The Derrineel -- Day 2

Morning pastry

A lock that accommodates two boats

Finding Nemo on the Canal du Nivernais

A large country home 

Hay bales 

Chateau de Tremblay (more info below)

Pink roses at a lockkeeper's cottage

This well became a planter

 Evidence of rope-wear from horses that pulled cargo

A working farm and ivy-covered house

Lockkeeper's cottage

View as we exited a lock
Notice the water level is lower beyond the far gate

Simon moored the Derrineel and we had lunch by the horse/foot path

Happy campers!

What could be better for lunch in the French countryside?!

Charolais beef cows

Once inside the lock,
Tien clambered from the Derrineel to tie up to bollards

Waiting for the lock to fill with water

Lavender, the scent of heaven!

Most locks are pleasantly landscaped
for the benefit of tourists

Sometimes lock gardens were amusing

Grrr, where is the lockkeeper??
Must I do everything myself?

The lock filled with water and the Derrineel rose to meet the next elevation

The temporary captain and his wife

Lauren made it her mission to eliminate flies with Simon's working gloves
(because that's what Simon was using)

Lockkeeper's cottage and vehicles
Some were charged with operating two or three locks

Tien and Lauren took a walk

Faded glory

Dainty roses

Pied Waxwing

Stone bridge

Cherry tree by the stone bridge
They were sour, most likely for baking

Al fresco dining at La Libellule

What will you have?

Wine with dinner

Assiette charcuterie

Salade Libellule

Boeuf Tournedos, frites maison

Côte de porc

Crepe

Fromage

* * * * * * * *

I thought I'd be without good morning coffee, but dear Ilene shared her instant Starbucks.  We walked to a patisserie within a stone's throw of where we moored.  My choice was like a Boston cream pie, a light wedge of thin dry cake with custard between and chunks of sugar sprinkled on top.  Tien had an éclair.  Simon and Ilene had pain raisons.  Our lock appointment was 9a, but the lockkeeper said there was someone ahead of us.  No boat was in sight, so we were allowed to take their place.

I got pretty excited about seeing a chateau and discovered later it was Chateau de Tremblay, owned by the Earl of Armaille, built about 1450.  He lived all of his 85 years there.  He was a local mayor, had a passion for race horses and bred Charolais cattle.

Canal du Nivernais is for use only by leisure craft.  Most boats are rented, therefore many are navigated by boaters with less experience than, say, Simon.  Yesterday we came upon such a craft, Le Boat Mustique 27, being (poorly) motored by four retirees.  We followed Mustique into a lock meant for two boats, but they didn’t realize it and had to be told to move up.  Nor did they rope up properly, causing their boat to shift left and right inside the lock, sloshing the Derrineel in the process.  Simon became quite agitated with them.  We followed Mustique through at least three locks, argh.  Eventually they stopped and we got ahead of them.

The canal scenery was beautiful, tranquil, idyllic.  Stone barns, grand country homes, chateaux, more cream—colored Charolais cows who drank polluted canal water, wild Queen Anne's lace, buddleia, cascading tree roses, purple lavandula bushes, grasses, rolls of cut hay (instead of our American rectangular bales), ivy-covered buildings, ducks, birds of prey, crows, couples on bikes, a few local fisherman with poles along the banks.  It was dragonfly mating season and the males' tails connected to the females' heads.  A pair came into the wheelhouse and I managed a photo.  I glimpsed a rusty-red furry animal climb a tree trunk; about 20-24" long -- maybe a weasel?  I became an expert at killing beastly flies using Simon's leather gloves (since that is what he used), collecting and throwing the carcasses overboard ("burials at sea" we called them).

At every lock, I took a photo of the lockkeeper's house; always quaint.  Tien noticed wells at every lock usually planted with flowers.  Tien got really good at maneuvering the Derrineel, quickly.  His experience on his dad's boat was helpful.  Simon was an excellent teacher to Tien too, and Tien was already able to get in and out of locks.  He mastered driving the boat easily yesterday.

Simon moored to the side for our lunch.  Ilene and I prepared cheeses, pate, charcuterie, lettuce and tomato slices on trays.  Simon put down a gangplank so Ilene could disembark (she uses a cane).  Who needs butter when there is creme blue cheese?!  We ate like kings on a bench and two chairs, with lovely trays of food and French bread under the shade of big trees.  This menu became our usual midday meal and I was always happy to eat it.

After lunch, we motored on and tied up in a few more locks.  By 3:15p, our travel was done for the day.  We moored at Fleury/Biches, plugged in for electricity and relaxed.  While Ilene napped, Simon, Tien and I walked over the bridge to make a dinner reservation for 7p at La Libulelle (dragonfly), in a converted lockkeeper's cottage.  It seemed to be owned by a Londoner and few others:  French, Dutch, all young people.  The women had hair that was becoming dreadlocks.

Tien and I went for a walk and found a charming stone house with the most perfect garden and gravel paths.  Lots more lavender bushes here too.  Too hot, this afternoon sun, and so we walked back.  We sat by a swimming area with a stone bridge and a fruiting cherry tree.  A Pied Waxtail posed for photos.  Tien read while I napped in the boat.  It was hot.  I got up and found Tien and Simon outside.  The rest stop where we moored offered nice roomy showers with good pressure for €2.

Dinner was €15 prix fixe and it was yummy.  I had a charcuterie entree, lamb plat, chocolat menthe glace dessert.  HEAVEN!  Tien had salade, bouef tournados (just a steak) and caramel crepe. 

I discovered a pitiful €0.09 balance on my prepaid SIM card, probably from texting with my sister.  I kept updating this journal and syncing so she can travel vicariously.  Although we all walked back together to the Derrineel following dinner, I ran back to La Libulelle with my iPad to sync my journal so my sister could read this entry.