The day, in Jake’s world started at 5:57 today. I’m no longer tired and boy am I hungry, let’s get the parents up. WAAAAHH WAAAHHH!!!!!
Thanks Jake, here play on the bed for a bit. No that’s not working, let’s take him for a walk nice and early. We alked up the canal as the sun was rising and it was a picture of beauty. The mist was flowing off the water ansd the colours were amazing. The canada geese were getting friendly as I’m guessing they were quite hungry and had a chance to steal any bread from passers-by yet.
I visited the “corner shop” to buy the bread and pastries as in this town the bakery had shut for the month. If it’s not one thing it’s another.
I waited to be served and I iwaited some more. It was of critical iomportance that the shop assitant lay out all the scratch cards for the day before he served me. Another gentleman joined the queue and still the scratch cards came out.
After breakfast myself and Cherie rode to Montaregis whilst Peter took the time to repair the gearbox.
We set off without bike locks so were very limited to what we could do so wemade do with a little ride around town before going onto the superstore. Still, I had to wait outside the superstore for at least an hour while Cherie bought one rucksack worth of goods.
An uneventful ride to town was more than compensated by a fabulous ride home along the two path. This must be the most beautiful stretch of canal we’ve been through yet on our time on the rivers.
There was a little hamlet of five houses, two of them over water mills on the canal, all beautfully restored and decked with flowers. Part of the canal was flanked by a large water park very similar to that we’d lived by in Cergy. All along the canal we came across small clothes washing areas which are like small ramps by the water side alloowing people to thrash their clothes in the canal and rub them on the concrete. Imagine that you can only get as clean as the canal you empty your wastes into.
We set off back towards home after lunch and under the occasional blazing sunshine.
Back past the idiot lock keeper still playing his gameboy. This time we met more commercial traffic that had set off from St. Mammes as we recognised several of them
We stopped at the moorings at Souppes Sur Loing and Sucrerie, the sugar factory. We had our reservatons initially with this stop as it seemed we were simply stopping fo a power point and we even had to pay ?7 for that. Once we’d disembarked and walked to town, we understood Peter’s insistence with stopping here. This town was beautiful. It had the river running around and through it, it had a water park and history, a small zoo and even a go-kart track. We tried all in a reverse order!
Go-karting was much better than expected. No de-tuned engines, crappy courses or ill fitting helmeys here. These were 2006 model 300cc cars with new helmets over a good track. During Peters’ military career he had a spell where he looked after the company’s go-karts and was considered a good driver in those days before going on to work at Lotus. This experience was taking him right back to 1971! There were only the three of us on the course for this round and the third man took us both by storm and with his subjectively better car he whipped our arses! Following him round the track and taking his line into the corners was hair-raising!
Aftet the race, we walked around town and admired its beauty, quaintnesss, history and its closed bakeries which is becoming the norm this time of year!
There were many of those washing platforms, which I’ve got plenty opf photos of now, as I mentioned in yestedays post. It seems every garden in this towns backs onto the river or one of its rivulets and has its own washing point complete with small tiled roof to dry clothes under, very sweet.
At dinner that night we were serenaded by crickets during the still and warm evening, only spoiled by an invasion of mosquitos, but only males so no one got bitten.
I also got a call from a getleman who is very interested in buying Amy-m, my boat. We’ve agreed to meet in September when were both in France to view the boat. Fingers crossed she’ll sell but it’ll still hurt as we’ve had her a few years and we were going to take her up this canal next summer if she had not been sold.
All told, the best day of the trip so far, and to go to bed under the sound of crickets reminds you you’re really on holiday now
