Almost Dropped the Bottle

Wednesday 23.05.2012      Decize – Palinge   98.5kms

We awoke to no rain  - well almost no rain – just a little drizzle, but very overcast. Refreshed, well watered and clean, we retrieved the bikes and trailers, paid a brief visit to the supermarket and took to the road. Just when things are looking up some chump decides to dig up a bridge thus rendering the road quite impassable without a raft. Seeing the deviation signs, I politely asked a Mr. Jobs Worth if the diversion applied to bikes. A disgruntled and unhelpful “oui” was the response. Deciding there must be a shorter option than the 10kms indicated, we ignored the sign and Mr. Jobs Worth and continued past the dire warning signs. As expected there was a much, much shorter way around indicated to us by a very nice motorist just as we reached the demolished bridge. Back on course we flagged down an oncoming pair of cyclist to alert them to the upcoming situation and what a nice couple they were. It transpired that they had run the Donau to Budapest last year and thoroughly recommended it. So good to know, and they were even older than us. Delightful people and grateful for our intervention.

Always up for a compromise, we took a slightly different route from the EV6 but still followed the canal path watching the shipping (pleasure craft) negotiating the locks. Not a great day for being on the water and it was difficult to tell the countries of origin as the flags just hung in their wetness. Always good for a laugh when it is other people fighting with the inrush of water which sends the boat awry just before the lock gates let you out!

We had planned to make a stopover in Paray le Monial but for some reason it induced in us a slight sense of discomfort, probably just because it was big and impersonal. What softees! However, before committing ourselves to another 18 kms, it seemed sensible to ring the campsite and ensure that at least some of it was open! It was, and on arrival we were greeted by a very effusive kampenmeister, who talked incessantly and explained, that in all his nearly sixty years of life, he had never experienced rain the like of which had fallen from the heavens the day before. I think we may have paid a few more Euros than was strictly necessary for the privilege of his recounting his experiences. A much more serious disaster was only just averted when Alan went to pick up the newly purchased bottle of wine, forgetting that his arm didn’t work too well, and it slipped from his grasp. Instinct, coupled with the thought of no wine, allowed him to move fast enough to retrieve the bottle at the expense of re-igniting his shoulder pain.  Said alcohol should numb it again. Our very nice Kampenmeister, spotting our lack of chairs and glasses! provided us with both. What a nice man. (I just spotted the teeniest bit of blue sky?!)