Dinant to Namur

26 kms, 6 locks

Not long after 9.00 we left Dinant.  The sun was shining, it was 12.5C, no wind – a lovely day.  Again we found the scenery impressive, but not as dramatic as yesterday.  However, as we got closer to Namur we saw more and more magnificent houses.

And some of the magnificent houses were dwarfed by magnificent rocks

Some really old buildings

This boat is flying a Dutch flag from his bow and his stern and no courtesy flag!

Trees - I was delighted with the foliage 

What is this? A house? A bar? Note the sculpture on the bridge!

Major renovation - including two containers cantilevered out of the building, with huge windows added  - now that looks interesting

Here we have a house with inlet from the river with a boat lift underneath a modern version of a folley, or in other words just a place to have fun

I like the small houses at the other end of the spectrum just as much

So far, we are not missing our French telecommande to operate the locks. As we have approached each lock the lights have changed and the locks have been prepared so we can just cruise on in.  Only two have remained red as we approached so I called to be told that there is another boat in the lock and when they exit we can enter.  Slick, fast, no wasted time, polite and friendly. 

Entering Namur from the south

We arrived in Namur at 13.30 and wasted no time in getting our wifi signal sorted out to watch the MotoGP race in France.  No more French Free network, unfortunately, so we are using the FON network.  Our service provider in Portugal is a partner of the global FON network and so we are able to connect to FON hotspots all over the world.

The marina costs 9 Euros per night for boats under 13m, electricity and water are extra.

It didn't take long so we were able the MotoGP race – so sad that Rossi fell on the last lap, but how fantastic to see a Frenchman on the podium in France!

Then a  brisk walk up and down the extremely long dock at the Casino Quay

where we are moored.  We saw a 100m long barge waiting to enter the lock, it's name is Hellboy!

This evening while preparing photos for the blog I heard a strange scraping against the hull, and looking out saw 2 men trying to fish something out of the water at our bow. Of course we went out to see what was going on - it was a small dog which had fallen into the canal from the boat in front of us!  The owners were in a big panic and just as Ian and I arrived they got the little dog out.  I think the owner was more traumatised than the dog and on the point of collapse.   As Ian said if we had known sooner he would have jumped into the water to get the dog out.  A couple of hours later Ian went to enquire how the dog/owner were doing and all is well.  Apparently it is the first time the dog has been on the boat.  And maybe the last.