Up, Up and Away

Instead of "two steps forward, one step back", our progress on the Canal de la Marne au Rhin Ouest can more aptly be described as "one step forward, two steps up". We have cruised for 5-6 hours each of the last 3 days. In that time we have made about 47 kilometers (28 miles) of forward progress and completed 32 "up" locks, with an average rise of 2.5 meters (8 feet) per lock, for a total climb of approximately 80 meters (250 feet). The landscape becomes hillier . . .

The rooftops of Bar-le-Duc and the hills to the east.

. . . over the next 40 kilometers before we reach the summit of the canal (and its 5 km/3 mile long tunnel) and we will complete another 38 "up" locks (95 meters/304 feet). When we come out of the tunnel we will have a fairly rapid initial descent over 9 kilometers--12 "down" locks, each about 3 meters (9.5 feet) deep--before reaching a 9 km lock-free stretch just prior to the junction with the Canal de la Meuse.

Auxonne is the starting point (left), Maasbracht is the end
point (right). We are currently at the crossed purple lines
in Bar-le-Duc.

On day 2 (July 28) the lock automation process changed and we were given a remote control device (télécommande) to activate the locks. It lacks some of the features of the unit we had on the Champagne et Bourgogne Canal, so I refer to it as my "télécommande for dummies." (TFD)

With the "ici signs" still in existence, the TFD
makes it hard to mess up the lock prep process. 
"Montant" basically means "going up".

Also of note, in the past 3 days we have not encountered any other boats on the canal. It seems a little strange, but on the positive side, it means no waiting to use locks and little competition for overnight mooring spots. What is also interesting is the amount of individual attention we get from the vnf to keep us moving. I've had to call the "help" number a few times when locks weren't operating quite right, which is always a challenge to my minimal grasp of spoken French, and had amazingly quick responses. Yesterday (July 29) we actually had someone assigned to accompany us through several of the locks in order to facilitate the opening of two mobile bridges that were part of our cruising day.

"Julien" was assigned to assist us through several locks to
make sure we got to and through two mobile bridges. We were
grateful that his English was better than my French.

The lift bridge at Mussey was old. It required two men to
pick up and move metal plates (used as the driving surface)
 before the bridge could be raised.

Over the course of our cruising we have had numerous encounters with "gongoozlers." We first heard the term when watching the "Great Canal Journeys" series on television. The term originated in England and applied to people who were not boaters themselves, but who enjoyed watching boats and activities on canals. We had to modify the term a bit for the watchers we encountered at a lock on July 28.

These "goatgoozlers" had taken up positions on and near
the lock wall.

The main difference between goatgoozlers and gongoozlers is
that the goatgoozlers do not concern themselves with taking photos
on cell phones.

Weeds continue to be problematic to a greater or lesser degree. The invasive aquatic plants may have been inadvertently spread throughout the canal system by a boater-or boaters-carrying non-native plant species on their hull(s), and current environmental regulations do not allow herbicides to be used to kill the plants.

In this bief (the waterway between two consecutive locks) the
vnf was using the "big guns" to scoop plants from the canal. The
problem is, the weeds grow back quite quickly, and there isn't
enough canal traffic to keep the growth down.

Throughout this year's cruise on the canals we've been pleasantly surprised by the availability of safe, easy, and free or inexpensive places to moor for the evening. Towns and villages seem to be encouraging visits by installing quays that can often accommodate larger boats like ours. Some have service points for electricity and/or water and have either been free or a nominal cost (e.g., 10 or 12 euro per night). When we did our Great Loop cruise in the U.S. and Canada, a cheap marina would cost us $1/foot/night; however, it was not uncommon for us to have to pay $1.25 - $2.00 per foot per night (ergo, $52-84 per night for our 42-foot motorboat). The section of canal we cruised on July 28 was an exception to the "availability" rule. There wasn't a decent quay to be found in the area where we were planning to be done with our cruising day. Fortunately, a kind member of the vnf told us we could spend the night at a vnf facility near the town of Revigny-sur-Ornain by attaching ourselves (rafting) to the vnf icebreaker moored at that location.

C.A.R.I.B. III gets "up close and personal" with the vnf 
icebreaker Asterix.

The rooster and chickens in a neighboring house were a little
noisy, but our mooring served the purpose for one night.

After 5 consecutive days of cruising we decided to give ourselves a rest-and-sightseeing day in the town of Bar-le-Duc. It feels like September outside, but at least the sun is shining.

Bar-le-Duc, a town of about 16,000 inhabitants, is the capitol of the Meuse departement in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France. Although traces of Roman and Merovingian presence have been found in the area, the first major development of the town dates to a fortification of the 10th century (no longer in existence). From 1354 to 1480 it was the independent Duchy of Bar. The current town consists of an upper town (Ville Haute) and a more modernized lower town. The Ville Haute grew up around the castle belonging to the Counts (later Dukes) of Bar and contains a relatively large number of Renaissance houses. It also contains the remnants of the 15th-16th century castle of the Dukes of Bar; Saint-Etienne Church (1315-1520); a section of the former castle walls called the "clock tower", so-named for the Great Clock installed in 1381; and disjointed sections of the old fortifications.

A half-timbered house built in medieval tradition 
contrasts with the Renaissance mansions.

I loved  this combination of the flowers
with the architectural elements

A bit of the macabre in the Saint Etienne church:
the Cadaver Tomb of Rene of Chalon, a Prince of Orange
(Holland), killed during the 1544 siege of St. Dizier.
Sculpted around 1545 by Ligier Richier, legend says it 
fulfilled the prince's wish to be portrayed as he would
be 3 years after death. The outstretched hand once
held his actual heart. Below this tomb is an ossuary
that contains the bones of some of the 12th and 13th
century "princes" of Bar.

The remaining section of the chateau of the 
Dukes of Bar.

Lon walking along the old fortifications.

The clock tower (the current clock is a 
modern addition)

Following history is hungry work, so a lovely stop
for lunch is just the ticket.

The lower town has much of the shops and other businesses that are required for modern life, although that is not to say that it doesn't have its share of old buildings. For example, it contains the Notre-Dame church, the oldest church in town (dating to the 11th century, although most elements are newer than that, owing to a fire following a lightning strike in 1619).

The 14th century Notre-Dame Bridge, at one time the only
bridge to cross the Ornain River and link two urban districts.
The small structure on the bridge is a chapel.

A view down the Ornain River from the Notre-Dame Bridge.

A bit of more modern history: Bar-le-Duc, avoiding German occupation after the First Battle of the Marne in 1914, was the site from which Verdun was supplied in WWI. And, on August 31, 1944, American troops entered Bar-le-Duc. 

Tomorrow we'll start moving again. The weather should still be dry on Saturday the 31st, but it just doesn't seem to be able to last. We hope the weather forecasts are wrong, as they currently indicate several grey and wet days ahead.