SPRING HAS SPRUNG 2011

“Oh what a wonderful world” goes the ever popular song and I am sure it is so true but with the events of the past few weeks, sometimes one has some questions of what on earth is going on.
With winter slowly pulling back its cruel tentacles from the northern hemisphere at last, mother nature has still given us some lessons as though to say she is still fully in charge which has manifested itself by the terrible carnage caused by the terrible earthquake and tsunami in Japan overnight and the shocking earthquake and loss of life in our beloved city of Christchurch plus the battles of the people going on in Libya and other north African countries. Our news sure does not present very pleasant viewing so thank goodness we are living in a quiet and relaxed corner of the earth, at least so far, here in Moissac, south west France.

While we have had to endure the winter weather as expected. It has been so mild compared to the rest of France, Northern Europe and the UK so we are very grateful indeed. With only a couple of snowy storms to bother us we have enjoyed almost windless conditions with nice sunny days and only in the past few weeks have we had to put up with some days of overcast and rainy conditions. Not bad for this time of the year and to off set this the trees have begun to show green tips and blossoms are decking the fruit trees in pink and white which is a magic transitional time.

Rhonda's Comment: The strawberrys are in flower and the lettuce is nearly ready to pick.

With the arrival of a new grandson, Rhys Adam ("Sumo" my nickname for him) born 11 lbs to Michelle and Tom and son Hayden in Auckland on Australian Day (26th January), Rhonda made the epic journey back to New Zealand to spend time with them and friends which was great for her to be able to catch up with so many family and good friends. She was rewarded with a showering of affection from Hayden who she hadn’t seen for 2 years when she made a similar trip back to see them.

The hot weather there wasn’t the best for her but as she was invited to stay with Jock and Julie for a few days during her visit, she was able to make great use of the beautiful swimming pool they have. The kindness of people was amazing as Dave and Lois loaned her their car so she was able to get to see other folks as well as visit Michelle, Tom, Hayden and Rhys every day so a big thanks goes to those folk plus to our oldest friends Daphne and Claude who made her feel so welcome out at their home on the magic island of Waiheke which is a must for any visitors to Auckland to travel out on the ferry to see.

Rhonda's Comment: The cruise ships lined up in Auckland.

Rhonda's Comment: Evening drinks on Daphne and Claude's balcony.

As it is such a haul and due to the need to stopover in Dubai on her way home Father Christmas shouted her a 2 day stopover package there to take in the sights and marvels of this almost space age city. She thoroughly enjoyed it so much she has almost convinced me that we should go there some day for a holiday but we will see.

Rhonda's Comment: The iconic sights of Dubai - that's not me on the camel either!!!

While she was away Harry and I batched onboard and did well really with looking after ourselves along with enjoying some wonderful meals and company being invited to other folks boats during the three week break. People in the “Long Village” as we call the cruising community ensure that lame ducks like me seem to get well looked after so to all those who kindly fed and watered me, I say a big, Thank You.

Slowly as spring progresses a number of boat owners are returning from their winter nests such as homes in the UK or wherever with lots of stories of how they got through the coldest winter in history so we are so glad we weren’t there, but it is nice to catch up with them anyhow.
The odd boat has already cast off for an early start to the cruising season with the canals opening in early March once the maintenance schedule had been completed by the marine authorities V.N.F. Prior to this the canals were all but drained in many areas so work could be effected on lock gates (Ecluses) so it was fascinating to see how little water was left to allow the passage of fish plus to give us a proper view of how shallow the canals can be even when filled with water.

If you have two meters in depth you are sure lucky so one now understands why yachters who traverse from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic Ocean using the canal system rather than going out via Gibraltar and then facing the notorious Bay of Biscay conditions, stick to the middle of the canals much to others annoyance but they can’t always get off the middle without running aground. Often we used to see yachts with a sign attached to the bowsprit saying 1.8 or so on which was their way of telling you that they needed at least this much water to be able to transverse the area and sometimes they would pull up and ask if they could tie up alongside us as they couldn’t get berthed against the bank due to the need for a decent depth of water.

Rhonda's Comment: Don't leave us Iain and Kaz. As they are the Captainerie's they better come back!

We have driven to Toulouse a couple of times to visit the V.N.F. dry-dock where we have booked “Somewhere” into to have her bottom pressure washed, renew the anodes if necessary and then have the hull blackened which will be interesting for sure. We met the contractor who does the work and sure seems to know what to do so that is a comfort. We have never seen what she is like below the water line so fingers crossed we haven’t damaged her when we have run aground which has happened a couple of times. The attached photos give an idea of what this is like and as we can stay aboard while she is in there for 10 days approx we will be able to look more closely at this large city and hopefully be able to do the tour of the Airbus factory which is on the outskirts of the city.

Rhonda's Comment: This is where we will be on 12th April.

During fine winter weather I have been able to carry out minor repairs and to touch up the paintwork and will do some more while in dry-dock hopefully so “Somewhere” is all ‘flashed up’ for the arrival of our cruising visitors for this season. It is our intention to cruise this bottom end and to explore some less known areas and will take time off the boat to say travel by road to Bordeaux on the west coast and visit some other towns and cities on the Atlantic sea board.

Rhonda's Comment: This is in the grounds of the Abbey here in Moissac.

We are looking forward to having some Auckland folks onboard with us this year, Jenny and her cousin will join us in Toulouse for a few days which will set the cruising season off to a fine start. This will be followed by our old mates Daphne and Claude who have visited us each summer since we started cruising and will be with us for a couple of weeks. Also from Auckland will be Valerie and Derek so the wineries and food outlets better stand by at least.

Well as you can gauge from the lack of exciting news in this blog, the past few months have been very easy so we wait to see what the new cruising season brings. With Spring springing, waters flowing again and engines turning over ready to be set to work I will close for now wishing you all the very best and will report as soon as we have news of another step along in our great adventure.

A NEW YEAR BEGINS ON THE CANALS

Christmas to 30 January 2011

Following a relaxed but really enjoyable Christmas Day which consisted of the usual cooked breakfast and exchange of gifts, we had agreed with two other couples to share Christmas Dinner duties so Celia and George from “Snow Goose” prepared an entrée of prawns and lots of nibbles and Rosy and David off “Suki” cooked a magic main course of chapon (large fowl) with all the vegetable trimmings while Rhonda and I did the desserts of mince tarts, chocolate log ice cream etc plus Celia added her special plum pudding which was entering its first birthday from storage. Everything was really delicious. This was followed by a range of delightful cheeses etc. What a great meal and as usual I have to admit we probably all ate far too much but it was so enjoyable and one we shall remember for a long time. So much better than going off to a restaurant which was what we had originally planned to do.

After a good sleep like over stuffed hibernating bears we walked with Harry along the canal to try to push back the effects of that great meal.

Well as they say, “time waits for no man” and how true this is and also how time slips by faster and faster every year so the New Years Eve get together at the port of Moissac was a focal point for about 12 couples who are staying at the marina as winter over residents and who gathered on Tom’s hotel barge “Easyvie” to celebrate this event. It was a beaut night of celebrating, eating and of course drinking plus we were entertained by folk singing along led in the main by George off “Snow Goose” and his dulcet tones were a leader for all particularly when singing My Way.

Rhonda's Comments: We had two guests of honour at the New Year's Eve Party - William and Kelly (should be Kate, I reckon).

At the magic time of midnight we were led into the Auld Lang Syne by a Scotty foursome who sounded out loud and clear so a really nice night was had by all. Most of us managed to stay erect which was an achievement on its own considering the amount of liquid refreshments consumed on this special evening. With the New Year celebrations now behind us we can look forward to the rest of this winter followed by a whole new cruising season.

Since the start of the year we have enjoyed most unseasonable weather by all accounts. No wind, little rain and only a slight snow drop on one day which was gone by early afternoon. It has been cold at times for sure but we have also enjoyed temperatures as high as 18 and lows to 5 below at night but nothing like what they have had in the north of France and of course Europe and the UK. I guess we can still get a change but we will take this milder weather any time that Mother Nature wishes to give it to us.

As we haven’t moved “Somewhere” since berthing up here in October, life has been at a much slower pace and in some ways we have been similar to the bears and have enjoyed a lot of hibernating or similar. Odd jobs get done but due to the outside cold, painting is really out of the question but I have drained the residue in the bilges using a borrowed Wet Vac which was just great, varnished a panel in the hall, valeted the engine room, cleaned and polished whatever needed doing and to be honest very little else.

We were forced into buying another car as the Citroen finally gave signs that it could self destruct at any time through all its electrical faults and transmission leaks so after getting a quote for €1300.00 to repair the main fault, we felt we should move on to another unit but wouldn’t you know it, we bought a Renault privately and it too has problems which are being attended to as I write this. Talk about being a dummy when it comes to buying second hand cars is concerned, I have to take the prize I guess but I am very angry that people are so ready to rip others off but as they say “let the buyer beware” so hope I have learned a lesson for all time now. God help the next seller that tries to sell me something as I am sure whatever it is will get the most thorough grilling and going over before I hand over any cash.

Well the car has been returned and seems to be just fine so fingers and legs crossed for the future. Since getting it back we have done some visits to other towns in the region and still rate this area as our favourite as it is so pretty and interesting with great farmlands and forests and wineries and orchards all on clean rolling country and plains.

Some photos of the areas visited are included in this blog which only just give the reader an idea of what is on offer. Even though it is the heart of winter it is still lovely. No wonder that so many English folk move to this region to retire and none I have spoken to have any regrets at all.

We have always wondered about the huge amounts of orchards which are now espaliered for mechanical picking but are also covered with white netting which we are told protects the fruit from bird strike and hail storms. There are thousands of hectares grown under cover like this. So similar to the way grape vines are being protected back in New Zealand but we sure aren’t used to it being strung out over the trees which are growing up to 5 meters so as you will see by the photos just how much of a structure is needed to support the trees and to carry the mesh. I would think you would need a big bank balance to be able to afford such protection but perhaps the French government is still dishing out subsidies like confetti.

During the cruising season we met a lovely couple, Pat and Malcolm Hipple who live in the outskirts of Moissac so we agreed to meet up when we were next in port. After them visiting us onboard in October they kindly asked us to visit them at their home. This we did and found that they had built themselves a beautiful home with delightful gardens up on the hills behind Moissac. Both of them are accomplished artists and they proudly hang some of their works. Pat uses paints and Malcolm with pencils and ink. The photo above is one of Pat's works and due to her ability she has been commissioned on serveral occasions to paint people's pets and animals. Malcolm's pen and ink works are of the highest quality and would grace any lounge wall. We live in envy of people with skills like they have.

As we were to celebrate our wedding anniversary last week, Rhonda had heard of a well rated restaurant some 30mins drive out of Moissac, so as it was a gorgeous day we set off for another cross country drive and eventually found this restaurant called Aubergue de Bardigues. It was the only commercial operation in this tiny country village and when we arrived it was empty and in fact looked deserted so fearing the worst we gingerly entered only to be really welcomed by the proprietor and his wife and chef and as they had seen us walking about outside with Harry, insisted we should bring him in too.

The restaurant was modern and tastefully decorated and as soon as we sat at our allocated table, water was brought for Harry and we were talked through the menu in very good English by the wife. We had a delightful meal with great service and no, we weren’t the only ones there as by the time we had our entrees, the restaurant had filled with folk from all over. It seated around 100 people so just as well we did book. Rhonda and I kept wondering that if a restaurant like this stuck so far out in the “wop wops” as we say in New Zealand and was so well patronised, why can’t so many others follow suit rather than sit with empty tables every day.

January has been a great month weather related and apart from a couple of rain showers, the sun has kept shining, the wind has been only a light breeze and the temps have varied from 3 below in the early morning to 20 degrees one day. This did not stop a skin of ice creeping along from the closed lock gates however, so with the lower water levels the canal took on a whole new look. This ice only lasted for a few days before melting away and everything returned to normal, however, we are advised that the full water flow will not restart until the 3rd March so just as well we are in this “pound” and port until then.

Also last week we were visited by a company with their state of the art rubbish removal boat so as there isn’t a lot to gain attention at this time of the year this event became a real attraction for the locals and the “boaties”. The rig was craned into the canal and with due attention from the local officials and mayor etc, it proceeded to sweep the canal with its special net showing how easy floating rubbish could be cleared which would be great but at a cost of €50,000.00 per craft I can’t see too many local councils or VNF’s buying one.

There are parts of the canal which have been closed off so the VNF marine authorities can do maintenance work on the banks etc leaving just a small creek in the centre to keep the fish alive and to stop the water becoming stagnant etc.

Rhonda's Comment: Hello there, Kaz, Ziggy, Irene and Iain. Out for an early morning walk down by the Tarn River.

We drove to Toulouse last week (3 days by boat and 1 hour by car) to where we will get the boat into a dry dock so that we can inspect the bottom and have her water blasted and re-blackened and anodes replaced if need be, so that will be an exciting start to our cruising season in April but as usual here in France, while we spoke to the VNF office and asked for a firm booking date, the contractor who carries out the blacking and so on has failed to give us a confirmed date despite promises to do so. With 2 follow up phone calls from us seeking that news, it is like the old army saying “Hurry up and wait” so that is what we will just have to do.

OK, there are some tiny signs of spring coming so we wait expectantly for the first bud burst but it cannot be too far away. In the meantime we say farewell for now wishing you all, kind regards and great boating for those lucky enough to be out on the great waterways of this country and we look forward to meeting up with so many of you over the next cruising season and to meeting so many more great folk as we travel along. To those who aren’t lucky enough to do as we have done, oh well good luck and enjoy the dreaming.

Talk to you soon.

Regards Ken, Rhonda and Harry

We do have a Postscript: We have become grandparents again. Rhys Adam Kelly was safely delivered by c-section on 26th January (Australia Day) weighing in at a very respectable 5.05kgs (11lbs)!!!!! Michelle, Tom and brother Hayden are all doing well.

CHRISTMAS PREPARATIONS IN MOISSAC

November/December 2010

Time moves on its never-ending manner and we are now surely into the cool part of the year with temperatures falling a little more each day. From mid 20's about 3 weeks ago we are now down to 10 degree days, so it is out with the winter coats, gloves, hats and scarves plus the winter sheets are on the bed and we have bought an electric blanket too, so it is not only a sign of the seasons but a sign of age increase as well.

We are, however, so grateful to be in this town to enjoy a relatively busy atmosphere due to the number of shops which are open for business and peoples activities.
While it is full-on in most of the Western world with Christmas shopping adverts filling TV screens and shop windows, here in France nothing apparently happens until the first of December which is great really in so many ways unless you are trying to buy decorations like Christmas lights. No Carol singing or street lighting yet.

Today I lit the log burner for the first time this season which is so effective in heating the boat and I have to say that the fact that I had added an extension to the chimney, the fire seemed to burn cleaner and hotter than previous so may it be the sign of a new improved system as judging by the weather forecast we will need good heating.

We were invited out for dinner the other evening to an English couples home right here in the centre of the town. Howell and Maria had bought this old, fairly dilapidated 3 storey house probably built in the 17 or 18 hundreds, some months ago and as Maria is a very skilled interior designer and Howell a great organiser, they have transformed this place into a beautiful modern home with all the creature comforts one could wish for. We were treated to a great evening of food, wine and music and lots of laughs which was so good then we wobbled off home to “Somewhere” being led by Harry (thank goodness that he knew the way).

All of this came about following our visit to the Remembrance Day service at the local cenotaph along with about 100 French people where Rhonda and I stood with our Australian and New Zealand flags paying tribute to our fallen from all wars when Maria and Howell came over to us as we seemed to be the only English speaking folk there. Afterwards we had a coffee and a chat with them and agreed to catch up, hence the dinner invite. It is wonderful how friendly people are in this part of the world.

Apparently there are a number of English folk who have either bought new or existing homes in this area or have taken on projects like Maria and Howell have done which further endorses the claim that Moissac is one of the most popular towns in France for ex pats to retire to.

Today, the 28th November, we awoke to about 50 mm of snow coating everything and it was very pretty and Christmassy if you like that sort of thing. The snow lasted most of the day and was followed the next day by real cold which confirmed the early winter which had swept the UK and other parts of Europe was certainly reaching right down to here much to my disgust and to the local’s surprise. Apparently we are told that this weather is not due until late January or early February if at all. Oh well it is something we can’t do anything about except to keep warm and enjoy.

We arranged to buy a steyr (about a cm3) of firewood at a cost of €65.00, cut into 300mm lengths, oak and poplar mixed to keep the log burner going as we are advised that it could be a long cold winter ahead. A couple of trips in the car to the woodman saw us with our firewood all bagged or stowed in the bow locker onboard. Now it is my job to split it so that it fits into our little log burner but the resultant fires are a delight on these freezing cold nights and day time temperatures. Having just said that, today the temps rose to 18 degrees as a thaw swept across us from the Mediterranean and it is supposed to stay this way for the next few days so fingers crossed.

Rhonda's Comment: This sweet little dog was seen at the markets, it was not "For Sale" but had to sit beside his owner all morning!!!!

We had our old barge mates Iris and Grahame contact us to see if they could come and stay for a few nights as they had just sold their boat and were doing the rounds of contacts made over the past few years before they return to Australia via the UK early in 2011. They have had 5 years on Manatee and have sure covered some mileage in France, Holland, Germany and Belgium. They have a wealth of knowledge on all of the related canals and towns and ports along the way so if you require advice or assistance at any time contact us and we can forward on your request to them.

While they were with us we guided them on a day out tour visiting some of the nearby towns and country sides which took us out to the well known city of Cahors which is sited on the banks of the upper Lot River which was in fairly full flush making the idea of boating upon it quite scary, hence their navigation period is fairly limited to the height of summer only. On through some fantastic rolling country side which is predominantly used to grow grapes and other fruit including Kiwi.

After visiting small towns along the Lot River Valley, we climbed to the top of the escarpment some 100 metres above to view what can only be described as breathtaking scenery of the jewel of the valley below and then to have it all capped off by finding this medieval hamlet perched on a peak and hanging off the sides of the rock face and harbouring a couple of little shops and restaurants. The “roads” through this hamlet were like mule tracks and I don’t know how the locals transverse them really as heavy snow lay in the lanes and on the roofs even at 3.00pm on a sunny day. Some photos of this magic sight, St-Cirq Lapople are included in the blog and while I do apologise for the quality of them the scenery was too beautiful to not include.

We have found since our visit that it is rated so well as an artisan resort and must be fabulous to visit in summer. The whole valley below is easily accessible and offer nice camping grounds and boating launch facilities etc for those few months when navigation is possible.

After Iris and Grahame had moved on we took another trip to Buzet our favourite wine supply town about an hours drive from Moissac to see our pals Louise and Alex who had just returned from a trip to the UK and where they had purchased good old pommie foods and even an electric blanket for us. We stayed the night on board “Riccall” with them enjoying a great evening meal and a few drinks I might add.

We also took the opportunity to call on a German couple, Herman and Ulla who are also wintering over in Buzet. Our conversations are somewhat limited due to our poor understanding of their language but they make a big effort with English so we get by and do enjoy a lot of laughs as Herman is a funny man once he lets loose and is just another one of the things which makes barging such a delight as you get to meet so many people along the way with similar interests.

Rhonda's Comment: "Somewhere" looks beautiful - please note Santa up the mast.

Well life back in Moissac has slowed down except everybody is scrambling to get their Christmas shopping completed and the street lights and decorations have all been put up and the town looks lovely. At the port around 10 of us boaters put up strings of coloured and flashing lights around and over our boats as there is an annual contest with prizes being donated by the owners and Mayor who comes to judge followed by food and mulled wine at the Capitanerie’s office etc. Well due to some corrupt voting practise, we missed out on any prize so drank their wine, ate their food and came home with our tales between our legs. There is no justice !!!!!!! Just wait until next year.

Harry had to go to the vet for his annual check-over which he just loves (yeah right) and apart from some minor ear infection he checked out fine so next he was off to the Toilettage (dog groomer) which he also just loves, however, he looks good so is nice and neat for Christmas. Now we have to put his jacket on him when it is particularly cold until his hair grows a bit but he sure moves quicker I am sure.

Well, we have mailed off all our Christmas cards and received a lovely display in return. (For those who haven’t mailed us yet, late arrivals will be accepted) Ha ha. Now all we have to do is hope that Santa knows where we are.

Rhonda's Comment: As seen at last week's market - who said legs don't look good in stockings.

French Oddities worth noting:

1/ It seems that all over the world, chips are referred to as French Fries but in France they are called Frites.

2/Fifteen or so years ago roundabouts were an oddity on
France’s roads but since then they are the traffic controller of choice. There are thousands of them and even in the smallest village of a few hundred residents you may encounter 5 or 6 roundabouts.

3/Post offices which are still government controlled are another of those ‘socialist’ institutions where there is no rush or effort to help minimise waiting queues. There may be 30 customers standing in line with only one person serving and yet they may well choose to stop everything to take a personal phone call or to chat to a person they know and will ignore everyone else.

4/ The love of paperwork or form filling also amuses us with Insurance Companies seeming to be the worst of all and despite the fact you may hold a policy through the ABC Company taken out in City Big it does not mean that the same named company in City Small will accept anything to do with your policy or even accept payment for renewal as they appear to be franchised so operate quite separately.

Well, today is the shortest day in the northern hemisphere so the longest night is soon to fall upon us, so I will away as I don’t want to miss out on the opportunity to get an extra few hours sleep.

Merry Christmas, Joyeux Noel and a sincere best wish for 2011
Kindest regards to all

Ken, Rhonda and Harry