Richardmenil to Charmes: hesadevil

A VERY long day; - 8 hours non-stop cruising up 15 locks and 30 kms. Going UP is always slower;- getting ropes up and secured takes a LOT longer than merely placing a rope over a bollard at lock level as you enter, when going down. It was made MUCH longer by the fact that we were not accompanied on our return trip - each lock is manned and set against us as we arrived. Can I take back all the unkind things I said about accompanied passage through a flight? Every lock had a student en vacation working it. Not one of them noticed that we were a ‘narrowboat’ requiring only one lock door for entry and exit, not one started to set the lock for us to enter until we were sitting waiting, motionless, outside the lock.

Despite this, we made it into Charmes in time to shop and re-provision. Moored on the port bank as the ‘official’ mooring shared facilities with the camp site; all hell broke out last time we were here, and we had watched with amusement from the opposite bank as the campervans (Dutch) v boats (Germans) fought for electricity, water, and bankside space.

ETA- oh hell, BOTH boulangeries in the town are ‘fermeture annuelle’; - how’s that for forward planning? I bought no bread at the supermarket. Did get some fantastic veal though so had that with pasta, petit pois and tarragon sauce.

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Richardmenil to Charmes