The Heat is On

It. Is. Hot. We spent several days of this record-breaking European heat wave moored in the city of Besançon. We were happy to be plugged into electricity because it made using the air conditioning on the boat easier. The challenge then became one of how to schedule our days so that we could do things but avoid the worst of the dangerous heat. We had originally intended to stay 3 nights, but when we saw the heat forecast for Thursday, June 27, we extended one more day.

We did most of our sightseeing in the mornings, then returned to the boat for the afternoons. For a small city of around 130,000, Besançon has more than its share of historically fascinating sites. Originally a city of a Gallic people, the Sequanes, it became the Gallo-Roman city of Vesontio under Julius Caesar.

Porte Noire (The Black Gate), a Roman triumphal

arch erected around 175 CE during the reign of 

Marcus Aurelius. 

Square Castan. Excavations in 1870 uncovered vestiges of 

Vesontio (amphitheatre, columns, portions of

an aquaduct)

Lon studying Roman mosaics uncovered in Besancon

 and displayed in the local archeology

and fine arts museum.

What would a French city be without its churches?  Besançon has its share, but some fared better than others during the French Revolution.

The former Abbey of St. Paul. Originally constructed

in the 11th century, only some of the 11th C and 15th C

elements remain. It has not been a functioning
church since the late 1700's. During the French Revolution it

was converted into a stable for army horses.

The Cathedrale Saint-Jean was built in the 12th century on foundations that date back to the 3rd century origins of Christianity in Besançon. Elements were added, repaired, and altered at various times up through the 19th century, and it has remained a functioning church.

The Rose of Saint John. This altar from Saint Stephen's cathedral

(no longer in existence) was consecrated by Pope Leon IX in 1050. Eight lobes

(7 days of Creation + Easter) are carved in a circular marble block.

It is the only circular altar that remains in France.

There was also the usual list of worthies who were born or lived in the city. One of the most prominent of Besançon's native sons is poet, novelist, and dramatist Victor Hugo. Outside France, his most famous works are the novels Les Miserables and The Hunchback of Notre-Dame.

Victor Hugo's birthplace

Apropos of nothing in particular, but included just because we liked

the painted black cat in proximity to an attractive green door.

The crowning glory of Besançon's historical heritage is the collection of fortifications built by Sebastien Le Prestre de Vauban, usually just referred to as "Vauban." From 1668 onwards, as the King's Engineer (for Louis XIV, the "Sun King"), he designed and built the first defense system for France's land and maritime borders.  After the first conquest of Besançon by the French in 1668 he designed the plans for the Citadel. After Franche-Comte (including Besançon) finally became part of France in 1674, building on the Citadel and other fortifications continued. In 2008 the Citadel (together with nearby Fort Griffon) was listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization).

Panoramic view of the Doubs from the western ramparts of the Citadel. When we approached Besancon we came

upstream from the left. The water to the right in the photo is part of the circuit around the city.

View from the eastern ramparts of the Citadel looking toward
the top of the "boucle". We were moored just above the bridge
second from the bottom. The boat that is visible is waiting to
go through the tunnel cut into the rock under the Citadel.

We visited the Citadel in the morning, so weren't too sweaty yet.

Interior view of the fortifications

Lon approaching the stairway to the eastern

ramparts (and the King's Tower)

The Citadel is home to several museums and a zoo. Perhaps partly in response to the fact that in World War II one hundred resistance fighters were executed in the Citadel by German firing squads, one of the museums (and the one that we visited) is the "Museum of the Resistance and Deportation."

Besides morning sightseeing, other ways to try to "beat the heat" were to find indoor activities to pursue. Our mooring spot was adjacent to the Cite des Arts building, which housed a music conservatory. The nearby neighborhood had many instrumental music stores, and Lon decided to look for a replacement trumpet in one of those stores.

"Leader of the Band" penguin style

The music shop offered instrument sales and repair, and contained 

an eclectic collection of instruments

Lon tries out a few trumpets in the cool

basement of the store. No luck this time.

We spent time one morning in the Museum of Fine Arts and Archeology. It is the oldest public collection in France, established in 1694.  We then spent a lovely late afternoon in the local cinema multiplex watching the English-language version of "Rocket Man", followed by a relaxing dinner in the shade.

"Monkey Barbers of Cats": proof positive that absurdist

animal art didn't start with "dogs playing poker."

Dinner French style. Although only fish and vegetables, it was

almost too pretty to eat. Glad I did though, because it was delicious.

Although it was still hot, we got up early and left Besancon on Friday. Almost immediately we wished we had stayed in bed. When engaging the bow thruster as we set up to approach our first lock of the day we heard a "clunk" and then got no response from the bow thruster switch. Lon opted to continue on to our proposed destination of the day, Deluz, and then take a closer look at the issue. He did a great job of maneuvering into locks and the mooring quay with no thruster. There was a boat repair shop in Deluz, but it being France and Friday, the shop was closing at noon and would not reopen until Monday. So we bicycled to a sporting goods store (10 very warm miles round trip) so that Lon could purchase snorkeling gear and protective footwear for a splash in the canal to look into the bow thruster tunnel for obstructions or damage. The water was relatively clear, and apparently felt refreshing, but I was ready with clean water to rinse off his head when he emerged. Fortunately, the prop appeared intact and freely spinning, but he later found that one of the heavy duty battery fuses had fried. We are speculating that something might have found its way into the thruster tunnel, kept the prop from turning, and ended up shorting the fuse.

A peaceful mooring in Deluz.  Well, except for the community

party that went on next door until midnight.

Two additional days of cruising sans bow thruster followed. Lon really did a great job handling this large, heavy boat.  He would, of course, prefer to have a bow thruster available, but he's doing an amazing job without it.

The weekend days continued hot. We cruised only 4 hours on Saturday and had a fruitless search in Baume-les-Dames for a replacement fuse. We had a long, 7-hour cruising day on Sunday. Despite the early start, it got so unbearably warm that after the first couple of hours we started driving from inside, except when going through locks.

Camping under the cliffs

Not all the scenery was cliffs, there is agriculture in the

region as well.

Lon getting out of the sun at our indoor helm.

We arrived yesterday at L'Isle sur le Doubs to a mooring with an electrical connection. Yay!  Power for air conditioning! Until their system apparently overloaded (?) and quit. This resulted in all of the power demand being placed on our inverter system, which couldn't handle it and also quit in short order. Sheesh! We were able to plug into an alternate outlet, but we are now on the hunt for two not-your-normal-household-heavy-duty fuses. They are not easy to find. We were hoping to continue cruising tomorrow, but at the very least, the inverter has to be functioning before we can do so.

At least the weather has finally started to cool.