restaurant. We are not averse to Japanese food, quite the opposite in fact, but we were hankering for authentic French cuisine for what we imagined would be one of our last dining-out experiences before returning home. So we trundled into the city centre to discover, too late to retrace our steps, the only other place that appeared to be open was American — steaks with fries. We chose a salad... We also made several interesting sorties on motorbikes into the surrounding countryside — to places we had never been before. Someone has taken on a mammoth undertaking to restore an old abbey at Fontmorigny. Unfortunately, or on second thoughts perhaps it was fortunate, it was closed the day we visited. On our way back we came across a stunning chateau where they were selling fresh apples — all kinds, straight off the trees. We filled our motorbike holds. Yum.

At Guétin there is a massive double lock that lifts you more than 9m and you emerge into a pont-canal across the Allier, half as long but no less intriguing than the famous pont-canal at Briare. After that the canal wends its way up the Loire valley, a long way from the river, for more than twenty kilometres before the next lock. Sally seized the opportunity to get the bike off and pedal along the tow path in gorgeous summer sunshine. Sable and I caught up with her three hours later at the next lock. At Décize we went for bike ride, our last for the year, across the Loire and up the tow path beside the Canal du Nivernais. We stopped at Gannay and would have stayed there for several nights but the following morning we woke to find a dense fog blanketing the whole countryside and 5oC. The fog lifted by late morning but returned every night for a week whilst the temperature never rose above 10oC. Our boiler keeps Sable very cosy and warm but our enthusiasm for cruising quickly waned in such conditions. We resisted the urge to make a bee-line for home and maintained our intended itinerary but with single overnight stops — Beaulon, Pierrefitte, La Croix Rouge, Chambilly. We rarely ventured outside the boat except to fetch essential supplies or negotiate locks. Since arriving in Roanne the weather has improved slightly but we're pleased to be soon heading for Australia's warmer climate. A walk on the beach and a dip in the surf sounds like excellent therapy.

It is school holidays in Germany and we are delighted to have Nicole staying aboard for a few days, her second visit this year. She is enjoying her exchange year in Witten and appears to have been thoroughly spoilt by the kindness of her host families and others. She will return to the Gold Coast, reluctantly, mid-January. France may appear to be in turmoil at the moment with a number of trade unions, abetted by wayward high school kids, protesting the Sarkozy government's intention to raise the retirement age to 62. The mindset of the French can sometimes be difficult to fathom. (Where do they think the money for their pensions is going to come from? And apart from France what other society actually endorses "How to stage a protest" in their education curriculum?) Common sense, and the majority, will ultimately prevail but the curtailment of fuel supplies is begining to cause severe inconvenience in some towns. We have fingers crossed that our train to Paris/CDG next week will not be disrupted. I especially selected November 2 because the 1st is an important Saint-day and public holiday and I trust the workers would not choose to strike or upset the solemnity of such event. Thankfully, they are probably not interested in the Melbourne Cup! They have already given notice that there will be protest marches nation-wide on November 6. I hope we will be home by then!

That's it for 2010. Unfortunately the 2011 Tour de France does not venture close to any navigable waterways. Although nothing has been finalised our thoughts are to return to France in April and meander northwards, crossing into Belgium and perhaps wintering Sable in Holland in order to be close to the tulip fields the following Spring. We wish everyone a very joyous festive season and prosperous new year.