Dodging Raindrops

The weather over the past week, ever since our transition to the Canal de Briare and arrival in Montargis on June 14, has been changeable, to say the least. The Weather Channel hourly and daily forecasts, which seemed to be modified every hour, presented an almost unrelenting picture of all-day rains and--at least early on--cool temperatures. Thankfully, the weather didn't always turn out as forecast, but trying to work out when it might be raining has made scheduling sightseeing and cruising somewhat of a challenge. 

The Canal de Briare is the oldest canal in France and the first summit-level canal in Europe (a summit-level canal is an artificial waterway that connects two separate river valleys). King Henri IV had decided that a waterway was needed to connect the Loire and Seine waterways and in 1604 construction was begun. The local lords weren't exactly happy to have their lands taken from them for the project, hence, the assignment of 6,000 soldiers to protect the 12,000 men working on the canal. The king's assassination in 1610 put an initial pause on the construction, and after several other delays, the canal project was finally restarted in 1638 and completed in 1642. Over the centuries of its existence, the canal and its locks have been modified several times. Its 57 kilometers contain 36 locks, starting just north of Montargis and ending at Briare in the south, where it joins the Canal lateral a la Loire.

Montargis, with a population of about 15,000, is a relatively large town for the area. Montargis was ceded to the King of France in the 12th century, after having been the seat of one of the noble French houses, becoming a royal residence in the 14th and 15th centuries. In the early 20th century, Montargis was a center of Chinese expatriate political activity. Like other towns and cities in France and elsewhere that have many bridges and canals, it compares itself to Venice, Italy. This "Venice of the Gatinais" (Gatinais being a province of France) has fashioned its touristic city walk along a route that encompasses a number of its more historically significant bridges and the sights that may be seen along that route. A second walking tour--which we did not do--focuses on the history of the Chinese in Montargis.

The Canal de Briare winding its way 
through "Venetian" Montargis.

On the Friday evening of our arrival in Montargis, the weather was nice enough for us to take a stroll across town (a mere 15 minutes) to the site of the city's port de plaisance. We knew that the port had been undergoing renovations during at least the past couple of years, and it had been difficult to find information on the internet as to whether it was now open for business. We were hoping to find that it was, so that we could leave our current mooring on the commercial quay. What we saw were docks and quays that looked brand-new, but unused; a new port office building containing no furniture; and several boats--about half of which were occupied--filling a length of quay that stretched from the vacant port back toward the Marolle lock on the Briare Canal. A Dutch couple on one of the cruisers gave us the good news/bad news: the bad news was that the port was not yet open and security would roust anyone who tried to moor there; the good news was that mooring was allowed along the quay upstream from the lock and that they--and probably the sailboat adjacent to them--would be leaving on Saturday, which would open up space for us. The price sounded reasonable, and we would have access to power and water.

Soon after the 9 a.m. opening of the locks on Saturday morning we made our way back toward the port de plaisance to, hopefully, verify that boat departures were taking place. The friendly Dutch couple were just leaving the 2nd of the two locks taking them downstream. They saw us and told us that the sailboat was also getting ready to depart. Just to be sure, we continued to the boat quay, confirmed that the couple on the sailboat was about to leave, and hightailed it back to C.A.R.I.B. III to prepare for departure. On the walk back we saw that a hotel boat that had been moored on the commercial quay was making its way to the locks--uh, oh--and just as we were pulling away from our mooring, a tourist sightseeing boat also pulled away from the commercial quay to start cruising in the direction of the locks. Bigger "uh, oh." It seemed as though our "luck" of the day before was holding, and that we would have to wait for the two commercial boats to get through the locks before we could do so.

After an "encounter of the 'we're aground' kind" with some unmarked shoaling under one of the city bridges, we rounded the corner of the canal and were surprised to see the tourist boat tied against one of the canal walls, and a red light showing on the first lock. In the waterway between the two locks we could see the hotel boat, apparently not moving. "Uh, oh" number 3. We tied up on the wall behind the tourist boat and went to talk to their crew. As it turns out, there was a technical problem with the second lock, and we all had to wait for the arrival of vnf service. It took about 45 minutes to an hour for the problem to be resolved. In that time, the tourist boat decided they could not wait, so they backed out of the mooring, turned around and headed back the way they'd come. That made it quicker for us, and within 20 minutes we were at our new mooring.

Lower: waiting behind the sightseeing boat
Upper: we're the last boat on the quay beyond the lock,
in a well-maintained, park-like setting.

All's well that ends well, but the time and effort involved to make the mooring change depleted any energy we might have had for sightseeing that day. So, we took it easy around the boat, picked up a few groceries, and in the late afternoon, wandered back to the commercial quay to greet our friends Ian and Lisette, and their guests, who were able to snag the premium quay space that had been vacated by the hotel boat. 

After a wet Sunday morning, we dared to venture out to the Tourist Office, and then strolled around town during the rather cloudy and cool afternoon. It seemed very quiet for a summer Sunday, but the iffy weather probably had something to do with that. Nevertheless, Montargis ticked the boxes of what every historic town should have: a castle, an old church, timbered buildings, and charming water vistas.

The Canal de Briare and one of many city bridges.

Place Victor Hugo.

Eglise Sainte Madeleine--built between the 12th
century and the 17th, restored in the 1860's. The interior
had some of the most colorful chapels we have seen in
any French church. Fun fact: it has the only stained glass
windows in France depicting Japanese converts.

A house incorporating a tower that used to be part of the
14th century ramparts.

One of the old city lavoirs, perhaps the inspiration for the
French laundromats in shopping center parking lots?

Shopping central.

The backside of an old tannery, now housing the Tannery Museum.

The Pecherie District, formerly the area 
where fisherman lived.

One of the canals that gives Montargis its nickname.

And yet another domestic repurposing of a tower from 
the old ramparts.

The remains of the feudal castle loom over the town. Much of
the castle complex was demolished at the beginning of the 19th C.

We had originally thought to leave Montargis on Monday the 16th, but the forecast called for rain most of the day and we also wanted a day to complete some miscellaneous "to do" items. As it turned out, it did rain in the early part of the morning, but--surprise! surprise!--it "unexpectedly" (at least to The Weather Channel) turned sunny and rather warm in the afternoon. The EuroVelo continues to track along the Canal de Briare, and it made for a lovely walk upstream to see what we would be cruising by in the near future.

The Moulin Bardin complex, the mill building at left a 19th C construction on the
site of mills going back to the 1500's. It made for a charming sight along the canal.

The weather forecast wasn't much better for Tuesday, June 18th, but we hoped there might be a window good enough for cruising after early morning thunderstorms. The day turned out better than we could have hoped. We left Montargis at 9 a.m. under still-cloudy skies, but it didn't take long for clearing to start and we had a fabulous 4-hour, 6-lock, 17-kilometer cruise to the village of Montbuoy. 

We are loving this canal. The locks and the landscaping along the canal seem very well-maintained, and there are sufficient mooring spots along the way that are more than adequate for barges.

The variety of the canal, farms and shady woods.

  

A bit of whimsy along the canal.

Providing an escape for any deer or boar that might
fall into the canal.

Even more amazing, many of the towns and villages provide the mooring and electric/water services for no charge. Such was the case with Montbuoy, which would have allowed us to stay on their quay for up to 5 days. We would have loved to have supported some of their (few) local businesses as thanks for the mooring, but the bakery was closed on the morning we would have needed it and the restaurant wasn't open. We did, at least, get some ice cream at the small cafe/bookstore located adjacent to the next lock.

We are in sight of the Church of Notre-Dame and Saint-Blaise.
The oldest part of the church--its tower--is 12th C. Other parts
are newer reconstructions done after the damage sustained in the 
Hundred Years War in the 15th C. The church wasn't open for visits.

A short bike ride away from the village are the last vestiges of the Amphitheatre de Chenevieres, a (probably) 2nd C. Gallo-Roman amphitheater that could seat about 4000 spectators. Named a Historic Monument in 1862, it's situated on the private parkland of a local chateau.  It's a shame that the site no longer seems to be maintained. Photographs online show that it received more TLC in the past.

We were kept behind a fence, so could only view
things from a distance. Shame about the grass.

From Montbuoy south the towns and villages with good mooring are not far apart, which is perfect for our purposes and the uncertain weather. We're not in a hurry, so we are happy to cruise for just a couple of hours before stopping for the day to explore. 

We stayed in Montbuoy just one night and then, after another bout of early morning rain on Wednesday the 19th, had a partially sunny and dry one-and-a-half hours to Chatillon-Coligny. There were a few sprinkles just as we arrived, but that didn't last, and the sun came out again. The mooring was fantastic--and free--and beautifully maintained.

Local volunteers staff the port office. It wasn't full by any
stretch, just us and 4 boats that arrived later.

Chatillon was another fortified town in days gone by, with feudal roots in the 10th C. Except for the castle keep built in 1190, most of Chatillon was destroyed in 1359 during the Hundred Years War. The rebuilt version of Chatillon suffered greatly in the later Wars of Religion, the damage being done by both Catholics and Protestants.

We treated ourselves to lunch--delicious!--and then wandered our way through town using the guidance provided by the local tourist office.

The castle keep of the 12th C., the only remaining part of the
medieval fortress. It sits on the property of the current castle of
Chatillon that was built in 1854 (not open to the public).

The Church of St. Pierrre-St. Paul. The oldest part of the main
church building is 16th C. Heavily damaged during the Wars
of Religion, it was repaired and enlarged in the 17th C. The bell
tower is completely separate of the church, and the lower portion
was a tower of the 14th C ramparts.

Streets in central Chatillon.

The former prison.

Towers that were part of the 14th C ramparts pop up here and
there around town. This tower was just outside the castle grounds.

It was, yet again, rainy overnight on Wednesday and early Thursday morning. We didn't want to go far--only 6 kilometers--but there would also be 6 locks to get through on our way to Dammarie-sur-Loing. We left Chatillon at around 10 a.m. and, although the skies were really dark and it seemed as though it might pour rain at any minute, we were still dry when we arrived at Dammarie.

We encountered one lift bridge at a lock (that had
to be manually opened by the eclusier.) At another
lock, water started pouring over the front gate just
before we entered, so we tried to stay closer to the back of
the lock. At all locks an eclusier was present, which
was a good thing because several were quite deep and
help with the lines was much appreciated.

Another great mooring, a picnic/rest area just off the biking
route. Quiet, free mooring/power/water for up to 48 hrs.

Dammarie was very quiet. It had its old church
and, sadly, a now-closed food store. No grocery
shopping today!

I haven't done much with war memorials this year, but
this one was unusual--the first soldier throwing a grenade
I've ever seen as part of a WWI memorial.

A historic wash house (lavoir) in a park across the canal
from our mooring.

While it was still dry, we backtracked by bike to Lock 21 to see the remains of the flight of four locks that were part of the original construction of the canal in the 17th C. It was a little difficult to see what was what because of the overgrown vegetation. The current track of the canal dates from the late 1800's.

Trust me, the locks are there, the first one at left, and three
others going "up" at right. The bridge we're standing on
did not exist when the locks were still being used.

We decided to stay in Dammarie for another night, not because there's so much to do, but because the weather forecast for today was so lousy that we thought we might as well stay in a lovely location at no cost. There's a chateau in the near vicinity (about 45 minutes away by bike) that requires a fair-weather day for our visit, but it can be reached by other towns further along the canal. We calculated that we had just enough time between rain cells to cycle to the next town, Rogny-les-Sept-Ecluses (Rogny the Seven Locks), with two things in mind: look at the mooring and look at the seven-lock staircase that was part of the original canal. The mooring will work fine, and the staircase lock was amazing.

Now this is what the 4-lock staircase that we saw on Thursday could have looked more like
with a little bit of TLC.

From the upper level, we see lockhouses and
the ditch that is the path of the original canal.

We were only gone from the boat for an hour,
but our luck ran out on the bike ride back--
no dodging those raindrops!