Cuzy to Chitry-les-Mines

14 kms, 9 locks, 5 lift bridges

Having booked the lock for 9.00 today, we checked the chart and found that there were two lift bridges before we even got to the lock.  So, up bright and early, I walked to the first lift bridge (10 minutes away) at 8.00, pressed the button, and nothing happened.  So I read the instructions which said the bridge is operational between 9.00 and 19.00. Oh, we have an hour to kill!   

The Curiot Tower behind the bridge

How to operate a lift bridge

Waiting patiently

Just before 9.00 we noticed 2 Japanese gentlemen (Le Boat clients) trying out the bridge controls and the bridge was operational, so off we went.  Just as I was lowering the bridge a boat stormed up from the Le Boat base also wanting to go through.  Groan.  We had 9 locks ahead of us and did not relish sharing them with charter newbies who take forever to sort themselves out in locks. 

We cleared the second lift bridge, leaving it in the open position for the following boat and entered the next lock less than 1 km away but it was a full 15 minutes before they caught up to us (and we were travelling at just 7kms/hr).  However it did give Ian time to chat to the lockie, who didn’t speak English, and ask him to operate the lock “doucement” (gently) seeing we were at the front of an “uphill” lock.  Which he did.  Second lock: again we had to wait ages for the charter boat to get sorted, with a great deal of help from Ian.  And then just after leaving the second lock, they did a U-turn and headed back downstream! At the 3^rd lock, the lockie told us they were not coming. Ian reckons they had a domestic fallout and the missus wanted to go home!  Anyway, after that we were on our own, the lockies were great, every lock was prepared as we approached and all ran like Swiss clockwork. 

A timber yard.  Aha, a reminder of the days of gone by when these forests supplied Paris with wood fuel for cooking and heating

And a little further on the opposite bank a huge timber processing factory.

Me doing what it takes to operate a lift bridge (press a button) while being photographed by a cycle tour.

At the next bridge they offered to do the press the button

A new acquisition - a fender free floating down the canal.  It has some interesting gouges but otherwise is in good condition

Until we hit the bewitching hour of 12.00.  Lunchtime. We sat at the waiting dock until the lockie came back at 13.00, and then he asked if we would like to have service right now or wait for a boat coming up behind us.  How far away are they, Ian asked.  2 locks and a lift bridge!  And it was another LeBoat newbie that we saw going through the instruction process yesterday. Not a good companion in a lock!  We reckoned that would be almost an hour.

OK we’d like to have service now, please. 

The same lockie took us through the next 4 locks like a hot knife through butter and we arrived at the dock at Chitry-le-Mines at 14.15. Slick work!

So here we are, with no internet coverage.  

The office was closed until 5.30, but Ian got into a protracted conversation with Ted Johnson who is now retired and his son has taken over.  He started this business I don’t know how many years ago, about 40-ish I think.  And what a fabulous business it is.  His son, John, runs the Diesel Marine engineering side and his daughter-in-law, Stephanie, runs the marina. Nicer people you could not hope to meet.  And when the office opened Stephanie gave us the code for their office router so we are back on line again.