Descent on the Canal du Nivernais

The entrance to the first of three tunnels at the top

May 19 - We begin the Descent with our departure from Port de Baye which is determined by a red or green light placed directly across the canal from where we are moored. The VNF eclusier dropped by last night to let us know we should have a green light for the tunnels at 9:00 the next morning. We were up early getting everything ready, filling the water tank and
all.

9:00 - Red light

9:30 - Red light - there must be a boat coming up the other side, they get first priority. Once they are through, or 10:00 happens it should be our turn.

Passage between tunnels two & three

9:50 - Green light, we cast off, just as another boat heads into the tunnel in front of us, looks like we’ll be sharing écluses for the day. We give them a bit of a head start, so we don’t catch up with them in the dark of the first tunnel which is over a kilometer in length. Testing our spotlights we had found they were not working, spent a couple of hours trying to find the cause, no luck. Had an electrician that was supposed to come check, didn’t show. All the French boaters we talked with said “just use a torch (flashlight) so Joan sat in the housetop with our two brightest flashlights (the tunnel is too low to stand), one to shine on each wall. We made it through with just a couple of wall contacts with a bumper. When we came out of the last tunnel the pond at the top of the 16 écluses was empty. We tied Juniper up and walked down a couple of écluses and there were two boats coming up the chain, with four eclusiers handling écluse gates . Two at the current écluse and two preparing the next for your arrival. It turned out the boat that was ahead of us in the tunnel was just making the trip through, then turning around to go back. We had each écluse to ourselves with four people helping. It was a pretty sweet ride down. Lunch time found us at a comfortable grassy area for our hour and a half wait till it was time to finish. At the bottom of our sixteen écluses we decided to call it quits for the day. Thunderstorms were predicted and we felt like we would enjoy them more in our dry salon, enjoying a bottle of wine.

Looking back up the valley - The écluse we had just left

One of the many éclusier houses built in the 1800s - Now private cottages

Écluse art - Many of the bollards get painted
This one was very artistically done 

Waiting for the water to drain

Our crew of four éclusiers who made our trip down so smooth

Port de Baye - The summit of the Canal du Nivernaise

 

In the middle chamber of a triple écluse
Below is a double we just left

The day’s boat trip was a workout. Hot muggy weather and fourteen écluse with a couple of double and a triple in the mix. All went well, though we did have to wait at a couple écluses for downhill traffic. We’d become used to having the system all to ourselves. To reward our hot sweaty selves for reaching the summit we had showers then went out to dinner at a nice outdoor restaurant in the town of Baye just a km walk along the canal from Juniper.

May 18 - Port de Baye. We took today off. Went for a hike along the shore of Étang de Baye which is also one of the main reservoirs that provide water for the upper reaches of the Canal du Nivernais. At lower levels the River Aron pitches in on the south side and the Yonne on the north side. It's those top few écluses usually with a tunnel at the top that are the hardest to keep full.

Walking the trail along Étang de Baye

We continued our walk to Étang du Vaux
The upper of the two reservoirs that feed the Canal du Nivernais 

Wild yellow iris - we've seen these all along the Canal du Nivernais.
Seems to be the signature spring flower of the canal

The snake route to Châtillon-en-Bazois

Juniper and Michael in écluse Châtillon with
le château de Châtillon-en-Bazoisin the background

 May 16 - Châtillon-en-Bazois. An amazing canal route as the canal snaked back and forth with an écluse every couple of kilometers as we got set for the final push to the summit of the Canal du Nivernais. The physical town was nothing special except having a château looking right over the marina (they did have a boulangerie, so we had croissants with breakfast). The exceptional part was being the only transient boat on the quay and the support and help that was offered by all the liveaboards.

The boat that was tied up in front of us had a local French couple living aboard, while they refurbished their farmhouse. We met them when they returned to their boat after a long day of work. Right after the bonjour it was do you need to take on water, we have a hose you can use. In the morning as we were finishing our coffee and croissants there was a knock on our boat - Do you need anything at the store? They were driving and took Joan along to replenish staples that we were running low on. What a great community they have on their quay.

From our chartbook - Most of today's route. The little Vs are écluses.
The twists and turns are to follow the contours of the valley we are ascending.

Penneçot and a longer than planned bike ride

 

Today's cruising was again through pasture land
with blue sky and just enough clouds to make it interesting

May 15 - Penneçot. We woke up to the last of the rain, and by the time we cast off we had predominantly blue sky. When we arrived at our destination we found a b
eautiful campground with a nice quay. Again Juniper was the only boat there, in addition there were not even any campers. We found some suggested bike routes posted at the camp and decided to try one. After trying to get our phones to connect with Google maps, we started on our way hoping a combination of screen shots maybe getting a signal along the way would be enough. When we met the main road leaving camp we discovered the routes were all marked by color coded signs. Our 10Km ride should only take us an hour, giving us views of two châteaux and an ancient moulin. We made it to the chateaux and somehow missed a marker. To make matters worse there was no cell coverage so we couldn’t use google maps. By the time we figured out where we were and found our way home, our 10 km had turned into probably closer to 25. On positive side the roads were amazing as they wound through rolling mature land and back to the canal for a final stretch on the tow path.

The French country roads are a cyclist's dream

Our second château, we're still on the route

OK - No more signs and we can't find where we are on a map -
But, the scenery is beautiful and we're still having fun.

The first château of our ride.
Blogger won't let me put this in the proper place, and it's time
for our first écluse of the day.

On the Canal du Nivernais

May 14 - On the Nivernais Canal PK 17.1 We got an early start from Decize, out through a flood gate onto la

Our infinity écluse - it looked like the marina water level
was the same as the river. Actually 2.5 meters difference

Loire river for a couple of kilometers. Before turning onto the Canal du Nivernais. Coming out of the first écluse we were brought to a quick halt. The weeds were so thick that we could only go about 2 Km/Hr. Then we’d back up to clear the weeds, take off at 6 Km/Hr and in a few minutes be back to 4. This went on for the first 3 écluse. Michael was ready to turn around if it didn’t clear up soon. By écluse 4 the weeds were no longer reaching the surface and seemed to be firmly attached the the floor of the canal. They were tall enough to rub on the bottom of our hull still making it impossible to go our regular cruising speed. When we reached our planned destination the quay was full. Went a couple of KM and found bollards to tie to in a nice shady area. Had time for a beer and a bit of reading till the rain began. By the time we had the Bimini down and were below, it was a total downpour - and the thunder we had been hearing in the distance was now quite close, complete with lightning. It was a great show from our cozy dry salon and nobody around for miles. 

Here we are - Goats on the left of us

Sheep on the right - stuck in the middle again

The Canal du Nivernais is known for the beautiful fields and forests
with very few towns to break up the beauty

Our moorage for the night and the thunder and lightning show
that was about to begin

May 12-13 Beaulon to Decize

Joan closing an écluse gate.
Proper etiquette is for us to tie to the side opposite
the éclusier so we can do half the work. 

 May 12 - Vanneaux to Decize - Another Aire provided by the community for RVs and bateaus at Vanneaux. There was no charge for moorage or even electricity and water. The town of Gannay-sur-Loire was only a couple of kilometers away and had a boulangerie. The walk was nice and returning to the boat the promised rain began. On our return walk we stopped at the public restroom and it was like we were back on our first French canal boat trip in the early 90s. The bathroom had the urinals in the public co-ed portion and when you went to the private toilet area it was a French squatter. On top of that we had manual écluse who's doors were hand operated and the gates that controlled water flow in and out were hand cranked. And, to top it off there were real PK markers every kilometer (PK stands for Le point kilométrique). Occasionally we’d see one or two along a canal, but this was every KM.

Gray Heron rookery
along the left bank of the Canal latéral a la Loire

The Heron is Joan's spirit bird, they are always a treat to see while exploring. We'd noticed an absence of Gray Herons all morning. Coming around one of the last bends before Decize we came across a Heron rookery. There were at least eight nests in treetops, each with chicks looking out at us, preparing to protect our journeys ini future years.

We arrived in Decize just in time for lunch. Great marina and staff. When I checked in with the Capitainerie I scheduled us for Gazoil that afternoon. When it was our turn we pulled into the slip and the fuel dock attendant did everything for us - it was like going to a gas station in the early 60s, except we didn’t get our windows washed. The afternoon was spent walking the streets of the old town and stopping for a café au Lait. Dinner that night was at the Marina Restaurant, great food at a fair price - We’ll be back.

La porte du Marquis d'Ancre
The last of the entrances to the old walled city of Decize

May 13 - Layover in Decize. Time to provision for the coming stretch that will have us going days between grocery stores. Provisioning done we relaxed till dinner time. Returned to the restaurant only to find you need reservations. Oh well - we walked back into the old town and found an outdoor table at a brasserie. Heard English being spoken at the table behind us - turned out it was a group of Canadians riding the tow path trail along the canals. They’d been held up for six days waiting for their bikes, but seemed to have gotten over it and were enjoying the ride

May 10 - 11 Paray-le-Monial to Beaulon

 May 10 - Digoin - The end of the Canal du Centre and a day to hit the lavarie (laundromat) and have clean clothes and even clean sheets. We’d been excited to be heading toward a bigger town but found between the heat of the day and nothing of interest within walking distance left us sitting back and reading on the boat. Not a bad way to spend a hot afternoon.

Aqueduct over la Loire river

May 11 - Beaulon. As we leave Digoin, we also leave the Canal du Centre and start the Canal Latéral a la Loire by crossing over la Loire on an aqueduct. Cruising this part of the canal is like having a canal in the Skagit Valley, except the valley is many times wider and longer, with the biggest town the size of Conway. Beaulon turns out to be an Aire (French rest area) open to both motorhomes and canal boats. Very clean, quiet (not counting a couple of TVs) and Free. Lots of friendly campers strolling by Juniper with a smiling Bonjour.

View of la Loire River from the aqueduct

Joan, slaving away as always - handling a lock line

May 9 - Paray-le Monial

Joan at the helm - Canal du Centre

 May 9 - Paray-le-Monial - Another early start (this is getting habit forming) so we could arrive
in Paray-le-Monial in time to find a boulangerie open for our lunch fresh bread. Made it with minutes to spare.

We spent the afternoon visiting the sites that were important to where Sister Margaret Mary Alaque saw the apparition of the Heart of Jesus (the sacred heart) between 1673 & 1675. We toured the basilica of the Sacred Heart as well as the Visitation Chapel where these visions happened. We walked around town till tired then had a short walk from the park back to the boat. We could almost see the boat at that point, but with all the narrow curved streets we found ourselves completely turned around and at the wrong end of town. Eventually we found the canal and followed it home. The best was yet to come. After dark the town is lit to show off its incredible architecture. 

Basilica of The Sacred Heart - Paray-le-Monial

Basilica of The Sacred Heart - Paray-le-Monial
at night, no place to put the tripod.

The Visitation Chapel
Where sister Mary Margaret saw the Sacred Heart

May 8 - Palinges & Château Digione

 May 8 - Palinges

The bridges of Mountceau-les-Mines wete all
at attention as we left.

We scheduled our departure for 9h00, the earliest we could get the lift bridges in Montceau-les-Mines. By 9h15 the bridges were active and being early on a Sunday the bridges were opened such that we didn’t have to slow down passing through town. Being on the downhill side of the canal, completing 7 écluse and covering 15 kilometers in time to visit Château  de Digoine in time to visit was accomplished. We ate a quick lunch, got on our bikes and rode a few kilometers on farm roads to make the Sunday afternoon tour.

Château Digoine

The Château Digoine has its origins in the late 1300s as a castle. During the 1700s it was transformed to lavish living quarters. We were able to take a tour, in French, through the main floor living areas (no interior photos allowed). Fortunately they did have a copy of what was being said in the tour in English that we could read through while our guide was talking. The grounds are all open to those who take the tour. An even quicker ride back to the boat (it was downhill) got us back in time for wine and dinner on the sundeck - our first this season.

The formal French gardens and greenhouse

The back side of Château Digoine and the lovely Joan

 May 6 - Again

Starting the downhill portion of the Canal du Centre

We’d hoped for another early start but arrived at our first and it hadn’t been activated by VNF. Joan tried phoning again and didn’t think we had gotten through what we wanted, so had turned around to see if anyone was at the VNF base we’d spent the night at. No sooner turned around and a VNF truck drove by headed for the écluse and signaled us to follow him. Not sure if the lightening strike last night affected the écluse or this section could not be controlled by the central office. We were finally on our way downhill before 10h00. Almost all the rest of our écluse worked perfect, till we got to the last one. It wasn’t working, Joan called and we found out that one écluse on the system closes for lunch. So we took a lunch break and were tied up in Montceau les Mines by 13h30. Walked a bit of town, had a café au latte at the town square and made a shopping trip to a not so nearby store before settling in for the night.

May 7 - Montceau les Mines

One of the many sister-city groups marching

It’s Market Day, and it’s a huge one. Spent an hour or so wandering the stalls, till we got distracted by drumming one street away from the quad. Turns out there was a parade in honor of all the cities Montceau-les-Mines was in a sister city relationship with. Great native dress, dancing and of course the drumming. We worked our way back and forth between the twin events till lunchtime, found some good str
eet food then rode our bikes to the nearby town of Blanzy and its incredible museum of mining. This whole area of France developed around coal mining that lasted until the turn of the century. Although the tour was done in French, we had a written guide in English and were able to at least understand what it was we were seeing. The museum uses the buildings and some of the tunnels of one of the last mines. They also had the examples of the equipment that had been used from the early days, till the end of mining at that location.

By the end of the parade,
some of the younger groups were looking a bit tired

One of the mines at Musée de la Mine in Blanzy

May 5 & 6 - Boat projects and Saint-Léger-sur-Dheune to Montchanin

 May 5 - Boat Projects and Reading

The very gray, smelly, congealed shower sump
water. Michael headfirst in the sump bailing. 

Weather forecast is for rain and thunderstorms, so we decide to sit tight and get the shower sump working again. We took everything out of our mid-cabin, moved the built-in bed frame, and lifted the linoleum to access the hatch to Juniper’s shower sump. A quick check showed that our float switch was not working so the shower drain was overflowing into the bilge, releasing quite a foul smell. Opening the two part sump we found a very gross thick liquid that smelled like sewer gas. Pulling the switch we found it was not working because it was fouled and couldn’t move freely. Michael put on the rubber gloves and bailed the sump, then we filled it with water and bailed again to get it pretty clear. Reinstalled the now clean switch and it all worked again. This is the not-so-fun part of boating we often forget to mention when we tell you how much fun we’re having.

Not too long after finishing our sump project the predicted thunder storm and rain came in with a force. Wind, driving rain, hail, thunder and lightning. Time for a glass of wine, a good book and thankful we weren’t trying to get through an écluse.

May 6 - Saint-Léger-sur-Dheune to Montchanin

The chart book showed this as a marina
It didn't specify for derelicts only 

We knew we had a long day ahead of us 19 écluse to go through, many of them with 5 meters or more of rise. Our technique for going through these was to let Joan off on an almost non-existent ledge to go up the stairs and handle the control of the écluse while Michael took the boat into the écluse, secured it to a floating bollard and hung on till the boat was high enough for Joan to climb back aboard. We got to our destination, Montchanin, to find that the marina we thought we would be staying in no longer exists. Fortunately the VNF ( the government body that over sees the canal system) had moorage in front of their office. Once again we were able to enjoy the afternoon thunder and rain showers from the comfort of reading a book in our salon.

May 3 & 4 Cycling and back on the Canal du Centre

 May 3 - La Voie des Vignes

We’d heard from a few people how beautiful the La Voie des Vignes was. This is a bicycle/walking route that uses paved farm roads to take you from Beaune to Santenay and beyond. You are either riding through the vineyards or going through a wine growing villages for the entire route. We decided to go by bicycle from Beaune back the Changny via Santenay.

Our start was a little auspicious as to how the rest of our day might go. We biked to the Gare de Chagny to catch a local train to Beaune. First we forgot to compostage our train tickets ( that is to put them in a machine that marks them to show they were validated). Next the train arrived sooner than we expected and Joan had forgotten her mask. Masks are required for train travel. We went to the car marked for bicycles ( two only) there was already one bike, but by the time we realized this the train was ready to leave so we stayed with our two bikes in the bike compartment for the 10 or 12 minute ride to Beaune. Fortunately all went smooth, in spite of our errors.

Once in Beaune we walked and rode our bikes through the beautiful old town before taking off on La Voie des Vignes. The road/trail took us through miles and miles of vineyards where the crews were busy weeding, pruning, planting, laying out new fields and burning the branches that had been pruned. Looking at the amount of hand labor that goes into growing the grapes, it’s amazing how inexpensive wine can be.

Joan cycling La Voie des Vignes - We've just left Beaune

Vineyards as far as the eye can see, in all directions.
With a wine village every few kilometers

Pruned vines being burned to keep any diseases
from spreading to new growth and a symbolization of
death and rebirth by fire

New growth - introducing the grapes of 2022

Hard work - the tractor/cultivator tills the earth in the center
while pulling two plows that are maneuvered by hand
to till between the vines

I think I've found the way

The Hotel de Ville in Meursault
with the traditional Burgundian roof tiles. This was
the view from our picnic in the park lunch

May 4 - Chagny to Saint-Léger-sur-Dheune

Time to fire up the engine and put a few kilometers under the keel. Leaving Chagny we were in wine country, with fields reaching from the bottom of the valley to the tops of the hills. Not too long after passing Santenay that all changed. The canal began to follow the valley of the River Dheune and the use of the bottom land along this portion of the canal changed from grapes to cattle and beautiful yellow fields of rapeseed (for the production of cooking oils)

Wonder Woman
to our rescue

We arrived at our destination of Saint-Léger-sur-Dheune in time for a late lunch. We had a pump diaphragm that needed to be replaced in one of our heads. However, the new diaphragm needed a much larger hole for the handle attachment than the replacement had. We had been trying to come up with a way of punching a perfectly round 20mm hole through thick rubber with no luck. Right next to where we were tied up there was a Locaboat charter boat base. We talked to their mechanic and she came up with the same solution we had come up with, but she had the tools. She took a piece of tubing (the proper diameter) and used it as a punch. Perfectly round hole, right where we needed it.

After getting our repair part fixed we rode our bikes to see the Château Couches. Both our chart guide and Google assured us it was open, and Google even let us know it was a mostly flat ride. Both were wrong on all counts. After riding a 4 km uphill grade on a busy highway,

Château Couches - Ferme

with no shoulder, we arrived at a closed château. Taking a quick look at Google maps on our phone we did find a beautiful backroad route back to the boat. Most of the route was flat, and the villages we went through were spectacular.

We had been talking with two touring cyclists, one who's grandmother
lived in the house behind the group. When their entire group
showed up, they serenaded Joan. Great end to a good day.