We have barging friends who have told us they don’t make plans – only aspirations.
We left Paris on June 1 – two months later than we usually begin cruising. Mainly because we wanted to enjoy Paris at that time of year – after the rainy season. In the one month since we have been back on the water, we have seen three of our aspirations evaporate – probably quicker than the water in the canals.
Plan One (before we told ourselves to stick to aspirations) was to head to the Marne after leaving Paris. Our first attempt on the Marne ended prematurely in 2023 when our engine-start batteries died. We were “this shy” of making it to Chalôns-en-Champagne. We were stranded at a wild mooring with no way of getting new batteries delivered. Full details can be seen in Chapter 203 of this webpage.
So this year, we were determined to finish our voyage on the Marne – and meet up with the French couple who rescued us by delivering batteries to Aleau. And then we realized we had made the fatal mistake of calling it a plan. An AvisBat (A Notice to Mariners on the French inland waterways) informed us that a stretch of the Marne was closed. The VNF said it was fixing the problem. But it would be too late for us. We needed to find another aspiration. We did. Then another AvisBat found us. This time, a broken lock and another broken aspiration.
Fortunately for us, we had set no deadlines for this year. In 2023, after finally getting new engine-start batteries, we had to rush to get Auxerre for the DBA Rally. Luckily, we made it on time. (See Chapter 204.) It was a wonderful get-together. Jeannie and I are glad we didn’t miss it.
Last year, flooding in Paris delayed our departure by more than a month. We had to rush to the Netherlands where we were booked into a shipyard. We were there for the entire summer. (See Chapters 251-260.) And then we had to rush back to Paris – arriving there in October a full month later than planned. But still having to pay for September’s mooring. (Unfortunately, the chapters describing the return to Paris have yet to be written. Stay tune, they will be. Eventually. At least that is my “aspiration.”)
This year, we are “going with the flow” – be it upstream or downstream. With two plans or aspirations scuttled, we are now on our third. Well just part of our third. A notice from the VNF tells us that Part 2 of Aspiration 3 is no longer possible. The Canal Entre Champagne et Bourgogne is now closed. Our hoped-for trip on the Canal du Rhône au Rhin to Mulhouse via the Canal Entre Champagne et Bourgogne is now impossible.
So, onto another aspiration… Follow the Somme to its end. Since it’s a dead-end – unless we want to cross the Channel to England – we have to do it one way, then turn around go back the other way.
As I write this, July 1 – Canada Day, we are moored in Amiens on the Somme. We had a lovely dinner and picked up some groceries. That’s it. While the city looks gorgeous (from what we could see on our way to and from the restaurant last night), we will not be going out to explore. Not during this heat wave. The temperature has been in the high 30s.
We are grateful that Aleau has an air-conditioner and that there is a borne we can plug into, €1/hr. We will stay here for a few nights and hope that the temperature drops enough that we can get out and see the city.
The rest of the summer is… Unknown is the best description. We plan to go to the end of the Somme, to Saint Valery-sur-Somme. We will then have to retrace our route back to the Canal du Nord. We have to go to the chandlery in Compiegne to buy a light-bulb. A couple of days of barging just to get a light-bulb! But it’s for our anchor light (also called a mooring light) at the top of our mast. We don’t like the idea of mooring in unlit areas without it. Besides, the law says it’s illegal to moor without it on in unlit areas. Until we can replace the bulb, we’ll spend the night with our navigation lights on. When it is a part for a boat, it can’t be found at a local hardware store. That would make life – at least barging life – too easy, A major detour just to get a light-bulb but we have no choice.
From Compiegne, we really only have two options. We could head south on the Oise – but that’s the route we took heading north. The other option, the aspiration for now, is to the Aisne, the Canal Latéral à l’Aisne, and the Canal de l’Aisne à la Marne. That would take us to Reims and a glass of bubbly. After all Reims (pronounced like France without the F) is the Champagne capital of the world. After Reims, we’ll stop in Chalôns-en-Champagne. And deal with another dashed aspiration.
Since the route we had planned to take after Chalôns-en-Champagne, the Canal Entre Champagne et Bourgogne, is closed, we will take the only option available.
Our plan (if I dare use that word) is to cruise the Marne all the way to where it joins the Seine. Back in 2023, we were so close to completing our voyage on the Marne (in the other direction) when our engine batteries died. This year, we’ll make it. At least that is our aspiration. It will give us a chance to meet up with the couple who rescued us when our batteries died and treat them to dinner.
When we reach the Seine, we’ll turn left. We’ll continue on it until turning right onto the Loing. (Three days, if we don’t rush.) We’ll go as far at Morêt-sur-Loing – just two kilometres after we turn off the Seine . We’ve stayed at the lovely marina there a number of times. There’s an excellent crêperie on the bridge over the Long. And the best patisserie in France that I’ve found is on the edge of town.
We need to be back in Paris by mid-September. Those are our latest aspirations. They are subject to change.
This just in… Another aspiration has died. The VNF has just told us it has discovered cracks in the roof of a tunnel on the Marne. While it’s only the tunnel that is closed – indefinitely – it means for us the entire Marne is closed. Aspiration Number Four is no longer possible. That leaves us only one way to get back home. Fingers crossed. In the following chapters, you’ll be able to read what, in spite of closures, we were able to do.