Almost on the Med!

1st Oct 2011.

Today we travelled by TGV from Agde to CDG airport, Paris, & depart for NZ tomorrow.

Agde - Lindsay's visit 250

Agde - Lindsay's visit 274

Agde - Lindsay's visit 282

Agde - Lindsay's visit 283

On the Canal Du Midi

The Canal du Midi, approaching the round lock at Agde; note the tow path along the Canal near the Mediterranean

locks on the Midi

At present we are parked under plane trees which line the midi.

They were planted when the canal was built, are big & old & provide shade which is very welcome.

We have cycled to the beach again today. 1 hr each way, so now we are having a relaxing time before a visit from Lindsay.

We get back to Agde, tomorrow.

The weather has an Autumn feel now.

Lindsay is coming to stay for 3 days, so will do a bit of sightseeing in the area.

The boat comes out of the water Monday, but we can still sleep on it etc, so it will be a bit like camping.

Around Lyon

 

1.  Picking & sorting Beaujolais grapes

2.  Statue of André-Marie Ampère

3.  Lyon, beside the River.

4.  Grape vines on steep slopes near Condrieu.

5.  The wide Rhône River.

6.  Bollene lock. 22M deep. Deepest in France.

7.  Roquemaure church.

 

From Thoissy on the Sâone R. we cycled to several small wine growing villages of the Beaujolais wine growing area. Vineyards & country roads were very busy with tractors & trailors  as grape picking was in full swing. Mostly red grapes being picked by hand.

 

We spent 3 days at Lyon. While there we visted the passageways in the old city. Big wooden doors lead into these passage ways & homes, built from the 14thCentury onwards, which are still lived in today.

While wandering around the city we came accross the statue of André-Marie Lampère, Born in Lyon. 1775-1836. He was a French physicist, natural philosopher & mathematician who is best known for his contribution to electrodynamics. The Ampere---The unit for measuring electric current was named in honour of him.

 

Our journey down the Rhône started when we left Lyon.

 

Angela & Stephen Cowper came to stay when we were at Les Roches-Condrieu. A wine growing area.They took us on a tour of the area in their car, plus wine tasting at Vidal-Fleury, which was very interesting.

 

The locks on the Rhône are deep, the deepest, the Bollene lock is 22M deep.

The Rhône is big & wide with a current, which is not strong at this time of the year. The wind can become strong, which it did 1 morning after we were well on our way. Fortuneately we came accross a place to tie up near the village of Roquemaure where there is a 14th century collegiate church , of the Languedoc Gothic style. A local poet, Placide Cappeau, composed the hymn 'Silent Night', here to celebrate the restoration of the church organ.

Since 25th Oct 1868 this same church has housed the relics of St. Valentine, the patron Saint of all lovers. A rich wine grower purchased them in Rome to protect his vines from the Phylloxera disease, which appeared in Roquemaure for the 1st time in 1866. Since those days, Valentine looks over the countryside & their vineyards. By 1pm, the River was calm again & we continued our journey, to Avignon, which is a beautiful old city but we only stayed 1 night as the port was alongside a busy road.

 

Now we are on the canal between the Petit Rhône & Sête Rivers, making our way towards our winter mooring, near Agde. We arrive back in NZ on the 4th Oct.

Cezanne's blocked Aorta...

About a week ago, when we were on the Saone R. Cezanne had a problem. His Aorta became blocked  & he finally died.(fungus in the fuel tank blocked the outlets etc.) We were lucky that we were nearing a jetty beside a big lock, so we tied up & after much time trying to rectify the problem  & cleaning out some pipes, still no go, so Barry decided to use the foot pump which we have for the bikes. It has a special fitting , just the right size to fit into te diesel tank. A few pumps & voila, air flowed through & cezanne sprang to life.  The fuel filter was needing to be changed regularly, so we were a little concerned about being on the Rhone. There is a boat workshop at Pont de Vaux, so we had them do a temporary repair until we get to our winter mooring.This involved putting in another small tank & bypassing the old one[cezanne's bypass!] which was over 1/2 full, with the return, we were told, would be minimal & not a problem.  There was a lot of rain overnight. This 5km long R. was running high.The pontoon which I had to step onto to go ashore, to press a button to start the automtic lock, was under water. 2km down the Saone, Barry looked at the fuel guage Which was reading much higher than when we left.A few calculations told us we would not reach Macon, so about turn & with some hurried changing over of fuel etc & then a stop to do some more changes we arrived back here. The mechanic came & did some more alterations, so as the weather will be much better tomorrow we have decided to stay here another day.

arctic trip

Circumnavigation of  Svarlbard (Spitsbergen)

Our trip to the Arctic was very  enjoyable Quite different from the Antarctic. There were less icebergs ,but many glaciers which were very wide eg. 3 km.

Most days we did 2 zodiac  cruises, mostly to walk on the land, which was very barren as there is only 200 mls of rain per year in Svarlbard. On the land we saw many flowering plants, birds, plus animals. e.g. the rheindeer & arctic fox.From the zodiacs we viewed polar bears & explored the fiords & pack ice,

We saw 8 polar bears, some were in the distance, but on 2 different occasions we saw polar bears at the waters edge. They usually roam the ice in solitude. Polar bear can swim very long distances in the cold water as they have thick insulating blubber & air filled hairs adding to their buoyancy.They mate during April & May. Usually 2 cubs are born in late December weighing 11/2 pounds, in the darkness of their den. The cubs are then breastfed on milk containing 30 per cent butter fat produced from the mother's layer of blubber. When in March she breaks the seal of her den to introduce the cubs to the world they weigh 25 pounds.Their main prey, the ringed seal, have just given birth to their pups & are abundant. Mother bear has had a 6-7 months fast. she will care for them for the next 2 years.

We also saw large groups of Walruses. At this time of the year the males are in a separate group from the females &  their young.They are very sociable inquisitive creatures & loll about beside & on top of each other, occasionally puffing & snorting at their neighbours.The tusks are bigger on the males. Those with bigger tusks are more attractive to the females. The tusks are also used to haul out of the water onto ice, as well as to lean on when sleeping. The Latin name for walrus is Odobenus Rosmarus---The tooth walker.

There were different types of sea birds, some nesting on cliff faces & also the occasional whale,

brunnich guillemots

pack ice

The other animal which was prolific on the S.E. side of the Island was the Rheindeer. Perhaps this is where Santa Claus gets his team from!!!

On all the shore excursions the guides carried loaded rifles & were very vigilant as there is always the possibility of a polar bear attack.

visit to the UK and Windsor.

I had obtained a list of the remembrance services & events to be held on various days  during the weeks before & after the 1st of July, which was the 95th Anniversary of the commencement of the battle of The Somme. We would  have to hire a car  & didn't have enough days spare to warrant doing that,  so I decided to give the papers to an English couple who were in the Port at Sillery with us as we had decided we would move on that day. They said that they were going that day--{the 1st July to the Franco-British memorial at Thiepval, where a special service was being held,} in their car, but didn't know the time until I told them. We were asked to go with them & accepted but to be there in time we had to leave within 1/2 an hour.  We arrived just as the service was beginning. There were many people there, bands etc. The memorial is 45M high & can be seen from miles around. It is the memorial to 73,367 missing British & Sth Africans who fell between July 1915 & March 1918 & have no known grave. Their names are inscribed on the 16 pillars making up the base of the monument. The other countries who participated  in WW1 in the Somme area have memorials in villages nearby. The New Zealand memorial is at Longueval.

We continued to Châlons-en-Champagne where we spent time with French friends, then caught the Eurostar to London & stayed at a B & B in Windsor, owned by Zin Zan Brook & his wife. It was a 10 minute walk to Windsor Castle, which is well kept, covers a large area & is very interesting. We also spent time with Lindsay, an English friend. She was going to Hampton Court Flower Show on Friday 8th, the day we were returning to France, so I joined her for the morning & had an enjoyable time looking at the different exhibits & various ideas which people dream up to make gardens interesting. Hampton Court say they have the biggest flower show in the world. Barry went to a nearby pub, read a book & quenched his thirst with some ale. We had several pub meals & I did enjoy the cider, which I can drink without any problems!

Back on Cezanne, at Châlons en Campangne we had lots of shopping & washing to do before saying farewell to our friends there & departing for the canal de la Marne à Saône. At the market we bought some delicious apricots, peaches & nectarines. Yesterday it was raining. We were visited by friends from St. Dizier for lunch. Tonight we are at Chaumont.

Hampton Court Flower Show. School Childrens competition. Sea scene.

A different exhibit!

Tropical flowers to catch insects.

Windsor Castle.

Windsor Castle.

The Franco-British Memorial at Thiepval

a French Wedding...

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Hortilonieres boats returning after the market.

Women , in their national costumes

Men selling produce in their national costumes.

The light show at the Amien Cathedral

Coucy Castle

Barry at the Castle

A peaceful evening on the Aisne River

On Fri, 17th June we drove to St. Dizier in a rental car, to attend the wedding of French friends whom we met in 2003.  There was a marriage service at the Marie(town hall) at Betancourt La Feree ( the suburb where they live) at 5p.m.  

When Jean-Pierre arrived at the wedding ceremony he waved the black NZ flag which we gave him 2 years ago. He is an ardent rugby fan, They had arranged for people who speak English to talk to us.

The jovial Mayor officiated at the wedding service. When we went outside afterwards there was a fly pass of 5 jets from the French Air Forece, then 3 made a heart shaped vapour trail in the French colours---Blue , white & red.

The reception was held in the community hall nearby. Being in the Champagne area, that was what was offered to drink. The food, was various types of very nice nibbles, e.g. vegetables to dip, seafoods, pastries etc, & later in the evening an assortment of small cakes & sweet pastries.

We returned to the River Somme. The morning we took back the rental car was the 1st day the Hortilonieres  (whom I  have mentioned earlier) were selling their produce at a market which they do each Sunday at this time of the year. They load the produce onto the narrow boats & go down the River to the market place, dressed in their national costumes.

We stopped off for a night in Amien, to see the light show on the Cathedral which started mid June, each night at 10.45  when it is dark. This is when they show the colours of all the figures, as they have been in a previous era. It was interesting to see for a short time but was rather dissappointing, compared to other light shows which we have been to.

We were rather sad to leave the peaceful Somme River on 24th June & were back onto big waterways & locks again---on the Canal du Nord.But this was shortlived as we turned once again onto peaceful waterways. The canal joining the R. Oise to the R. Aisne is one of the prettiest & quietest French waterways which we have been on.

On Sat, 25th June, at Pont Mard we cycled to the nearby ruins of Coucy Castle. This Castle was originally built in 920, but was extended by several owners over the years, then  neglected.In 1917 the retreating German army destroyed the remaining 4 towers & the Keep.

The weather has suddenly changed from showery warm conditions  to hot sunny windfree days.