Ieper BE, Bergues FR, Roeslare BE 8-12 April 2022 As promised, Davy and his son Willem visited the boat on Friday to install the new Kabola central heating boiler. After a long day, it was installed, making the boat comfortable again. Unfortunately he wouldn't have time for the other few jobs we needed doing until Tuesday, so we were still unable to start cruising. But that didn't stop us from having a few more adventures. On Friday, Claudio, Davy's colleague was sick so he wasn't able to get as much done on the boat as he wanted. He and his son Willem though were able to remove the old boiler (above left) and install the new one (above right). It was a long job as the exhaust etc had to be adjusted to fit the new boiler. The new combi boiler also has an on-demand hot water system which had to be connected up to the pump etc and our old storage hot water system removed. As well as on-demand hot water we now have more room in the engine room. Davy was unable to source the exhaust pipe for the boiler locally so his wife brought one down from Nieuwpoort in the evening and they finally finished the job at about 8:30pm. Unbelievably, after that he was off to another job in Bruges. In the afternoon I had a few errands to run in town and saw a couple of sites in town. On Saturday we had a few jobs to do around the boat and in the afternoon we headed up to the town ramparts where there was a street performers festival. Although it was cold, it was mostly sunny, so a good day for the event. There were installations around town and roving performers, as well as stages set up at various points for scheduled performances. We only saw bits and pieces of a couple of performances, but enjoyed roaming around on our bikes to see what was going on. This dragon took on board about 5 young children and then meandered up the street. After a while he stopped with a bang and lowered his tail to let the children slide down, and new batch climb up along a rope (sometimes with a bit of help). It was delightful to watch. A few of the installations Performers The last thing we watched was the Wonder Walks. A couple wandered around with a cart which produced bubbles much to delight of the watching crowd, especially the kids. On Sunday we drove our hire car to Bergue, a lovely French town about 40 minutes away. Here we found there was also a festival going on which we were told was an agricultural festival. As it is a small town with narrow streets it was full to the brim. We parked outside and cycled in but found we mostly had to walk. We then cycled around the city walls, which was great. After a simple chacuterie lunch at a restaurant overlooking the canal, we did a bike ride to another nearby fortification which was deralict, and cycled back to the car through the forest. Unfortunatley Howard had a puncture and had to walk his bike the last kilometre or so back to the car. On Monday the weather was starting to improve (the first day for a while that I didn't wear thermal underwear). We went to Roeslare, about 30 minutes drive away. After a quick stop to pick up a new inner tube for the folding bike, we went to a very interesting cycling museum. Then we drove to Rumbeke castle for lunch. The restaurant in the old gatehouse had a great view of the castle. Deb has Salmon with white asparagus, Howard had prawns in a cream sauce. Both meals were lovely. Howard then went to change the inner tube on the bike and found it was the wrong size. But after a quick trip back to the shop we were finally able to set off on the "Monument Route", published by the tourist information. It was fairly well sign posted, but we did miss a couple of turns. The route was advertised at 25 kms, but we only did about 15kms before returning to the car. We had a pleasant ride through the suburbs, but didn't see many monuments. On Tuesday, Davy and Willem came to do the final few jobs. And we were able to start up the engine. Howard was very happy it started third time after not being used for 2.5 years. So everything is ready and we plan to head off tomorrow morning. YAY!!! Davy will visit us in Veurne on Thursday evening to drop off the new generator battery and spare water filters for our new filteration unit. The new filteration unit means the water from our storage tank is now safe to drink and we don't need to purchase and carry lots of bottled water from the supermarket. William, Freddy (harbour master) and Davy One benefit of the delay was that I could again visit the doctor at the local hospital, as the medication he had prescribed hadn't made any difference. I am still in pain if I walk a bit on my foot, which means most days I am icing my foot at the end of the day and am cycling in preference to walking as much as possible. The Doctor looked again at my foot and was unable to find any swelling or problems. His suggestion is to get a supportive insert to put inside my shoe (which I know will put more pressure on the area which is hurting). After I questioned him, he thought that I wasn't damaging my foot further by walking on it, but that pain was advertising a problem, and I should be careful. So no immediate solution, but I will get the insert and use it if I can without too much pain.
4 Comments
John Cape
13/4/2022 05:53:18 am
Wow! Thanks for sharing. Wonderful trip!
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13/4/2022 11:17:12 am
Enjoying your blogs. All the problems and delays are hopefully behind you now. Deb a podiatrist is the person you need. Often seen in high street here, a pharmacy can direct you. Hope it improves soon. X
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Pamela Dalgliesh
14/4/2022 10:30:51 am
Hi Deb and Howard. Love hearing of your exploration and what your seeing in these small towns!!!
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Karen Melchior
15/4/2022 08:03:01 am
Deb and Howard, Incredible photos and your daily journeys and adventures are marvelous to behold! Thanks for sharing with us! Looking forward to seeing you in August!
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