The Canal Latéral à la Loire
The kids left for the train station around 10am and we immediately got to work. They had brought with them the cables Tom had ordered to fix our compass. He started out by looking for the best route to run them. This meant opening all the hatches - I mean ALL the hatches: the lazarette, the commissary, the engine room, the hatch at the bottom of the steps, the bunk-room floor and the master cabin floor. He moved mattresses, removed the settee cushions and pulled down the wall panels in the salon and in the bunk-room. Nearly all the recesses of the boat were exposed (I miraculously found ways to stay busy outside on deck!) It was all day before the project was complete but we now had a compass forward of the helm, on the centerline of the hull and away from all motors, electronic devices, and other ferrous objects that could potentially interfere with its operation. The next hurdle was recalibrating it. This is accomplished by turning in a 360° circle, in calm water, at a constant speed. We had plenty of flat water but how the heck could we turn a circle in a narrow canal? We attempted to do it in the wider pool adjacent to the marina but the radius was still too small. Nothing to do but hope we find a larger basin along the way - worst case we’ll have to wait until we reach the ocean.
Before departing the next morning we visited the market. Each Saturday from April to December a hundred or so stallholders set up shop right next to the marina for one of the most important markets in the region: fruits and vegetables, butchers, cheeses, bread, honey, jams, rotisserie meats and roasted potatoes, flowers, garden supplies, farm animals, clothing and personal equipment. We went early to avoid the crowds and had ample time to take it all in, sample a few local delicacies and purchase the nights dinner, ready-to-eat and smelling divine.
We made our purchases, slipped our lines and headed on. To exit the marina in Montceau-les-Mines you have to pass beneath three consecutive moving bridges. The first one, activated by a camera, lifted horizontally which we’d not seen before!
We made a couple of modifications to our locking-down procedure now that we were on our own. Everything went smoothly, though I did have to leap ashore at a lock that was not functioning to try to call for assistance. Thankfully this time the call box worked, but as it was too shallow to move Meraki close to the bank, there was no way for me to climb back aboard until Tom entered the lock. An hour or so later we arrived in a large open pond in the town of Génelard.
The next couple of days were overcast and rainy so we stayed put doing the usual things: cleaning, writing, visiting the boulangerie and the market. The market here was a bit dismal consisting of only three venders - one each; meat, cheese and produce. We did, however, find a couple of mangoes and avocados for our fish tacos that night.
On a relatively dry day we took a long bike ride up into the hill country and toured a restored castle. An 18th-century furnished monument, the Château de Digoine, is surrounded by a huge 35-hectare (86-acre) estate and is distinguished by its rose garden and greenhouse of exotic plants, which was not yet blooming. The current owner, an art collector, did an extraordinary job preserving it - every piece of furniture, every painting and every ornament the result of feverish trips to antique shops or painstaking study of auction house catalogs. We enjoyed touring the ornate rooms, its immense park with a large pond, and its small private theater. Photography within is prohibited though I did capture a shot of the beautiful inlaid wood floor in the library.
We reluctantly left Génelard on a chilly morning and spent most of the day locking-down with another boat, Chandolin, from Belgium. They must have left Génelard shortly after we did - we had admired their boat from across the basin the night before. With two boats in the lock we needed to alter our approach but we quickly got the hang of it and both our boats arrived in Paray-Le-Monial around 3pm.
What a lovely surprise this little town was. The long, well maintained public quay is beside a large wooded park with walking trails throughout. Unbeknownst to us the town holds the title of "Mosaic City" with offerings of exhibits, training courses and workshops throughout the year. Across the bridge from the park and along cobbled streets is a central town square and the well preserved roman style church - Basilique du Sacré-Coeur (Basilica of the Scared Heart).
Paray-le-Monial is also located at a prime crossroads for biking tourism. It is part of a broader network of cycling routes and greenways. There are six major routes in this region alone (the Burgundy Canal, the Nivernais Canal, the Canal du Centre, the Vineyard Route, Southern Burgundy, the Loire in Burgundy). They pass through stunning scenery and are all easily accessible with very little elevation gain.
It was becoming a challenge to find haltes deep enough for Meraki - we were always pleased to find a pontoon for the night rather than shore tying. Many of the locks here are operated manually by a lock-keeper. First, they close one side of the gate behind the boat, walk all the way around the front end of the lock and back down beside us on the other side to close the other half. Next, they return to the front of the lock to open the sluices. We learned the hard way that the lock-keepers in this area take a one hour lunch break during which all locks are closed. Naturally we discovered this having arrived at a lock at 12:10pm. Another time, we approached a lock, having again forgotten in was the noon hour, and discovered a rental boat stuck within. Apparently they had arrived just prior to noon and entered the lock, but just as they were preparing to exit, the gates had malfunctioned and only opened part way. When they called for assistance they were told they would need to wait until 1:00pm. Though they weren’t happy about it, I reminded them that not many people get to relax inside a lock!
Yet again we didn’t realize the time when we crossed the Canal Bridge over the Loire River. This aqueduct is 243 meters long (797 feet) and was built between 1832 and 1836. The bridge has eleven arches, each 16 meters wide (52 feet). They are supported by eleven 9-meter-thick pillars (29 feet) at the base of the vaults, and are anchored 3 meters (10 feet) below the lowest level of the river. It is alluring, enormous and an engineering wonder. The aqueduct terminates at a lock which marks the end of the Canal du Centre. We crossed the bridge slowly and arrived at the lock at 12:05pm.
The aqueduct crossing the Loire River.
Naturally the lock was closed for lunch once we traversed the bridge and we found ourselves in a bit of a predicament. We were in a small pool with sloping concrete sides. The idea of idling for most of an hour seemed unreasonable, so we did the only thing we could think of — which is against all waterway rules and regulations, we backed up onto the bridge where we could tie off to a bollard. We might just be the first boat ever to have lunched on the aqueduct!
Parked on the aqueduct - I’ll never tell!
We had now completed the Canal du Centre and entered Canal Latéral à la Loire which follows along the banks of the Loire River. Once a major means of transporting lumber, the 1000km long (621 miles) Loire River begins in the Massif Central Mountains in south-central France and makes a huge sweeping curve northerly before turning west and emptying into the Atlantic. The river however, became too shallow at times, making it only navigable 8 months out of the year. The Canal Latéral à la Loire, completed in 1938, is 200km long (124 miles) and allows for year round navigation.
We arrived at a large modern marina in Decize on a windy afternoon. We were ready to plug in, fill our water tank and hose down the boat, and were quite pleased to learn that there was a large grocery store just 3 minutes away on foot. The strong wind made our approach difficult but fortunately our acquaintances from Michigan, Ernie and Ruth aboard Serenity, were opposite us on the dock and kindly caught our lines. We spent a lovely evening that night aboard their boat, sharing wine and cheese and talk of travel. We exchanged contacts as they were heading down a different route, the Canal du Nivernais, in the morning.
The next day we said ‘bon voyage’ to the Michiganders and walked into the village for lunch. Unfortunately we’d forgotten it was Easter Sunday and the restaurants were fully booked. (Honestly, it’s super easy to lose all track of time on the canals!) We returned home thinking we’d have lunch at the marina restaurant, though they too were full. We did manage to arrange an early dinner reservation though - which was quite a nice treat.
Chandolin - hand-built over 10 years
The following morning Chandolin arrived across the dock from us, taking Serenity’s vacated berth. It was another windy day and we went over to catch their lines. We chatted briefly and I learned that it was their 46 wedding anniversary so I invited them over for happy hour that evening. Over a bottle of local red and a couple of Belgian beers, we heard of their home, their children and grandchildren, and learned about the Belgian education system and its unique linguistic diversity. Belgium has three official languages: Dutch, French, and German while many Belgians also speak Flemish and English. They described their journey before they retired - of spending 10 years building their beautiful, fully electric boat, and shared some hidden gems they’d discovered on the Belgian and French canals over the past five years. We were given a tour of their boat and we toasted their anniversary.
Connecting with others is so much a part of who I am. Hearing stories of peoples hometowns, the places they’ve visited and experiences they’ve had enriches my life and widens my worldview. A small town I’d never known existed suddenly becomes home to a friend and presents an opportunity to visit somewhere formerly unimaginable. These brief moments and shared experiences bring me so much joy. I am forever grateful to have crossed paths with so many unique people, however fleeting.
Easter dinner
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