Barging from Loire to Burgundy
The journey begins . . . here.
Sunday 10th June 2018
Roanne
We had a lazy start to our Sunday and why-ever not? The point of dropping off the radar and disappearing into the outbacks of France is to relax. We have enough high energy ventures looming so we wanted to enjoy time out. Churchbells from all corners of Roanne were ringing out by 10.00am calling the faithful to do their thing. My other half had been wanting to do a paint job on the deck. Painting is never simple. There’s scraping and sanding and buffing that must all happen first. The weather vacilated between too hot or too wet. Since we were leaving the following day, this had to be done.
We had a double social day. A couple from another boat had promised to show us the best mooring spots on our map and they popped past. Roanne is their regular winter mooring spot. They’ve had their boat almost two decades. Unfortunately the French Waterways map books are not a great tool for finding great spots to stop. They pointed out a bunch of mooring spots with bollards that weren’t even marked on the maps. Our maps are new! They also told us which moorings are best avoided. Some places have been invaded by homeless people who occupy unattended boats. Also thieves come at night to steal fuel and other valuables off boats.
That evening we went across the marina to have drinks with another couple who have also been boating for eons. They also regularly tie up for the winter in Roanne. I guess the low price is a big attraction. This couple have a massive great Dutch barge. I absolutely love stories of characters on the waterways and the history of places we’ve been to. Wish they would all have blogs as these people have so much to say. They had also read the Gerald Morgan-Grenville books and that’s not all, they had actually skippered the Virginia Anne for a bit near Tournus. Apparently an American actor now owns the boat. Between the two couples we heard about various characters who had lived and worked on the waterways, about places they had been to, things that had gone spectacularly wrong and so much more. Makes my blog positively boring.
I’d heard they get squalls in Roanne but never experienced one. While we were chatting the weather took a dramatic turn and the next thing the wind came up to an almighty speed. The couple quickly took down flags and anything that could blow away and closed all their windows and doors. The heavens opened and the rain came pounding down. It even hailed. We could barely hear them speaking. And not 20 minutes later – it was all over. As if nothing ever happened.
The journey continues . . . . . . here.
