Tuesday 12th August 2008 Sauveterre-St-Denis bridge to Bon Encontre

Grey, rain later. We got moving at ten. I cleaned all the leaves and debris (including lots of dead and dying tiny crickets, washed out of the overhanging tree in the torrential rain) which left the roof filthy and very sticky – the price we pay for being in the cool shade under a sappy tree. Less than an hour later we moored just beyond the port de plaisance at Bon Encontre. Three hire boats were moored there, plus two boats which looked like permanent liveaboards (no one home) in the strange basin with a square island. The canal’s summer water level meant the pound was down by about 15 cms, but the floating finger pontoons were sloping at almost 45° - which looked pretty dangerous to us. Mike and I went shopping at the Leclerc hypermarket for essentials like bread and salad. Back for lunchtime, just as it started to rain. We called at the Capitanerie and paid 2,50€ for electricity; we weren’t in the port so we didn’t pay 2,50€ for mooring or 2,50€ for water as we didn’t need any. Moved the boat a bit further away from the port as it was on the bottom, a couple of metres made a difference. Still on 3G. More rain. I did a fragrant beef and chilli stir-fry for dinner washed down with some Buzet red wine we’d just bought.