Haute Sambre 22-30 July We had a lovely week in France on the Haute Sambre with our crew John and Deanne despite record hot weather. Howard was on a steep learning curve as he had to take over all the tricky helmsman duties that I usually do like getting into narrow locks and along windy narrow rivers. But after a few mishaps on the way upstream, he was much improved on the way back down. We went into France on Monday the 22nd and stayed at Hautmont. John had lost a crown on the previous Friday night, but I was unable to find a dentist in their office - most seemed to be on holiday. So I got help from the captain of the marina who called maybe 15 dentists before giving up. But luckily one called back later so John was able to get his tooth fixed on Tuesday morning before we left. With my broken arm I stayed on the boat while the others looked around on Monday, but did look at the town on Tuesday morning. It was a nice one and I spoke to the harbour captain about possibly wintering there another year, possibly moored alongside Lyneve. We originally planned to go to Berlaimont on Tuesday but when we saw de Vrouwe Anna Maria with our friends Charles and Judy aboard moored at Pont-sur-Sambre we decided to moor alongside them. It was quite hot (34 C) so Howard went for a swim, and the rest of us had a lazy afternoon. The next morning we had a look around the town. The temperature on Thursday was even hotter (37C), so we only went a short distance to a wild mooring where there were some dead arms of the river. Although Howard and John did swim, we mostly sat on the back deck and dosed it (and occasionally ourselves) with water to keep the temperature down. Howard went for a bike ride to get supplies. In the cooler morning Howard had a fish, I had a walk around, and Deanne and John went for a bike ride. We then set off for Landrecies. It was forecast to get to 39C and felt at least that, so when we arrived, after setting up the canopy on the back deck we took chairs etc into the shade of some trees on the grassy bank and John, Deanne and I had a lazy afternoon. Howard said he would pop around the corner to the supermarket, and when he finally returned much later than expected, we found he had actually gone for a bike ride as well. In that heat, we thought he was crazy. The top number is the temperature on the back deck, the bottom was temperature in the shade of the trees so we eventually returned to the boat and threw water on the deck and used the outside shower on ourselves. It was very very hot. A pity the water didnt look clean enough for a swim. In the cooler time next morning we had a look around the town, where they were setting up for a festival on the weekend. Landrecies is the last navigable town on the river, at least for now, so we set off back the way we had come. It was a bit cooler (forecast 34 C), and we headed to Berlaimont. On arrival the others went for a bike ride to the large nearby town Aulnoye-Aymeries and I had a quiet afternoon. In the morning we had a look around the pretty town of Berlaimont. The day was quite pleasant in the morning, but the much needed rain soon set in. We travelled towards Maubeuge, where we expected to catch up with our friend Tim. But when we stopped for lunch Tim called and joined us for lunch before cycling back to Maubeuge again on his motor bike. We had a lovely meal at an Italian restaurant with Tim, who stayed in a nearby hotel. In the morning after a lovely cooked breakfast, Deanne and I went for a walk around town, where there are some well preserved city walls from Vauban's time. John went for a ride, and Howard and Tim worked out how he could meet up with us for at least part of our journey. Tim drove to Merbes-le-Chateau in Belgium where we planned to spend the night and caught a taxi back to Marpent to join us for the remainder of the trip. The mooring at Merbes-le-Chateau was pretty, and we were surprised to catch up with Charles and Judy again. We had a nice walk around the town, and then were amused by some locals trying to do some magnet fishing. The magnet got caught and they used many methods to get it unstuck including trying to pull it out with their car (at one point the car was facing a wall when they tried). When the rope broke they borrowed our boat hook to pick it up. Eventually they gave up, but said they'd be back tomorrow. Tim then strolled down, and using brains instead of brawn was able to retrieve the magnet. Later the owners returned and were happy, but amazed that Tim had got it back without going for a swim. Our final day of cruising with John and Deanne took us back to Lobbes were I had an appointment at the hospital. After waiting over 2 hours my cast came off and I need to come back in 2 weeks to see if I am ready to start rehab. As soon as I returned to the boat I had a nice shower. John and Deanne headed off for the next part of their adventure in the morning. Thanks to John Muntz who provided many of the photos for this blog post.
1 Comment
Sue Veal
1/8/2019 06:39:11 pm
So glad your cast is off Deb. Must have been unbearable in heat!
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