Whilst traveling on the canals in France you invariably end up arriving in a town or village 'by the back door'. So it was in St Dizier and Vitris le Francois. By contrast Chalons seems to have turned things round and here in the port one feels in the centre of things. Tree lined quays, nearby large parks, main street just around the corner and lock to the side where one can watch comings and goings. The buzz is helped by the fact that there is a music festival going on just downstream between River Marne and Canal and we faintly hear the music from our position on the quay.
The quays are nicely shaded under trees for the whole day, so there is always a place to stay cool. This lot stayed there the whole day and evening!
Quercy is a little boxed in at the moment, but we are assured that Brave Hendrick will move today after they have been shopping, and we are not leaving til this afternoon.
Another baking hot day yesterday, so we took off on our bikes, and it never feels to hot when cycling with the wind in your face, and we found a perfect, and private, little swimming spot on the Marne. Mind you we did have to cycle 5km past the spots occupied by local youth and winos to arrive at this one!
We arrived in Chalons in the morning, after just 5km cruising. Unusual for us, but we had not managed to get here before the locks closed the previous day. A combination of loitering too long at swimming spots the day before, not being sure what time the locks closed, and finding a lock gate jammed just before lock closing time. (At the time we were not sure if is was jammed or just that the locks closed at 6pm on Sunday). Next morning after reversing yet again to twist the opening tube we decided it was definitely jammed, and so we duely called VNF - hotel barge arrived at the other side of the lock and we both waited for the lockkeeper to arrive. A rather surely youth who walked into the lockkeepers hut, pressed a button and just about managed a nod before getting back in his van and pulling away without bothering to wait and find out if the lock did actually work. I know it was 9am on a Sunday but he was getting paid for it!
We dread these jammed locks as our French is not the best and the lock controllers on the end of the phones as well as the lock keepers themselves, invariably speak no English. Funny when you read the international language on the canals in English. For the majority of boaters maybe, but no one told VNF!
Anyhow, we were sort of stuck in the middle of nowhere, which is normally not a problem, in fact I usually prefer the middle of nowhere, but on this occasion is was the noisiest middle of nowhere that I had ever encountered. Dogs were barking, people were shouting. Julian was oblivious to the whole thing as he had taken his hearing aids out for swimming. Eventually after commenting on this over the course of about an hour, I decided to have a little wander; which I usually do in the evenings. I could see people coming in and out of little rat runs between the canal and the woods. There were a others on the canal bank and loitering around the lock. I peeped in and over a small river bridge and saw lots of cars and vans and so I guessed this was a travellers site and hence all the noise. I wondered if I should suggest to Julian that we moved back to the previous quiet mooring. Would think I was being ridiculously over cautious? - and so what if they were travellers, it did not mean that they would be unfriendly, in fact I had exchanged 'bon soir's' with quite a few of them in my walk. Anyhow, I got back to the boat and told Julian what I had found and he immediately said 'Shall we move back?'! The chances of unwelcome night time visits are more likely with 50 people than with one or two. I agreed with his logic - so we moved. Here is a photo of us leaving the area on our one and only ever dusk cruise!
Anyhow, I'm digressing, yes the port, with friendly capitaniere, and an incredibly reasonable charge of 4 euros per night is in a pleasant position in the town of Chalons. There are good walks including one we did on our bikes along the old canal St Martin ending up going under the canal before exiting in the river. We saw a lovely horseshoe weir and it was a beautifully tranquil evening ride, unfortunately no photos of th weir as I was too busy looking at it.
The friendly young capitiniere
Swans, just now with 3 signets
The grumpy Belgians that would not help us by witnessing a contract have gone, and all is early morning freshness and cool with sun beginning to shine through the trees. Today we are waiting for a shoe shop to open at 2.25pm, or we think so as there are conflicting opening signs on the door - what a surprise! (not) We must just be thankful that it has not closed down, it looks like it might. Why you ask am I keen to delay our cruise today by visiting a shoe shop in a provincial French town that looks like it might be closing down? Well much as I love my lovely Green Shoes, made in good old Moretonhampstead, I have just self diagnosed myself, as of last night with Tendonitis! Walking has gradually been getting more difficult, and when I have to keep asking Julian (of all people) to slow down, I finally get the message that something is wring and it is not just 'old age' as he unkindly suggested.
Tomorrow we are moving into Champagne making territory and just how we chose which champagne houses to visit I simply have no idea.
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