Sunshine returns and we get away from the mooring just after 9am. That’s pretty good for us! Turn onto a new canal – the canal Lateral a la Marne. Today’s chunk is 16km dead straight to Chalons en Champagne and punctuated by three locks. The canal is quiet this morning. Fishermen line the banks and nod to us as we pass. We see a few other boats, four of which fly the Ensign. One of them, a cruiser called Il Largo, has been cruising the same waterways as us since the end of June. We always wave and shout hello but have not yet met to chat.
“Celine” passes us en route to Conde. Andy chats with them on the VHF and we arrange to meet later.
Dan and Cal enjoy the trip down the canal and get involved with catching the perche to trigger the lock. Cal loves being in the locks and scoots around the decks, checking on us and our ropes before taking on the responsibility of activating the gates. He hangs off the bow, watching the anchors as they lurch nearer to the gates, his deep voice providing an amusing commentary. For those of you who know Callum, you will know that this commentary is animated with his trademark “happy hands and feet”.
Moored in a peaceful, picturesque spot along the banks of the ornamental gardens in Chalons. The moorings fill up around us and the resident swans flap their wings in excitement, knowing that an abundance of bread will shower down on them.
In the afternoon we cycle the 16km back to Conde to collect the car. The boys are brilliant. No complaints. Just good hard pedalling and lots of banter.
Our new friends on “Celine” are moored in Conde and kindly invite us onboard for a cup of tea. They have been cruising since April and we share useful snippets of information about life onboard a barge in France.
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