Ancy le Franc to Migennes

We have now reached Migennes, midway between the cities of Paris and Dijon, at the other end of the Burgundy canal. Quite a milestone for us, completing the whole length of the canal, all 242 kilometres and 189 locks, and also being back where we started out on our French adventures a year ago.

The sun going down on the port in Migennes

We enjoyed our last few days cruising on the canal from Ancy le Franc to Migennes.

 You do come across some strange things sometimes though. An artist lives at the lock house at Argentenay and there are lots of examples of his handiwork to keep you amused whilst going through the lock. 

We arrived in Tanlay and decided to have a break and stay for 3 days (it's a hard life). It was a lovely mooring, all free including electric and water, in a pretty village with a couple of restaurants, shops and a chateau to visit. We met up with a couple of Aussies there, Ken and Wendy, and hit it off straightaway even before we realised that Ken was a retired firefighter. 

Fortunately the young French woman accompanying us on the tour of the chateau appreciated Ken's Aussie sense of humour and was in fits of giggles as he expressed his appreciation of the ceiling mural and the fact that the ladies had taken the trouble to shave and the naked men made him feel quite blessed!

The trophies on the walls were all hunted in the local woodland.

We had a very relaxing few days, eating out and sitting under the trees reading our books. Unfortunately on the morning we had intended to leave water levels had dropped quite considerably overnight and we found we were sitting on the bank. Oooops. Four fellow Brits managed to pull us off on their boat Silver Steel only to find themselves almost going aground whilst waiting for a lock a bit further on. The water levels really were quite low on this stretch.

Next stop was the town of Tonnerre. La Fosse-Dionne high up in the centre of town was well worth the visit. A circular basin fed by a natural spring from a mysterious source somewhere deep below ground. Numerous dives have failed to discover the source and some divers never came back up. It was used as a public washing place.

In this part of Burgundy each town and village had it's own wash house, or lavoir, most dating back to the 18th and 19th centuries, when there was a new awareness of the benefits of hygiene and cleanliness. They became meeting places for the women and it is easy to imagine them gathered round gossiping whilst doing their washing. Never take your washing machines for granted ladies! 

 

I now have a bit of a fascination with these lavoirs and am seeking them out as we stop off. Many of them have been restored and now have a new life as meeting halls. 

Spectacular tiled roof on this oval shaped lavoir at Brienon-sur-Armancon.

We spent the last couple of days cruising to Migennes locking through with a Dutch couple in their small sailboat. They kept referring to the JR as Le Chateau. Their boat did look tiny next to us and I cannot imagine being in such a confined space for weeks. Apparently they have sailed around the world, hopefully in a bigger boat than this one.

There are clearly plenty of fish in the canal. I just put a bit of bread out for the ducks and look what happened. Some of them were 18 inches long. A feeding frenzy. Going out to buy a net tomorrow!

Migennes is a good stop for getting the boat washed, clothes washed and stocking up with food and wine. We will then be ready to leave the canal behind and venture out onto the river Yonne, up the Seine and into Paris. Our daughter Sophie and husband Mark will be joining us there for a few days. No doubt there will be one or two challenges along the way but we are looking forward to continuing the adventure.