Nederlandse versieSeventh day: from Pouillenay to Montbard

Duriong the time I needed to go to the bakery this morning a duck has laid an egg next to our gang-way. I had seen the spot already when I left. The duck speeded away when I came out this morning and did so when I came back.

I hurry as the hotel boat Horizon II starts its engine. I prefer not to dawdle behind such boat. At the first lock today (46) we are locked by a woman, the next nine locks by Serge. He lives in the house of lock 46 and the woman who helped us there was his wife. It is a bit monotonous but the weather today is cold and wet.  Turn about Pepijn and Charlotte cycle one lock further to close the lower doors. Pepijn regrets he can not open the slides in the gates because Serge keeps the handle you need for that. Yet we make good progress. At about half past eleven we arrive in Venarey, the place where we started our trip last week.

We thank Serge for his help and take a picture of him and Pepijn.  

In Venarey we do some shopping and eat our lunch. Marie replaces a defect lamp in the cockpit. It broke yesterday. Then we leave for Montbard. A quartet of Germans just precedes us. We navigate together to Montbard but we overtake them at the second lock as their attempt to pick up a passenger just after the lock, fails at first. At the beginning of the afternoon the lockkeepers still ride with us. Later on a lockkeeper is present at each lock.

We are navigating through a wonderful landscape now. At the southern side we see fine hills with meadows and edges of the wood, at the northern side the wide valley of the Brenne is situated. 

Now and then we see trains running in the distance. The boys climb on board after the locking by the ladder at the gates now. Marga's hart is speeding but it turns out right all the time. The wind blows heavily today but we keep it dry. It is hard to manage the boat while we wait for the locks.

Just before Montbard a Frenchman calls to us. His boat has been  unfastened on the first of May by naughty boys and has floated a kilometer away in the meantime. Now the boat is situated at the other side of the canal. He can't come there with his car. He has the outboard motor in his car. We pick him up and bring him with his boat to the side where his car is parked.

As we enter Montbard we see to our surprise Horizon II again. It must have passed us during the break for lunch. We come at a second basin of the town, close by a base of Nicols. They don't let much boats because the base is all filled up. There is also another hotel boat. We moor just outside of the basin with a couple of pegs. At the other side a nuclear factory is situated. I see trailers with big cylinders heavy water.

On arrival I take a look at the aqueduct of the Canal de Bourgogne over the Brenne. It is a bit disappointing. At one side the aqueduct is spoiled by thoughtless repair works. I take a picture from the other side.  
In the meantime the boys have made a line of dog-shit transverse on the road next to the canal using little sticks. Many people walk with their dogs here and at the banks lays an enormous pile of shit.

Around six o'clock we walk into the city to search for a restaurant. Everything in Montbard is closed however. We climb higher and arrive in the park of Buffon, a naturalist from the 17th century. The park is situated on top of a hill. There is a kind of fortress with high walls and a tower. We climb up the wall by the stairway and arrive in a higher situated park. Then we go back to the boat to cook our own meal.

The moisture in our boat is a problem. In the evening the windows become dim and despite the ventilation everything is wet in the morning: windows, walls and ceiling. By ventilating the entire day everything becomes dry during the day but after using the shower and cooking everything is wet again. Especially the room of Marga and me is hopelessly wet.

Maarten is still counting the hours until his birthday. He made a special hour-calendar on which he fills up a space when an hour has passed. He is counting until seven o'clock in the morning of the sixth of May. At the end of the day he just has 34 hours to go.