We got up bright and early to another sunny but chilly day. After breakfast, we immediately got on line for the first lock at 8:45. It opens at 9, so we'll be first through.
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| First thing in the morning |
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| Looking back at the Chatel-Sensoir marina as we leave |
We went through several locks with three boats (us, luckily, being the first of the three). The boat behind us had an older couple from Sweden, but they spend four months a year living on their boat, the Queen Elisabeth, and the third boat was a couple from the Czech Republic.
We passed through beautiful countryside, but the most unique were the Saussois Rocks.
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Cruising along!
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| Sassois Rocks. This and next 4 pictures |
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| Heading into a very narrow lock |
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| Stuffed boar by the lock |
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| This is what three boats in a lock look like (and next two pictures) |
We planned to stop at the small town of Mailly-le-Chateau, but when we got to the area where we'd dock the boat, there was nothing there and the town was located high up on a mountain. It would be a bigger hike than any of us were up to, so we went on to the next small town, Mailly-la-Ville. We were hoping to go out to lunch and buy some more food for the boat (we wanted to do this yesterday but everything was closed.) There's a small market and a snack bar, but both closed today! So, we took a walk through a very deserted town where roosters were wandering the streets! Then back to the boat for eggs, cheese and bread, cause that's basically all we have to eat!
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| The middle of Mailly-la-Ville |
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| I wasn't kidding about the roosters! |
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Why did the chicken cross the road? He didn't. He walked straight down the middle like the king he is!
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| Sculpture in Mailly-la-Ville |
After strolling through the town we came back to the boat for lunch, and shortly after 1 we took off again. I had read that one of the locks sold food and other items. We were fantasizing about the neat souvenirs we might find or some delicious treats, but when we got there, all there was was a restaurant that will open next month.
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| This is lunch when all you have is eggs and bread. |
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| Passing by another boat in the canal |
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| Entering a lock |
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| Sue in a lock |
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| Adele in a lock |
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| Art on a lock house (and next picture) |
So we continued on and soon made a right turn for a detour to the town of Vermenton where we'll be spending the night!
We got to a marina where we found a single spot for us to dock, and congrats to David on a masterful job of squeezing us between two boats without hitting either one!
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| This is the view to our left |
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| Across from our boat. |
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| You can see how close the boats are to get an idea of how good a docking job David did! |
We tied up and then walked up into the town (about a 15 minute walk). We were looking for a supermarket and restaurants. Most of the restaurants were closed, but after two days of no open supermarkets, we finally found a large open one! We bought a whole bunch of food, so we won't have to worry if there aren't open restaurants going forward! We walked back to the boat but by this time we had no energy to go back to the town to search for a restaurant, so David is making our lovely dinner tonight of steak, potatoes and salad.
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| Pretty scenery on our walk |
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| A huge supermarket! It felt like we found the promised land!! |
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| Salad, then fried potatoes and onions and steak. Unfortunately the steak was very tough. |
After dinner we played a few games of Uno, and then bed!
