We set out for Herental on Friday morning. It was drizzly misty morning when we set out. We had to go through one lock, before turning onto the Albert Canal. A large commercial was approaching behind us so we slowed to let them pass. The Albert canal is quite busy but very wide so not scary at all. We waited a a pair of bridges just before Herentals as it was narrow and they were travelling at 10-15 kms an hour. Then into Herentals lock and up to our delightful mooring on the outside of the jatchhaven (marina). The weather had turned into quite heavy rain. By the time we arrived Howard was soaked, so we decided to spend the rest of the day on the boat. Howard had a shower, and the value on the hot water leaked again, so we turned that off and Howard called a plumber who said he would come over in the evening. We stayed the rest of the day on the boat, only leaving for a drink at the cafe at the jachthaven, about 30m from the boat. On Saturday morning we went for a walk around the town. After the many gorgeous Flemish towns we have seen, this was was pretty forgettable. Most of the day we spent again at the Jachthaven. The haven is a small rectangle with a narrow entrance. It would have been quite tricky for us to enter and exit so we were happy with our spot outside. Howard went for a fish off the boat. There were plenty of other fisherman around. In the evening we decided to go down to see the bridge. One of the lock keepers had told us that the canal would be closed from Saturday night until Monday morning as they were assembling a new bridge. It seemed that many locals had also come to see as the adjacent bridge had many people on it. It was fascinating to watch as they handled a barge with two bridge pieces and another barge with a gigantic crane, whilst very slowly manoeuvred the bridge piece into place. We got home after midnight after watching them get the first piece into place. We came back the next morning and saw that the two pieces that had been on the barge were in place. I assumed they were having a break while waiting for the larger central pieces to arrive. It was very interesting and an unexpected outing.
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AuthorWe are sharing stories about and travels on our barge Moondance. Archives
August 2023
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