Trip 7kms Departure 11.30 Locks 5 of 271
I leapt on the steel steed and went in search of bread. Came back with 2bottles of Cremant 24 cans 1664 some greek yoghurt ad 4 thick pork chipolattas. A baguette and a gros pain.
I had fancied Sausages in a baguette for breakfast ever since the kebab incident the previous evening. Collette loaded mine with mustard and in I went. The middle of these sausages had cooked to a sugar pink colour. Collette rejected immediately and a passing fish spent the day nursing a sore head and wondering what he had done to upset her. I determined to eat mine but it has to be said that they were a disappointment. We just not got it right with sausages for some time now except the compagne ones outside nancy. I determined to sort it. Some Greek yoghurt and fresh melon saved The day and we set off in good heart.
A short run of 7 Kms and 5 locks would not take long and so it turned out until we got to lock number five and just 200m from our mooring. I noticed the Slow moving penich from some way off and decided it must be a Vnf barge working on the canal just outside the lock gates as it was not moving.
As we neared I realised that I was wrong, it was moving at about an inch per minute. It took 10minutes to finally get into the lock. No room for me and nowhere to tie up. I would have to leave engines on tick over and hold ground. It took the gravel laden barge 35 minutes to clear the lock.
Finally alongside at Thaon, I was forced to use a stake as it turned out we hit ground on the stern being at the end of the mooring. The weather was getting serious. The heat making it uncomfortable to do anything more than blink. We slept on the foredeck under the white shade until a gust of wind brought it toppling over us. We huddled under the small shade on the poop, afraid to go below into the sauna hell that was the main cabin. I drank one drink after another desperately trying to have water between courses. It was hell!
Boats arrived and Two in front of us was a stunningly expensive leviathan with a flag which I suspected was south American. Collette consulted the ipad and confirmed it as chilean. The owner and his wife or mistress, but then who am I to judge, perhaps she was the owner and he was her Oliver tobias, returned on their bikes. It got me thinking about Chilean people as to be fair it is an unusual flag to spot in these waters. As i surveyed the occupants i was hit by the realization about wealthy chilean people. They all look the same and like Kenny Rogers. I am convinced that well heeled Chileans take the album cover of islands in the stream to their local couffure shop and say, make me look like that!
And as for Chilean ladies, they either look 406 years old or have a beautiful head of that honeycomb coloured hair, a colour that only wealthy Chilean and Spanish ladies can achieve. Anyway, I digress, they had friends arrive from Germany and it reminded me happily of when our friends had arrived, great gushing hugs and kisses and I was happy for them. They would have a nice dinner and a catch up late into the night.
Collette and I took to the bikes at about 9 as it had got a little cooler and we needed exercise. A lovely ride around town and along the canal, on our return Collette shouted that she was gasping for a Richard and would I mind stopping for one.
I had 3 beers whilst she downed a couple of Richards and the world was a lovely place. We got back to Doucette about 10.30. Chilean Pipe music drifted across the moorings as I knocked up a pork and beans in black bean sauce with soft noodles and we sat out back in candle light listening to mull of kintyre. Magical.
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