Monday 11th June - Belleville-sur-Loire

Not a good start to the day!!  As crew was enjoying a bit of a lie in below, a Le Boat cruiser went past us, far too fast - Crew thought she heard a clunk and indeed, a few minutes later we realised that we had lost our stern rope which was attached by our mooring pin.  It was pulled out of the ground and Aphrodites’ stern was out in the middle of the canal!  Our power cable was manfully keeping us attached at first but then the strain was too much and it pulled out and disappeared into the canal!  We thrusted the stern back and Skip jumped off to save the cable and secure our stern line - this time banging the pin in as far as it would go.  Crew had bought a high step for this trip to allow her to use the navigators’ seat and as there was a long jump down to terra firma, we were using it on shore.....alas that disappeared into Davy Jones locker the same way as the power cable!!  Amazingly, the power was still on when Skip pulled it out of the water.  We got ourselves straight again and discussed a plan for the day.
We decided to look for a supermarket as stocks were running low (no shopping for a week....Skip was having withdrawal symptoms!) and thought we would move the boat through the lock nearer the village.  We were looking at the boulangerie hours - disappointing...closed on Mondays!  But a man came and asked if we wanted bread - we said yes and he brought us a baguette, which was very nice of him!  As we passed the Information  Centre, we went in for a map and asked about a supermarket, then went on to book for dinner at the Logis.  A beer was then taken in the bar opposite, then as it was  by then after 1 p.m. as we passed the lock we asked the eclusier if we could pass through the lock.  We got settled in no time and had some lunch.  Then off to the nearby supermarket to stock up.  This rest day has been rather busy!!
The middle of the afternoon saw us cast adrift again!!  The bollard that our stern line was attached to was very low in the ground and Skip had passed it round twice in an attempt to prevent the rope from riding up but when a boat passed us, it escaped the bollard and, once more we were straddled across the canal!  We straightened up once again and avoided the problem by securing a central line above the stern one......which we should have done in the first place!!  Who said boating was a relaxing pursuit?
Crew busied herself with washing and ironing whilst Skip cleaned the hull (one side only of course) then we freshened up for dinner.  The Logis  had a large covered terrace so we opted to eat there as it was still a warm evening,  even though the other few diners were inside.  The meal was pleasant although we both decided that we didn’t like the razor clams which adorned our starter of a rather good bisque.  The rest was certainly passable and we made our way back to Aphrodite with full stomachs.
TV and bed as usual.

Sunday 10th June - Menetreol to Belville-sur-Loire

Skip wanted to leave at 8 a.m. as our weather forecast suggested light rain around ten o’clock - as it was we left at 8.45 under grey skies.  Half an hour after setting off though, thunder was to be heard, followed by increasingly heavy rain until a deluge was in progress.  We arrived at our first lock to find a young lady eclusier ‘ manning’ the lock.  She was just closing the top gate with us settled in the lock when another boat turned up, so she re-opened it and let them in.  It was a hire boat with a French crew and unfortunately, not the best experienced as they rammed into our stern with some force......will need to have an inspection later!
By the time we arrived at our second lock, the rain was easing off luckily and, although the lock was not prepared we locked through easily.  However, at our final lock, a large commercial barge was in the lock and there seemed to be a problem.......we hovered around for almost half an hour before a VNF man arrived to get things moving.  By the time we got into the lock, the rain started again, soaking us for the second time!  So an easy three lock, 22 km day turned into a very wet, frustrating nightmare!!
We arrived at Belleville just after midday and cruised past a possible berth with a power point to see if there was a better place but decided to turn around and go back.  Unfortunately our French friends arrived and took the place we had in mind so we had to tie up just behind them.  After we got settled they asked if we would take a drink with them - presumably to make up for the bump earlier!  We readily accepted and they set out their table and several chairs, along with a barbecue.  We learned that they had only hired the boat for the weekend - six adults and four children.....quite a squash on that boat I’d say.  They were very friendly and we stayed drinking and chatting for about half an hour, then retired to Aphrodite for lunch.
After lunch, Skip went for a recce and reported back that we were moored in the wrong place - we had both missed that fact on the charts!  That’s the problem with rain soaked brains!! The proper mooring was through another lock and was also fairly full so we decided to stay put and maybe move tomorrow as we thought we deserved a rest day.
Crew cooked fillet steak for dinner which we ate on the back deck as the weather was very warm and humid after all the rain.
TV and bed.

22 km. 3 locks. 3 3/4 hours

Saturday 9th June - Marseilles les Aubigny to Menetreol

A fairly heavy day today, so we left just after 9 a.m., this time arranging our departure time with the eclusier.  All the locks went smoothly, the eclusiers all very pleasant.  We stopped for a bite of lunch around midday and made our way to our next lock for 1 p.m.
We arrived in Menetreol at 2.45, to find a large stretch of the quay sectioned off, presumably for a hotel boat. We manoeuvred ourselves onto the end of the quay in front of a hire boat.  They had only stopped for water so we decided to move back once they had gone.  In the meantime the lure of the nearby hotel/restaurant was too much on such a hot day (must have reached 30c by then and hardly any wind!) so we ordered cold beers.  The hire boat left, so we moved back.
On the quay was a bar, a hotel/restaurant and a boulangerie but on investigation, no grocer in town, which was a shame as we were running low on supplies!  We had to obtain a key for the electricity from the hotel, so booked a table for dinner at the same time.
We rested in the heat of the day - it was very humid and a storm looked imminent.  Indeed around 6.30 p.m. loud claps of thunder were heard, followed by a heavy downpour which lasted only for fifteen minutes or so.  By the time we went for dinner, everything had dried out and the air was fresher, so fresh in fact, that we felt a bit chilly so dinner was a fairly quick affair!  The food was very good quality and exceptional value at €17.50 for three courses.  Hats off to the couple who ran this little hotel, the lady was the only one serving the food and we think, just her husband in the kitchen.  They had had a very busy lunch time and also quite a few diners too!
Just a half hour climb from Menetreol was the small town of Sancerre, famous for the delicious white wine but the climb is very steep!  Five years ago we chickened out of doing that and booked a taxi to take us up there!  Our excuse was the weather, as it was raining and very windy!
We were glad to get back to the warmth of the boat after dinner, and enjoyed some wine and TV before bed.

32 km. 9 locks. 5 1/2 hours

Friday 8th June - Nevers to Marseilles les Aubigny

It seems that I have mixed up the days, dear readers!  I have two Tuesdays on the blog this week - humble apologies....senior moment!!
We went over to say goodbye to our Australian friends and left the port at 9.30. Our first two locks were going up and since they were each around 3 metres, involved Skip climbing the ladder to attached lines.  We shared the lock with a friendly French foursome who were very efficient.  The locks, however were very slow!
We followed the French hire boat out of the locks but found them painfully slow....1.3 kph!!  We had a 10km cruise to our next double locks, which had a drop of 9.3 metres and at this rate, we wouldn’t get there until the lunch closure, so we needed to overtake them.  This was not an easy task as the canal was very narrow with few opportunities to pass.  After about half an hour though, Skip managed it and we made the double locks with 15 minutes to spare!
We had been following a very slow passenger boat full of jolly people enjoying lunch.  After a while Skip took the opportunity to overtake him and we arrived at our next lock at 12.30, so we tied off for a cooling beer as it was by now, very warm.  The passenger boat arrived about 15 minutes later and the lock keeper waved them into the lock then also invited us to join them, which we did.  Whilst in the lock the captain of the passenger boat suggested to Skip that we overtake him after the next bridge.  Then just an 8 km run into the port of Marseilles les Aubigny, arriving at 2 p.m.
A strange port this, with, as far as we could see just two spaces for visitors.  As both were free we made our selection and moored.  Although it all looked a bit neglected and no signs of life on any of the other boats, the power bourne worked and we settled in.
Across the canal we spotted a bar/tabac, a patisserie and a small grocers and a butcher ( both closed unfortunately!).  Still two out of four is not bad and Skip went over to buy a fresh baguette for our late lunch, along with two very good quiches.  There was not much to see in this small town so we rested up and decided to go over to the bar for a couple of drinks later  to celebrate our 44th wedding anniversary.  The idea was to find a nice restaurant but as neither of us felt very hungry we decided to be lazy. In any event the closest good restaurant was about a mile and a half away!
We walk across to the bar around 7.30 after freshening up and found a mixed party of locals enjoying drinks and chat.  After our intended two drinks, one of the men offered us a drink, so it would be churlish to refuse!  This began quite a long discourse between us all and after Skip buying a round and a lot of chatter, we didn’t leave until after 10 p.m.  We got back to Aphrodite and broke out the cheese and red wine, then a little TV and bed.

27 km 5 locks 4 1/2 hours

Wednesday 7th June - Fleury to Nevers

Crew overslept but still managed to galvanise herself into action for a 9.45 a.m. departure (still single figures!).  No arrangement had been made with an eclusier so Skip had to call the VNF. The rest of the locks were fine, until we arrived at the turn off for Nevers which we did around 12.40......so a twenty minute wait until the lock would open.  Even though the two locks are automatic, they still close for lunch!
We locked through at one o’clock and arrived in the port at 1.45 p.m.  we were greeted by a very nice young Capitaine and guided to a stern to berth.  We had some lunch and the usual siesta.  When Crew rose from her bed, there was no Skip around and no note to be seen!  He arrived shortly with the news that some antipodean friends of our New Zealand friends, Peter and Gwen had arrived in port.  He had invited them over for aperitifs at 7.30 and then dinner in the restaurant on the other side of the basin as the town is quite a walk for alternative restaurants.
Nevers is an interesting town with some beautiful buildings and with a tradition of tin-glazed earthenware known as faience.  In fact the whole area is into ceramics of some kind.
We had met Stuart and Debbie for lunch two years ago in the south.....at a very good Belgian restaurant, along with Peter and Gwen.  This time they had hired a boat and were with their friends,  John and Sue.  We enjoyed drinks, nibbles and a catch up for almost an hour and then went for dinner.  We had dined in the restaurant five years ago and both ordered the speciality - friture (which, in essence is whitebait) but we found it very dry with too much batter, so we planned to avoid at all costs!  Sue got talking to a Dutch couple who told her the mussels were delicious, so that’s what we all ordered and were very happy with the choice!  We had seen two adult coypu swimming around and as we sat waiting for our food, they reached the bank and came onto dry land.  Sue was thrilled to observe these creatures and indeed take lots of pictures of them eating grass.  They are native to South America really, so not quite sure how they migrated to France but many are to be seen swimming around.
We had a lovely evening and went back to the boats around eleven o’clock.  After having a quick look around their hire boat, we made our way to Aphrodite for a digestif and bed.

22 km. 5 locks. 4 hours

Tuesday 6th June Decize to Fleury

As our fuel gauge was not working, Skip decided to top up the tanks, so that was our first job.  We didn’t leave the fuel pontoon until almost ten o’clock but that was not a problem as it was a very short trip to Fleury.  We locked up in Decize and then just two locks down to the pretty mooring spot in Fleury.
We have moored there twice before and there is a little cafe in a wooden hut alongside, which has added an extra seating area over the years since we last visited.  We debated whether to have lunch or dinner there but decided on lunch and a very lazy rest of day.  A French foursome arrived on a hire boat shortly after we’d got settled and after they had tied up, one of the men passed us on his way to the bar, admiring Aphrodite.  We exchanged a few words and followed him and his friends a little while later.
The set menu was €12, or €14 with a 25cl pichet of wine, so we weren’t expecting too much.  It was indeed a very simple meal but passable.  Whilst eating, two more hire boats pitched up, each with six people on board, all dressed in identical blue and white striped t-shirts.  With some difficulty they filled with water and a few of them had a beer in the bar.  After quite a lot of noise, during Skips’ siesta time, they left!  Then around four o’clock the French crew left, leaving us Billy No Mates on the quay.  By six o’clock however, four other boats joined us.  At around 6.45 another boat tried to moor next to us but one of the hire boats wanted water and had planned to use that space, having asked us to move along so that they would fit in - a bit of an international incident occurred but all was resolved amicably.
A lazy evening with wine and TV followed!

12 km. 3 locks. 2 hours

Tuesday 5th June - Decize

We decided to stay for two nights in order to catch up with some chores.  Crew was not sleeping very well so not feeling too great.  A quiet day methinks!!
Skip walked into town for a look around and another supermarket visit.  Then we had lunch and chilled.
Dinner was consumed on the back deck as it was still warm, followed by some TV with a not very good reception.