Roaming on the Rhone (3)

Hello to you all from the fabulous walled town of Avignon also home to a former Papal Palace.  We've arrived during Theatre Week where the town is buzzing with many walls and shops literally covered with posters and placards advertising various plays, dance and theatrical tasters.

Posters galore in central Avignon

It is still very hot - averaging 37/38C for almost a month - phew!  So without further ado here's the latest exploits from Skipjack & Anchovy:

Sunday 21 July - Cruas to L'Ardoise
Now we're on the majestic Rhone the moorings are less frequent and longer days are the norm so we cast off at 7.30am.  We were not far off our mooring when we were passed by an empty barge speeding along and leaving a big wash.  Nothing unusual in that but to our horror Skipper's beloved A frame started to creak and move - alot!  This had never happened before and we figure that over a period of a few weeks - and in particular from the big barge washes at Valence - it has gradually worked loose.  Skipper jumped to it and lashed the A frame more securely to the strong parts of the boat and tightened the bolts.  We are relieved to report no further movement - gracias a Dios!  Just a reminder to me that the sooner we get to Spain and get the mast up the better.  "Reward" was built to sail with her mast upright - not to motor through canals with a mast strapped onto A frames!

To cheer us on our way we passed another nuclear power station before entering the cavernous Bollene lock which took us down 26 metres in 10 minutes without so much as a ripple - incredible engineering!  So far on the Rhone we've descended approximately 123 metres on approach to the Mediterranean.  After yet another nuclear station and lock and we arrived at L'Ardoise which can loosely be described as a PdP when in fact it was just a halte on an industrial quayside!  But after 8 hours cruising in really stifling heat we couldn't face another 20km to Avignon so we reluctantly moored for the night.  It was like the Bayou backwaters - not quite sure who or what would appear from the other boats moored there.  It reminded us of the film "Waterworld" and were expecting Kevin Costner and other webbed feet folk to appear!

Locks: 3 (215)
Miles: 50 (745)

Monday 22 July - L'Ardoise to Avignon
We were keen to leave the mooring and set off at 9am for a short run to the very loud chirping of what sounded like hundreds of cicadas.  In fact their mating calls have followed us all the way down the Rhone reaching incredible volumes at times - love it though - the sound of a long, hot summer - the soundtrack to our voyage I'll never forget.

I'm pleased to report an uneventful passage to Avignon and civilisation at the other end of our journey.  I guess we're really City folk at heart!  It was great to see Alan and Jacqui on "Splodge" who invited us to moor alongside them while they're away which works out well for us both.  It's quite normal here as the moorings are limited to the quayside as the pontoons with electric and water were washed away in the floods late last year - a reminder of the destructive power of this mighty river even though it's supposedly been 'tamed' by the canalised sections to feed the several hydroelectric power plants.  A reminder to us, too, that the sooner we're off it it the better!  Not far to go now, in fact, as I write Skipper has his head down in the pilot books to plot the final part of our trip through the French waterways to Spain.

Locks: 1 (216)
Miles: 17 (762)

Tuesday 23-Thursday 25 July - Avignon Theatre Week
We took some time out to relax and savour the delights that Avignon has to offer and which is literally buzzing with art and creativity from the many theatre companies advertising their plays and dance shows.  This magnificent walled town is compact - as they were in the 15thC. - built to protect you from the sun.  It is also home to a former Papal Palace and the view over the Rhone is magnificent to include the Papal Vineyards. 

View from Papal Palace over the Rhone and its famous bridge (off centre)

Skipper at the Papal Palace with the quayside moorings in the background

"Flightline" arrived on Tuesday and, like "Reward" and "Splodge" is staying a few days to rest up before the final traverse through the Canal du Sete a Rhone which actually runs parallel with the Mediterranean Sea.  This canal is busy with 'bumper boats', the hire boats skippered by holidaymakers with no experience and no insurance - we'll be giving them a wide berth!  We'll also pass through the Camargue region, famous for its wild white horses and etangs (lakes) full of flamingoes. So, apart from wandering into town for a culture fix over the next day or so that's about it for now.