Rueil-Malmaison to La Villette to Ablon 21-26 April 2023 We started cruising in earnest on Thursday 21st. The first part of the journey was to go past Paris, with a stop to visit an accupunctrist for me. Our first leg was to Rueil-Malmaison, where we had moored a couple of times last year. Sunset from our mooring at Rueil-Malmaison We were heading upstream against a current that we estimated to be about 2 kms/hr. Although we have cruised this stretch of water before, there is always something interesting to see, including birds having a rest on the boat. At Rueil Malmaison, we were pleased to see Caroline and Simon on Pania again. We invited them for drinks as we had promised to do when we next saw them. They were planning to head to La Villette the next day via the Canal Saint-Denis. We had been warned that this was a dangerous route, so were pleased that they offerred to let us know how it went. I had an appointment in Paris to see an accupunturist about my foot, but as we were unable to get a berth in the Arsenal, we hoped that the Canal Saint Denis route would work out, as La Villette is only about 4.5kms north of the Arsenal, and I could easily keep my appointment if we were there. If that didn't work out we would probably stay at Rueil Malmaison for some extra days and catch a train into Paris. Pania leaving for La Villette Friday morning was raining so we did a few jobs around the boat, including moving my office into the Salon, to give me more light and a view, as well as being closer to the wheelhouse on the boat. In the afternoon we went for a cycle, a good try-out for my new bike. There were lovely gardens upstream of the mooring, and downstream there were more leisure activities including a golf course, swimming pool and forest just off the bike path. We also check out the train station in case La Villette didn't work out, and Howard went to the supermarket and bank. After hearing from Caroline and Simon, who had a good passage up the Canal Saint Denis, we decided to follow them and so set off at about 8:45 on Sunday morning. We arrived at the start of the canal at about 11:25 only to see a commercial enter, meaning we had a wait of about 30 minutes before being able to enter the canal. We tied up alongside a gravel barge opposite the lock. We had no problems with the cruise up the canal, although we had to wait at each lock for it to be prepared as we were a little faster entering and exiting locks than the commercial, "Jacot", in front of us. We passed right by the Stade du France, where we will visit later in the year for games of the Rugby World Cup. The last lock for us (lock number 1) was very impressive looking, and was the tallest lock on the canal at almost 10 m. They put us into the smaller lock, which was somewhat overgrown and had all sorts of horrible things in the water including dead fish and a dead ragadon (beaver rat). Luckily I was inside the wheelhouse and missed most of it. Just past the lock you can turn either left for the Canal de l'Ourcq or right for the Canal Saint Martin. We turned right, and after one lift bridge, we were at the Port de La Villette where we easily took a mooring near to Pania. It had taken us 6 hours 45 minutes to get there. We had arranged to go out to dinner with Caroline and Simon so they set off with Howard to find a restaurant, and I followed on my bike to minimise my walking. We had a lovely meal and a good chat. The next day Howard and I did a few jobs in the morning and then biked along the Canal de l'Ourcq, and on our return trip visited the Parc de La Villette which is quite extensive and has the "City of Science and Industry" and the Argonaut submarine. We also had a small ride around le Bassin de La Villette. The next day, Tuesday, we set off at about 11am for my accupuncture appointment. We did a couple of small jobs on the way, then we chained up Howard's bike and he took my e-bike for a spin. Unfortunately I forgot to give him the keys so he was unable to stop and lock it up. So he had a good ride around Paris for an hour or so. My conversation with the accupuncture person was all in French. And he has suggested hot and cold baths for my feet each day to help improve circulation as well as a hot pack for my lower back. We'll see what difference that makes. Caroline and Simon went to Versailles that day. On their return they were walking up the other side of the bassin, and saw a couple of people on their boat. As the gendarmes were there they asked them to help. They came and intereviewed and frisked the two men, who apparently were just relaxing on the boat. The men apologosed and left. Very strange. The bassin at Villette is a lively place with many people walking, running riding and playing boules. But we were warned numerous times that there is also a darker element, with "crack heads" stealing things off boats. On Wednesday we had another long day of cruising, 6 hours and 20 minutes. Firstly we went down the Canal Saint Martin. This has 4 sets of double locks, and a 2 km long tunnel before arriving at the Arsenal Port. On our way through the Arsenal Port we were able to see our expected winter mooring, and a few boats that we knew. We had to wait for the lock for 2 cycles and were instructed to moor alongside a boat to wait. We were able to get a few tips for a winter in Paris from another Australian couple moored nearby while we waited. After leaving the lock at the Arsenal we headed upstream again. This part of the river we travelled along twice last year. We had noticed a few times over the first week that the raw water that runs through the exhaust wasn't running as strongly as usual, but Howard had cleaned it out and we expected it to be OK, but after the 1st lock on the Seine we noticed that the water had stopped altogether and we needed to make an emergency stop. We moored against a rickety pier which had no bollards, and tied up on a structure on the other side of the tow path. We stayed only for 20 minutes until we had resolved the problem. We moored just before the second lock at Ablon, where we had stayed once before. Our trip that day took 6 hours 20 minutes, so we were pleased to have a nice spot for a quiet night.
1 Comment
Viv Blanksby
29/4/2023 12:24:46 am
Wow that looks like a fascinating trip. Hope the acupuncture does the trick,
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