Faire le Pont and Fast Water

We're still not quite sure when we'll be casting off the lines and departing Auxerre. Our exterior canvas window coverings are done and in hand, although we still have to install snaps around the windows and need to buy some screws to do that.  We've also been given some hope that the new power inverter that we want to install (which changes DC power from our batteries into AC power that we can use to operate various electrical devices on the boat when we're not plugged into shore power or running the generator) can be obtained for us by next week and possibly installed by the end of the week. 

In both cases, the completion of the projects has been slowed by the number of public holidays that have occurred since we've been here. May is a month that is full of holidays in France, and this year May has four holidays: Labor Day (May 1), Victory in Europe Day (May 8), Ascension Day (May 9), and Whit Monday (May 20, the day after Pentecost). Everything is pretty much shut down on May 1, and while some businesses (mostly retail and restaurants) might be open on the other holidays, many other businesses are closed. When a holiday falls on a Tuesday or Thursday, one must be prepared for the "faire le pont" ("make the bridge") phenomenon, whereby many individuals--and oftentimes the businesses that they work for--take a day off on the Monday or Friday between the holiday and weekend, thus giving themselves a long weekend at very little expense to their personal vacation days. The business closures over the last couple of weeks have made it difficult for us to get both information and parts for our projects.

We're hoping that the full work week coming up will allow us to do everything that needs doing and that maybe, just maybe, we can be cruising by next weekend. Of course, the weather may have something to say about that. Even without project delays due to the holidays, the water conditions in the last week would have made it inadvisable to be out cruising. Last weekend it rained heavily. As a result, the Nivernais Canal just to the south of our mooring was closed over the last several days due to high water, and the water in the Yonne River (on which we are moored) was high and running fast. Everyone here in the port stayed put for a few days to let things settle down. It was only on Saturday the 11th that the current slowed and several boats left.

The second lock north of Auxerre. At mid-week, the Yonne was 
nearly at the top of the lock gate on the upstream end.

The downstream end of that same lock was more dramatic. Water was flowing fast and full
from the lock weirs. It would have made for a turbulent exit from the lock.

Finally, sunshine in Auxerre! The water looks deceptively calm, but the ripples are indicative of
the 6-7 km per hour current, which is nearly as fast as our typical cruising speed.

Standing water in a local park from last weekend's rain.

We've taken advantage of our current "relaxed" schedule to do a couple of new-for-us-in-Auxerre activities. Last year, we watched the comings and goings on the barge parked across the river from us that was being used as a bar and music venue. On this past Wednesday we finally got a look inside, attending an "open jazz" evening there with boating neighbors.

The barge on the Yonne is owned and operated by a lovely French woman named "Mathilde".

Local musicians clamored to demonstrate their jazz skills before an appreciative audience. I have
to admit that I'm not a big fan of "traditional" jazz, with its sequential solos and 50's "hipster" vibe,
but there were some talented musicians (the harmonica player particularly so). 

We also finally got to the large Auxerre covered market. Food is such an integral part of French culture that I sometimes wish--especially when I see the bounty and variety available at local markets--that I was more of a cook and that Lon and I were more adventurous eaters. But I am not, and we are not, and so we will leave the "exotic" produce and the cheeses and the seafood and the sausages and the meats and most of the prepared "goodies" to those that are.

My one purchase of the day was fresh strawberries. SO tasty and sweet, and nothing like
the huge "strawberries on steroids" with no flavor that are the usual fare in our U.S. supermarkets.

  

I'm tempted by the fish, but alas, Lon is not.

A further "silver lining" to our delayed departure is that it is giving my hand fractures more time to complete their healing. It's been a slow process to get the flexibility back, and the hand and fingers still have a tendency to swell a little at times. The good news, however, is that I've been able to get back to playing the flute and it's going pretty well.