Joigny to Villeneuve-sur-Yonne

18 kms, 3 locks

Another cold rainy day.

We had arranged with the lock-keeper to be at the lock at 9.00 this morning so we left our mooring at 8.30.  A couple of minutes before 9 we arrived at the lock – no lock-keeper.  He eventually appeared at 9.30.  

Waiting for the lock-keeper

Lynn keeping an eye on the lines in the rain

We are now going in the reverse direction back to Paris.  Most of the locks on the Yonne River have sloping sides with a floating pontoon or two for pleasure boats to tie up to.  These are manual locks operated by a lock keeper who takes care of 2 or 3 locks.  Our first lock keeper also took us through the second lock and called the lock-keeper who took us through the third.  It was great to be going downstream with the current again and we made quick work of the 18 kms between Joigny and Villeneuve, arriving at 11.45 (2 hours 45 minutes, excluding the 30 minute at the first lock).

Elle following us 

We are now flying our Azorean flag

Bad visibility, quite misty at times, so we missed a lot of the beautiful landscape

Approaching Villeneuve-sur-Yonne

It was raining and 10 degrees when we left, still raining and 11.5 degrees when we arrived.  Not great conditions for steering from the aft deck so Ian steered from the interior steering position in the saloon.  Apart from the 3 times we had to be out on deck when dealing with the locks, we stayed dry and warm inside.
In the late afternoon the rained eased off and I went for a walk:

Dating from the 13th century, the entry gates into the walled city still survive.

A stone staircase on the outside takes you up to gallery

A tiny section of the old walls remains

The church.  All the statues have been destroyed

Difficult to get a good photo of this church because is on a narrow road

The quay at Villeneuve-sur-Yonne, free electricity for 2 boats - with 2 long-stay live-aboards hogging them.