Barge Date: 02-08-2017

Leaving the Somme

Not wanting to miss the canal that we could not see by boat, we decided to take a train to Abbeville but were interrupted with this thought when another boater said it is much nicer to go all the way to Saint-Valery-sur-Somme on the Atlantic. One must take a small gauge railroad to get there but because of a delayed train from Amiens, we got a late start. St Valery is very much a summer place for tourists. Marianne wanted to see some sites that have ties to her family that crossed a little channel to take over England. Worth a return trip and stay. There are 2 other towns connected by this small railroad that should be visited.

I would like to stay at this hotel some day.

Marianne with monument to her family's war making.

We were needed back in Brussels for my resident permit and we took the train from Amiens. The short story with the permit people is that I must again return after important papers are prepared. I have been given a secret number that will make it all work next time.

While there and being hosted once again by our wonderful Belgian family, we took a trip with Monique and Maxime to see the castle of Gaasbeek. The castle was of interest but even better for me were the gardens. The gardeners specialize in training plants and trees to be things they normally are not. Shapes, hedges, borders. People come from all over the world to learn this process. Time is a factor. This garden was started about 20 years ago and they have just opened it to the public.

Back to the boat, we began our exit from the Somme. We had been warned by the lock workers that several days earlier a car had been driven into the canal and to be careful at a particular location . We saw one very wet VW.

We were looking forward to getting back to the marina at Cappy as our new energy efficient refrigerator had arrived. The captain had stored it in his garage and we quickly retrieved it and swapped out the old for the new. While it is a bit smaller, it does seem to use less electricity. That's the point of the purchase. We also swapped out our nearly empty LP tanks so now we are filled up.

Now headed east.

 Barge Date: 30-07-2017

On the Somme and back again

 Forgive the formatting.  Google is the problem.


I know, some of you think that I have gone away (Mark, Guy)What is happening with the blog? I am behind again and I don't know why but let me try to catch up as quickly as I can.  This will be a bit long but you don’t want to stop too soon and miss something.

From Amiens we wanted to go east to the small village of Long. As we headed that way, we still thought that we could not get all the way to the Atlantic Ocean. So we were going to make the best of it. We had been told by a lock worker that the tie up near the lock in Long was a bit tricky but that he would be there to assist. He told us that there was space available for us (In his words, "not the best space, but not the worst either").

Along the way, we noticed several weirs in the canal with signs warning of "violent current". These are locations where excess water is taken from the canal and diverted downstream or to the lower part of the canal. Traveling past them had never been a problem. The sign before Long warned of "Danger d'aspiration" which, translated literally, means "beware of being sucked in".

In Long, there is a beautiful castle that can be viewed as you enter the town. It is just up the hill from

the canal and you can see large greenhouses filled with flowers and well landscaped gardens and lawns that come right down to the canal. Very impressive.

But just as you are passing the castle, you go under a bridge and there is a left turn in the canal that leads immediately to mooring space on the left, the lock straight ahead, and one of those sucking weirs off to your right. If we had planned it better, gone a little slower and stayed to the left bank, looked at Google Earth, and thought everything out a day before we would not have gotten sucked to the weir. As it was, I was to the right in an attempt to see around the corner and to know whether there was space. By the time I had done this, I had lost control. Apparently, this happens quite regularly at this location and perhaps it is a bit of fun for the lock workers. I don't know. But I do know that we were pulled to our starboard and up against the protective guard rail that keeps innocent barge owners from going over the falls.

I wish I could say let's go to the video but that's not possible. We attempted to back up and move to the port side but these old boats just don't want to go backwards. Finally, the lock worker who said he

was going to help us showed up.  

The only solution was to stop the water from going into the weir. This must be a simple matter because in five minutes we were able to move the boat and throw some lines to the shore where several volunteers roped us in. One of them was the owner of a boat tied up at this location. He said the same thing happened to him several days earlier and he knew it was not a pleasant experience, so he wanted to help us. A little bit of excitement for the people on the shore and maybe a little bit of learning on our part. 

Apart from the castle and a church, there is not much to the town of Long but there are some interesting stories that we find as we visit. There is a commemorative marker for a British soldier that risked his life to move a tank that was stalled on the bridge thus preventing the Allies from taking the town from the Germans. This British soldier somehow was able to get the tank off the bridge but he died while doing this. The town has this marker to remember him. 

There is a nice restaurant in this town that overlooks our mooring location and you may see it in some of the pictures. We had lunch, then ice cream, and then dinner there and it was all good. It would appear that a young couple own this restaurant and do most of the work. The lady taking our orders and seeing to all of our needs as well as many other tables was somehow able to do most everything herself. I don't know who is in the kitchen but I suspect it is just her husband. If you are in Long, we can recommend this restaurant. Its name is Le Comptoir Bleu. 

We visited the castle and it was interesting and enjoyable. I may not recall all the details but it was built in the 1700s, has gone through several owners and sat empty for 25 years. It was purchased and restored in 1964 and then bought 17 years ago by the present owner, a real estate agent, who put a lot of money into it. When he and his wife purchased it,  there was not a single flowering plant on the property. Through his work and with 4 gardeners, the place looks very nice. From the outside, the castle looks grand and large but it is a bit deceptive. 

This is a very swanky pigeon coop from the inside.

Once you are inside, you realize that from front to back there is just one room in depth. We took the tour of the castle (no pictures allowed inside unfortunately) and enjoyed seeing the results of the restoration work that has been needed to bring the rooms back to life. The castle was purchased in 2000 without a single piece of furniture, except for a piano and an automaton (piano player) that the purchasers insisted on keeping. The couple that own the estate live here but we did not see the rooms that they occupy. I particularly like the greenhouses and their location down the slope towards the canal.
  
When our visit was done, we successfully passed the weir to go through the lock so that we could make a U-turn and head back towards Amiens. We stayed one night at our regular mooring site and did some errands in town. 

Barge Date:  18-07-2017

Amiens, France

Our next stop is the city of Amiens. It is best known for its very sculptured and artistic looking cathedral.

We had been warned that there are two mooring locations in the city and that one is to be avoided. The bad boy mooring houses a number of bars, one of which is an English pub. This bar stays open as late as 3 AM. There are stories of the bar patrons coming down to the dock and jumping on boats and doing things that drunk men do. While the location was interesting because of numerous restaurants, we chose to head to the other mooring place.

However things got mixed up very quickly when we arrived at the lock that we needed to go through - with lunch hour approaching- there was a commercial tying up. There was no place for us so we had to do a quick 180 and head back to the first mooring site. The 180 and the mooring at the dock were handled with great expertise (notwithstanding some panic). Once we were tied up, we walked to the nearby quay and had lunch at one of the restaurants along the waterway.

After lunch, it was a hike up the hill to get our first look at the cathedral. Of course, as is the case with all large cities, there is restoration work being done on this church. Nonetheless, the outside and inside of the cathedral were a sight to behold. I will let the pictures speak for the church.

After a quick tour of the downtown area, we returned to the boat and proceeded to move it down the canal to the more appropriate mooring location. And I will note that we were able to get free electric and water.

Every night in the place in front of the cathedral there is a laser light show with the laser colors projected upon the front of the church. The show begins at about 11 o'clock each night and is accompanied by music. Again, let the pictures speak for the show.

Amiens is also the home of Jules Verne and the house he lived in is located in town and is set up as a museum. Marianne wanted to visit and we did and we found it very interesting. Verne was not only a writer but a playwright and a lawyer. His house reflects some of his interest in innovative design.

During our stay, France celebrated it's July 4, which is July 14. We made our way to the site where we were told there would be a parade but it is obvious that the French don't do a parade like we do in the US. There were plenty of dignitaries, politicians and military personnel plus a small military band. Some people received special recognition for acts of heroism and there was a parade of police and firemen. The turn-out of the public was quite small.

After topping up our water supply and washing the barge, we proceeded down river to a location called Samara and tied up at a small pontoon dock with electric and water. We arrived at about 11AM. Just up the path from the boat is a park that has a year round display of archeological items from the region.  Not a draw for me, but for this weekend they had an invasion of Romans, including Caesar. This area was in the thick of things with the Romans wanting to subdue Gaul so it was right that this troupe was on location.

Gladiator fights, chariot races, Roman encampment showing the various trades needed to keep the men fighting. A lot of detail was on display and recounted for the crowd of maybe 1500.  Did not see any raping or plundering.  (See Marianne's Barge Adventure on Facebook for pictures)

The next day, we took in a local castle and old church in Picquigny (the castle is where the treaty that ended the 100-year war was signed). There was a tour of what remains of the castle (dining hall, kitchen, torture chamber, and prison where some knights Templar left traces of their stay on the walls) and the costumed gentleman giving the tour provided detailed information about the castle and the history of France and England over many centuries.

I have to comment that the locks and the mooring sites along the Somme have been the best we have seen in our travels. There has always been electricity and water and the locks have been well managed, painted and operated. Other canals should take note. I wish the phone and Internet in the valley was always good but that has not always been the case.

On to Long.

Remember to look at more pictures on Marianne's Facebook Barge site - search for Barge Adventure

Barge Date: 04-07-2017

Saint Quentin and long run to the Somme

It turns out our mooring location in Saint Quentin is perfect. True, we don't have a bollard as Marianne would like, but our stakes hold us where we want to be.

The train station is just across the way and in one of their large parking lots we see the gathering of

 what we think might be some amusement set-up. That is not the case. This is a gathering of petanque enthusiasts (sometimes just called "balls" enthusiasts). It is some type of tournament and there does not seem to be a lack of players. It starts Thursday night and will continue through Sunday. Perhaps the winners get to go forward and the losers get to go home. But these are serious players and I suspect there is some financial reward for the winners.

Most of the city is on the other side of the canal and we just need to walk up to the bridge to get on Main Street. It is an uphill climb all the way to the center of town and I notice that Marianne is not happy about this. But it's good exercise and I think she needs it. We end up doing a lot of

walking in this city. It and other larger towns we have seen seem to have been able to maintain their downtown look. There are unlimited numbers of stores and boutiques, bakeries, ice cream stores and restaurants to meet the needs of the locals and the visitors.

We check in with the tourist office (aside - my dictation said we checked in with the terrorist office) and take a tour of the city hall and of the architecture of the downtown area. This was an area known for its Art Deco, nouveau art inspired architecture, and we see any number of different forms and shapes. Interesting.

We also find another pawnshop that is selling DVDs for next to nothing and the Hollywood hound is inside going through all of them.

I would have liked to have departed sooner than we did, but Marianne wanted to hear a performance of the big organ in the Basilica. That is only on Sunday at four in the afternoon so we will not be departing until Monday morning. It does give us time to sample more of the local restaurants and ice cream shops.

We also take in a museum of trade-crafts from earlier times. The museum is located in the opposite direction of downtown and we strike off for a walk in a new area of town for us. The museum is in a converted warehouse or manufacturing facility and they have a nice display of the working people of yesteryear - d'antan. Nicely done. Also on display is a large number of motor scooters, motorbikes and small motorcycles. Up until the 60s, the city had a large manufacturing interest producing motorbikes and motor scooters and many of the models from this manufacturing company are on display.

The concert at the Basilica is fine but a bit disappointing as we expected the acoustics of the church coupled with this large organ would produce wonderful sound. Some pieces were better than others and those that tended to be on the loud side seemed more interesting to us. But we did not come away with the overpowering sounds we expected.

The next day, we head south on the Canal Saint Quentin and we make several attempts to stop at smaller towns but the tie up location or the absence of any good mooring facilities keeps us moving ahead until we come to the town of Chauny. What a surprise.

Not a big city but once we entered the town and the commercial section, it seemed to go on and on and on. Much larger than we would have thought. And where in some towns we are disappointed by the lack of even a basic bakery, in this town we see six or seven very fancy pastry shops. (From Marianne: One bakery advertised a special "buy 3 baguettes, get a 4th one free"; guess how many baguettes most people were carrying on the street?)

We saw a store selling appliances and we went in to talk about replacing our small refrigerator. It was purchased used for our boat, does not have a freezer, and the bottom shelves and drawers do not work as they are not part of the original equipment. We want something about the same size but also more energy efficient. We see a unit for about €130 but its energy rating is just a plus. We ask for something a little more energy efficient. The dealer can locate a plus plus but nothing better than that and the price jumps from about €130 to more than €400. We return to town the next day and check another store and the story is about the same. And if we want the more efficient units, it will take too much time and we don't want to wait any more.

The next day we start out not knowing how far we will travel but it turns out to be about 70 km. We leave the smaller canal and head north on the Canal du Nord and we pair up with a commercial that allows us to share locks. Our size and his make for a full lock. We follow him all the way to the intersection with the Canal de la Somme. This is actually our real first destination. We will take some time to explore this valley and learn the history of the Battle of the Somme.

At the juncture of the Somme, we are presented with a sign that says stay away from the left bank and we also see posts driven into the ground. No warning buoys of any color. We assume where the channel will be but as we coast through, we are told by a fisherman that we should have gone around to the other side. This presented no problems for us but did upset the fisherman.

Next, we see a sign telling us that there are no bollards until we reach the first lock. OK, that's fine with us as we know that we will be arriving after the lock is closed. We cruise down the canal at a slow speed and enjoy the somewhat African Queen look of the banks.

At the lock we do not see any bollards at first; we do find them eventually; they are covered with

brush and nettles but we have no second choice so we secure to the port bank and tie up. We certainly cannot get off the boat, so we just relax, have a late dinner and make sure all our lines are proper.

During the night, I get up to check the lines and see that the water level has dropped about 30 cm and I think we are hung up. Nothing to do but go back to sleep and I will check it in the morning. As it turns out, there is no problem. With a bit of wiggling of the boat fore and aft, we are floating.  

From Marianne: At 9am, we expect the lock keepers to arrive and the light to come on, but that is not the case. I call on the VHF radio, no answer; call the local lock number, no answer; call the local programming number and am told they will send someone in 20 minutes and the light will not come on; Tim can stop watching it. The lock men arrive and we pass through and they follow us to our next mooring location. We go through several locks and a couple of lift bridges with these men doing their work. They are pleasant and helpful.They suggest a particular marina further ahead in Cappy so we make that our destination. We are able to tie up and get water and electric and we are next to our Dutch friends (Guust and Ria) from earlier in our travels. They arrived on the Somme much earlier than us and are departing the next day. A very nice facility here in something we would recommend to others. The Capitaine fills us in on the services: internet, electric, water, trash, laundry, showers, some food (nice bakery within walking distance) and he can be a taxi.

We take him up on the taxi and the next day he drives us to the next town (Bray-sur-Somme) for a supermarket, a lunch at a very nice brasserie, a visit to the local museum and a pleasant walk along the "etangs du couchant" (sunset ponds). He provides commentary (in French) on the return and deviates to another town to show us a castle now owned by 2 Brits. Opposite is a restaurant of some renown and maybe we will visit when we return.

I look on Amazon for a small fridge.  Can get a plus plus for a good price and shipping.  Having it shipped to the marina and we will pick it up on our return and the Capitaine will haul away the old.  Now we will see if it saves some electrons.

Back at the barge, I crawl into the very stern of the boat, to the rear of the engine, to get a look at the generator side of our generator/engine combo. I am exploring some changes with the electric system and need the info. from the generator. And since I am there, I begin to sort old "stuff" that I don't think we will ever need and the Capitaine agrees to toss it for us. Next week, I will discover that I need it.

There are problems further ahead on the Somme. Weeds. This is an issue on many canals and is the bane of boaters and canal workers. They must harvest the weeds so that boats can pass and weeds do not end up in the cooling systems. We learn that we may not be able to take the boat to the Atlantic. If that is the case, we intend to take a train to the coast to see what we may see. Stay tuned.

Marianne wants to take a ride on a narrow gauge train system that is set up for tourists.  They also have a museum of old trains.  Narrow gauge systems in France were developed by the French army.  They could be built fast as in some cases the track and ties were pre-assembled.  This size of train system was widely used in WWI by both sides.

The ride is bumpy and it uses a switch back system for going up a steep hill.  On top we can see wheat and beet fields of great size. This is indeed the bread basket of France. Hope the train pictures are of interest in Scipio.

A note about this canal. Well, not so much about the canal but the Somme river. From our entrance

Note the canal and the other water bodies.

on the canal we noted that the river is more of a wide mash land; sometime you see a river but more often you see marshy lowlands and large ponds.  In many cases these ponds seem to be planned as they appear of groups of 10 or so, all the same size. And what we see around these waters are rough cabins or just docks that people have built for fishing or getting away. The number of "camps" is quite large and is obviously bringing commerce into the area.

And since it is nearly 9:30 and the sun is about to set, let me comment on the long days. Love it.

Bonus question - name this grain found growing in a field. Winner gets a free, one day trip on the barge.