We are staying in a rural gite just a few kilometres from Beaune. Beaune is the centre of the Burgundy wine region and this is a lovely, gentle, easy on the eye region of France.
We went for a big drive today, up and down hills, around vineyards, through tiny hill villages and during our journey we happened across the Canal de Bourgogne. This canal joins up with other canals to the north, providing a continuous inland waterway between Britain, Belgium and the Netherlands, and the Mediterranean. To the south it connects to the Rhone and then to the Mediterranean at Marseilles. To the north it connects to the Marne River and then to the Canal St Martin, through Paris to the Seine and out the Seine mouth to the Atlantic.
We only saw two boats moving on the canal today and both were gi-normous! Much larger than anything on the Canal du Midi, even though the Midi seemed wider than both the Canal de Bourgogne and the locks we saw today.
We caught this huge hotel barge as it approached a very narrow bridge on the canal. It went through with 6 centimetres on each side. Given that all of these canals boats are un-streerable, that was a job well done.
There were six passengers enjoying lunch. We only saw one crew - the captain, but there must have been more.
Big, isn't it?
A bit further along the canal we stopped at a lock and ...
... coming around the bend was another big barge.
So we stood on the bridge over the lock to see if this monster would be able to get through.
The first mate is on the front giving the captain, who is way down the back, hand signals. And what is that big blue thing on the front? It's a bloody SWIMMING POOL!
In the lock, with 2 centimetres to spare on either side.
The captain ties off his rear rope, then turns in his two side mirrors and finally turns his rudder sideways so it is not caught in the lock gates when they close behind him.
The lock keeper has seen it all before.
The lock gates are shut and, at the other end, the lock keeper is letting water into the lock to raise the boat.
The sign says No Go -" except those permitted and bicycles".
There are many locks on this part of the canal and they are still operated mechanically unlike the Midi where all locks are electronic. Mechanical locks mean that you need muscles like the lock keeper above because you have to actually turn the mechanical lever thing to open and close the lock gates. Whereas on the Midi Canal, the gates were operated electrically - all the lock keeper had to do was push the appropriate buttons. I hope there are appropriate pay-rate differences for mechanical vs electrical lock keeping.
There are many locks on this part of the canal and they are still operated mechanically unlike the Midi where all locks are electronic. Mechanical locks mean that you need muscles like the lock keeper above because you have to actually turn the mechanical lever thing to open and close the lock gates. Whereas on the Midi Canal, the gates were operated electrically - all the lock keeper had to do was push the appropriate buttons. I hope there are appropriate pay-rate differences for mechanical vs electrical lock keeping.
The lock keepers move between the locks on bicycles or motor cycles along the path next to the canal.
This boat had seven crew that we saw. On board we saw the captain, the first mate, two female hostesses ( read "slaves") and a chef. There was also a support vehicle on the dock with additional staff, and we saw a young woman get off the boat and ride away on a bicycle. That's seven. There were TWO passengers.
As the boat rose in the lock, two staff took out brooms and scrubbed the scuff marks off the sides.
And off she went. All this, plus a pool, for two passengers. No wonder such trips cost so much, not to mention the carbon footprint (but don't let me get started on that).
No comments:
Post a Comment