Tuesday 20th to Saturday 24 October 2015.
This blog being complied on the 24th, Happy
Birthday Andrew Cullen!
Eight forty-five sharp I was off to find a darn bicycle
shop which we knew to be a way downriver as we had passed it on our way to
Aalst. Four kilometres later, through mist and light drizzle, the cycle adorned
window appeared out of the gloom, which, on closer inspection, proudly
exhibited the opening times: Lundi 13h00 – 18h00, Tuesdays – Ferme! So back
into the ever increasing drizzle to look again on the internet and then across
the pretty pink Oude Kaaibrug, first right, first left, over the railway lines
to another shopfront with a notice “Ferme – We have gone Biking”.
Ninove can keep its tyres and tubes – we will try in
Geraardsbergen. Which we did, 15 kilometres and a couple of locks and lifting
bridges later – and with success although Lynn’s bike now does not have
matching tyres, the slightly higher BMX style one is perfect and I am tempted
to change all the eBike tyres to the same Schwalbe knobby (although they are
hardly ‘knobby’).
Wednesday we had arranged to meet the lockkeeper at the
first ‘Ecluse de Aeux Acren’ at 09h00 so at eight thirty we cast off and in
chilly but totally windless conditions, set off down the Dender to Ath – an
uneventful and charming trip through rural Wallonia.
As we bid farewell to our penultimate pair of lockies at Ecluse de Bilhee, one mentioned that his colleagues would be taking half an hour off for lunch; as it was ten to twelve we had no problem with that as the official lunch break is from 12h00 to 12h30, and we slowly cruised through the last few bends of the pretty Blaton-Ath canal and into Ath where we tied up at Lock 21 at 12h15.
Half past twelve came
and went and at about a quarter to one Lynn started phoning while I walked up
to office at the top of the lock which was deserted and advertised no contact
number. Back to Elle where Lynn was
also not having much luck and then, just before one, back up to the office
where lo and behold, a little white van arrives and out tumble our friend
Master Sulky-Lazy and another fella who, in broken English and all the while
spluttering breadcrumbs over me whilst chewing a toothpick, proceeds somewhat
agitatedly to explain that they had only taken 20 minutes for their lunch and
didn’t the previous team tell us. Anyway, with nice smiles stitched to our
faces we went through the last two locks and tied up at the free electricity
and water mooring opposite Ath central station, as the rain started to fall.
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| Sunrise departure |
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| Dakota's in the Mist. |
As we bid farewell to our penultimate pair of lockies at Ecluse de Bilhee, one mentioned that his colleagues would be taking half an hour off for lunch; as it was ten to twelve we had no problem with that as the official lunch break is from 12h00 to 12h30, and we slowly cruised through the last few bends of the pretty Blaton-Ath canal and into Ath where we tied up at Lock 21 at 12h15.
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| Welcome to Ath. |
Determined to figure out this odd city, we offloaded the
bikes, found the tourist office lady who did not know why one of the main
attractions, the church opposite, was closed, tried, without success, to buy a
spare tube, tried, with success, to buy a decent small bicycle pump, did some
shopping at the supermarche and retired to Elle
to warm up and dry out.
A little later we popped over to The Lounge Boat CafĂ© to have a drink and chat to Phillipe; the Mojito, a glass of wine and a huge plate of olives, salami and cheese cost €11 – a mistake perhaps? The snacks being so plentiful, there was no need for supper so it was back to Elle and a night spent listening to the pouring rain.
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| Offices of the Dept of Finance |
A little later we popped over to The Lounge Boat CafĂ© to have a drink and chat to Phillipe; the Mojito, a glass of wine and a huge plate of olives, salami and cheese cost €11 – a mistake perhaps? The snacks being so plentiful, there was no need for supper so it was back to Elle and a night spent listening to the pouring rain.
Thursday morning dawned grey, windy and wet but by the
time the bikes had been made ready, the wind had dropped and the rain had
reduced to intermittent drizzle. A waterways van pulled up next to us and the
young driver explained that there was a market in town and also confirmed that he
would be taking us through the first five locks and lifting bridges at 14h00.
The market was pleasant enough and we bought some veggies, cheese (the Abbaye
??? was delicious, similar to the Abbaye Orval but more complex), free range
chicken haunches – and a pair of shoes to replace my ageing boots, bought in
Buenos Aires many years ago.
Just after an early lunch,
the young lockkeeper tapped on our window and suggested that we leave as soon as possible or we might not make our planned evening mooring just upstream of the Pont Ecacheries near Beloeil, in time. Within minutes, the rain having miraculously stopped, we were under way and through the first 5 locks and four lifting bridges in just on an hour; our young lockie was brilliant! At four fifteen and with ten locks and eleven lifting bridges behind us
we tied up on the river bank in an autumnal coloured avenue of trees just upstream of Beloeil. Absolutely stunning and our best ‘wild’ mooring spot so far.
the young lockkeeper tapped on our window and suggested that we leave as soon as possible or we might not make our planned evening mooring just upstream of the Pont Ecacheries near Beloeil, in time. Within minutes, the rain having miraculously stopped, we were under way and through the first 5 locks and four lifting bridges in just on an hour; our young lockie was brilliant! At four fifteen and with ten locks and eleven lifting bridges behind us
we tied up on the river bank in an autumnal coloured avenue of trees just upstream of Beloeil. Absolutely stunning and our best ‘wild’ mooring spot so far.
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| Our 'forest' mooring. |
Friday morning was a stunner – no mist, clear and not a
breath of wind. Our new teams of lockkeepers sped us through the remaining
operations and in no time at all we were tied up to the pontoon at the Port de
Plaisance Peruwelz (Pierewe) where a chatty (in French) Dominique relieved us
of our mooring fees and left us to set up the Weber and enjoy a pork steak
braai.
Saturday morning was even better as we set off towards
the two big locks at Peronnes which we cleared with no problem
and by lunchtime we were back in Tournai on the same pontoon where we had moored previously – but this time a duck-poo free section. While Lynn went off to do laundry I watched the passing barge parade with one biggie trailing a big wake which really bounced us around.
And then, great excitement! Another pleasure cruiser pulled into the mooring – the first moving non-commercial we had seen since leaving Aquarelle at this same pontoon on 7 October; the excitement was short lived however as they turned out to be a pair of day trippers taking their +/-9 meter Fairline speedboat thingy for an outing. They had tied up to the pontoon to wait for the lights to turn green in their favour.
and by lunchtime we were back in Tournai on the same pontoon where we had moored previously – but this time a duck-poo free section. While Lynn went off to do laundry I watched the passing barge parade with one biggie trailing a big wake which really bounced us around.
And then, great excitement! Another pleasure cruiser pulled into the mooring – the first moving non-commercial we had seen since leaving Aquarelle at this same pontoon on 7 October; the excitement was short lived however as they turned out to be a pair of day trippers taking their +/-9 meter Fairline speedboat thingy for an outing. They had tied up to the pontoon to wait for the lights to turn green in their favour.
And so it was that we set off for O’ Malleys Irish Pub to
watch the Springboks match up against the All Blacks in the semi-finals.
To be continued…
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