FROM TOULOUSE TO NAUROUZE WITH JIM AND VAL

2010-06-24T21:35:00.000-07:00

We met Jim and Val Meiling while we were still in Cambrai working on our boat. They stopped at the port for a few days to do some work on their beautiful converted tugboat, Triton. That same year, 2005, we met them in Pont L’Eveque on the river Oise, on our way to Champagne. They stayed with us on the boat one night. They were going back to New Zealand to build a house, so they put their boat up for sale. We have kept in touch since then, following their progress on the building of the house in Christchurch, a ranch style home in the most beautiful setting. Jim went back to work at the airport in Christchurch and Val continued her practice as a mid-wife.

This year they came back to Europe on a vacation to see all their boating friends and to start looking for a boat. They miss their boating life and want to come back. Their house will be put up for sale and they will be buying a boat sometime next year.

Jim and Val arrived at the port of St. Sauveur, parked their car nearby and came to see us. We would be leaving Toulouse the next day, so Bill had to get fuel and take care of last minute details. Jim, Val and I walked to Victor Hugo, the covered market—a most amazing place—so they could experience it. We bought a few things, and on the way back to the port, stopped at a little bistro for lunch. The sky had turned black and just as we arrived on Biesbosch it started to rain.

We spent the afternoon catching up and enjoying ourselves. Later on, the guys went to drop off Jim and Val’s car at Naurouze, our destination, and where they would be picking it up the next day, In the evening, we had a great dinner, lots of wine and wonderful conversation. We were excited to be starting our 2010 cruising season the next day in the company of our friends.

The following day, the sun was shining in its splendor, a beautiful day for navigation. After Bill and Jim filled up the fuel tank, we were ready to cast off. Sadly, we were saying good bye to Sylvianne, our dear captain, who has always been so kind an accommodating, and whom be have come to regard as a good friend. Also our friends Rudy and Jytte, who we hoped to see along the canal before we go up The Rhone, and Jill, a South African lady who had given me some herbs for the boat, and who had been extremely nice to Bill when he came back and was alone working on on Biesbosch.

It took us a couple of locks to get back into the rhythm of things, but having the help of Jim and Val on high locks was great. We went as far as Montgiscard, tied east of the lock at quite a nice and solitary spot, about 4 hours total navigation time.

It was 6:00PM, aperitif time, so we sat in the wheel house set up for our lovely drinks and I cooked an arroz con pollo—they had never had it—which was a total success. A few bottles of wine were consumed that evening, and we turned in around 11:30 PM.

Next day we left Mongiscard after a nice breakfast, on a very beautiful, sunny day. We stopped for lunch, and arrived at the lock of Ocean, the last one going up and the highest point in the canal, at 6:30 PM. We were alone in our favorite mooring, with nothing but the sounds of the birds and the frogs and surrounded by the most amazing trees.

After our aperitif, Bill and Jim set up the grill for a “grillade” of Toulouse sausage, white sausage and pork chops, all accompanied by grilled eggplant and red peppers and some Indian style potatoes I had gotten at Victor Hugo. We had some good Minervois wine, but the piece de resistance was a bottle of Pegassus Bay Chardonnay from New Zealand, a gift from Jim and Val, and a superb wine.

The next morning, after having checked the monument to Riquet, the engineer who built the Canal du Midi in the 1600’s, and seen the ‘parting of the waters” –at this place the water goes west to The Atlantic and east to the Mediterranean, Jim and Val were to leave and continue on their trip. It was a very short visit, but a most enjoyable one, and we only hope to see them back on the European Waterways some day soon, enjoying this life as much as we do.

Bill and I stayed at Naurouze one more night, after having taken a gorgeous walk around the area. We shall always remember this spot as one of the prettiest on the Canal du Midi and feel very lucky to have been able to stay here the few times we have.

Leaving Naurouze

Jim and Val on tea break

Our grillade

Jim, a grill master

Bill and Jim Tying up at Naurouze

A beautiful Tjalk just out of the dry dock

Locking up

Lock house with chapel

Jim at work on lock

Our mooring at Montgiscard

Nuser II our friends Rudy and Jytte's boat

Sylvianne and Jill

At the port in Toulouse

BACK TO EUROPE-- MONACO GRAND PRIX

2010-06-15T21:46:00.000-07:00

After our wonderful winter in USA, where we spent time both in California and Miami with a 3 week trip to Bogota, Bill flew to California to see Ian while I went to The Bahamas with my family. From Los Angeles, Bill flew to Barcelona and then took a train to Toulouse. After The Bahamas, I took a short trip to New York to visit my friend Stella, and flew from there to Madrid for a short 3 day stay with our friend Elena. Bill had been cleaning up the boat in Toulouse, the weather there was not great at the time, so he decided to meet me in Madrid, had a great time walking around and enjoying the sights and on May 7 we flew to Toulouse.

Our friends Justo and Stella from Miami would be arriving the next day, so after unpacking suitcases, we were ready to receive them. We had planned to cruise with them from Toulouse to Castelnaudary before leaving for Monaco, but they wanted to relax in Toulouse and see the city, so that is what we did. On Sunday for Mother's Day, we drove with them to Labastide D'Anjou where we had made a reservation at the Hostellerie Etienne for the best cassoulet in the area. We had a wonderful meal and afterwards took a drive around so they could see Avignonet with its beautiful tower and Catelnaudary and its grand basin. The next 2 days we spent shopping and enjoying Toulouse before our trip to Monaco. We bought some great food at Victor Hugo's market to take with us.

Justo and Stella had rented a car when they arrived, so on Wednesday, we got up early, packed the car and drove to Chateau La Grave , near Carcassonne, to buy the wine for the week. It is our favorite Minervois wine, and the same one we had taken to Monaco last year. We had a very nice driveto The South, and despite the fact that the Cannes Festival was starting, as was the F1 Grand Prix, the traffic was not bad. Our friends Ricardo and Celina from Miami were arriving that night in Nice, so after settling in our apartment in Monaco--the same apt. we had last year-- we drove to Nice airport to pick up our friends.

As it so often happens, their luggage did not arrive. One of their flights had been cancelled because of the volcano eruption, the luggage had been put on a flight with a different airline, so therefore the problem. They were exhausted. After filling out papers at luggage claim, we finally left the airport. Their luggage would be delivered to the apartment the next day. It was indeed delivered 2 DAYS LATER! Our poor friends were jet-lagged and upset, but given the circumstances, they were very good sports. They managed to enjoy all our outings, bouillabaise in Nice, trip to the little village of Eze, still wearnig the same clothes they had flown with.

Unfortunately Bill had gotten a cold just before we left, so Thursday he slept all day and Friday most of the day. Once he felt better he did manage, as he always does, to get some wonderful photos by sneaking into places only credentialed photographers are allowed to be.

Saturday and Sunday we spent walking around Monaco and enjoying the spectacle that te Grand Prix brings: the cars, the people, the beauty of Montecarlo and the incredible sound of the F! cars as they scream by. We had drinks at the Hotel Metropol which has been beautifully remodeled, watched the F 3 race from the Cafe de Paris and of course walked along the port to see all the yachts belonging to the race teams. What a show! We even ran into our friend Beppe, a friend of my nephew's, who so kindly had made reservations for us for Friday night dinner at La Piazza. He and a few of his friends had rented a yacht for the weekend, and they were obviously having a grand time.

Just before noon, we were to meet Spiro,a friend of Justo's who would be taking all of us to the bank to watch the race. EFG is located on the Avenue Ostende, where the cars come up the hill before they turn onto the Casino. It is a gorgeous building with 4 terraces, and there were quite a few of us. The tables with parasols were set on the terraces and the buffet was fantastic. Wine was plentiful, and the view of the track, the port and the palace in the background made for a most wonderful experience.

We had a great time eating, talking and watching the race. After 5:00 PM, the race was over, so we walked back to the apartment, said good by to our 4 friends who were continuing on to Provence and then Paris, and we decided to stay in and unwind after such an eventful weekend. The next morning Jean Yves, the doorman at the Victor Hugo Palace, where we were staying, drove us to the train station where we took the train back to Toulouse. We stopped in Nice, changed trains and continued on our way. There were many stops and we even had to wait for about 45 minutes while they did some repair to the tracks. We arrived in Toulouse after 8:30 PM, so we took a taxi to the port. The next day our friends Jim and Val from New Zealand would be arriving around 10: 30 AM .

TRIP TO BAHAMAS WITH FAMILY

2010-06-15T21:36:00.000-07:00

On April 19 my four sisters, my brother in law and my brother Pablo, his wife and I all sailed to Bimini on El MICO, my brother's catamaran. It was a one week trip and a most delightful time for all. We tied up at Bimini Bay Resort, a very new and well run resort with several pools, bars and restaurants and even a few boutiques. On two occasions we sailed from Bimini to Cat Key and Gun Key just for the day. The trip was a wonderful opportunity to spend time together as a family, so we took advantage of every minute. We ate, drank and basked in the sun, so it was a fantastic little vacation for all of us.

END OF THE SEASON CAR TRIP TO THE NORTH

2010-02-05T01:19:00.000-08:00

Conques, France

Beautiful medieval Conques

Marc, Sid and Bill at their shipyard in Gannay sur Loire

With Tristan and Paulette in Mars sur Allier

With Luc and Elodie, Tristan and Paulette's gorgeous grandchildren

Colmar, Alsace.

Street painter in Aachen, Germany

Charlomagne's Basilica, Aachen.

Interior photo of Orange Nassau

Navigating to Lieges on The Albert Canal

Mooring of Orange Nassau in Lieges, Belgium

A beautiful field around Maastricht, Holland

Old Mill restaurant in Kanne, Flemish Belgium

Amazingly beautiful autumn scene near Kanne

Grande Place in Brussels, Belgium

The Seine, Paris

Tarahumara, far right, at The Arsenal, Paris

CATHAR CASTLES AND OTHER SIGHTS IN THE SOUTH OF FRANCE

2010-02-02T01:25:00.000-08:00

Lake Salagou,Languedoc, Roussillon

Le Pont du Diable, near St. Guilhem

Romanesque Abbey of St. Guilhem le Désert, Dept. of Le Hérault

Cooling source water at St. Guilhem le Désert

Roquebrun, St. Chinian

Perpignan

Maillol sculpture at Loggia in Perpignan

City gate, Perpignan

Chateau of the Kings of Mallorca, Perpignan

Chateau de Salses on the border with Catalonia

The church of St. Trophime, Arles

Roman circus at Arles

Chateau Lastours

Salines at Bages

Flamingoes at Bages

Chateau de Durban

View of The Corbieres wine region

Chateau Villerouge Termenes

Chateau de Peyrepertuse

View from its highest point

Chateau de Queribus

Catalonia, on other side of mountains

IAN'S VISIT

2009-11-19T15:17:00.001-08:00

On Sep 4, our son Ian arrived in Paris and took a train to Narbonne, where we picked him up. He was to spend a short week with us, so we wanted to make the most of it. Our first few days with Ian we spent cruising from Le Somail to Poilhes under beautiful blue skies. Every meal was an event for Ian. Being a bachelor, for him a home cooked meal is something very special. Every morning he wanted to know what we were having for dinner, so he could look forward to it. I did my best to cook everything he likes, which is not difficult, since he eats everything!

Our cruising was leisurely and relaxed. The weather was perfect, and we stopped in some beautiful spots along the canal. Upon our return from Poilhes, we got something caught around our propeller. The boat could not reverse, and would barely advance. We decided to stay at the spot where it happened, about 7 Km from Le Somail, and for the last three days of Ian's visit, we did not cruise at all. We toured around the region by car, took Ian to some of our favorite towns and thoroughly enjoyed our son's company. For his birthday, he wanted me to make him a paella, so we chilled a bottle of champagne, cooked the paella outside and had a wonderful celebration on the boat.

Our friends Claudine and Michel from Carcassonne invited us for lunch at their house before Ian left. Claudine had an unbelievable spread on their patio, as she usually does, so we all had a wonderful time. The boy was happy. On September 12 we took Ian back to Narbonne where he took the train back to Paris. There he spent the night at his cousin Sylvia's and left for Los Angeles the following day. Our visit with our boy was short but sweet. Knowing that we would soon see him again for Thanksgiving, lessened the pain of his departure.

The day after Ian left, we limped back to Le Somail, where one of the young men from the Nicols base dove under the boat and after 45 minutes of work, was able to free from our propeller an enormous umbrella from the rival rental boat company. What a relief!

Sunrise on the Canal du Midi

My two boys at Fonserannes

Moules frites at Le Grau D'Agde

Cruising past Capestang

Our handsome boy

Aperitif time on deck

Wines and tapas in Narbonne

Ian's train to Paris

"There is something huge there!"

HOW TIME FLIES!

2009-11-10T16:05:00.000-08:00

Part 4

A visit by David and Martha

Dave and Martha Dominguez are friends from California whom we had not seen since we moved to Shell Beach about 25 years ago. So it happened that David contacted our friends Skip and Jill to let them know they would be coming to France and would like to see us. We emailed back and forward several times, but every time I got a message from them the date of their arrival had changed. David had a lot of business to tend to, and I thought it might be very difficult, if not impossible to see them. They had planned the trip to celebrate their 25 wedding anniversary in Paris, where they had had their honeymoon.

The day Alex and Linda left, David and Martha arrived. The most shocking thing to me was that although it had been so long since we had seen them, they both looked exactly the same! Best thing, they are the same fun couple they always were. We were so excited to see them and had so much catching up to do!. They had made a reservation at a B&B near us, about a five minute ride from the port, so we were able to really spend time with them eating, drinking and exchanging stories. We wanted to take them out on the boat, so we went as far as Chateau Ventenac and back. It was not the prettiest day, the wind was blowing very hard, but we had a good outing anyway. In the evening, we stayed on Biesbosch and had a great dinner and very animated conversation. We hope to see David and Martha in California this winter and have them back with us on the boat sometime next year.

A few munchies with good friends

Aperitifs on deck

HOW TIME FLIES!

2009-11-08T16:01:00.000-08:00

Part 3
Alex and Linda

Soon after Sylvia and Laurent's departure, our friends Alex and Linda came for a visit. They live in New York, and they had been in Barcelona and surroundings before coming to see us. The day they arrived in Le Somail, where they would be meeting us, we were in Narbonne. It should have not taken us more than 3 hours to come up the cnal de la Robine, but there was a lot of traffic that day and the locks were slow. We got to our destination in the middle of the afternoon to find Alex and Linda already there. It was so good to see them again! They had been to Cambrai to see us before the boat was inhabitable, so they saw it under construction. Two years ago, Linda and her sister Dianne, came to visit when we were on the Nivernais. This time Alex got a chance to travel on Biesbosch and even went down a lock so he could have the experience. Although their visit was short, it was a wonderful experience for all of us. They were such wonderful guests and so easygoing! Linda and I had a chance to do a lot of catching up and Bill and Alex got to know each other better and to find out they have a lot in common. As usual, we did a lot of good eating, and Alex cooked a wonderful pasta dinner for us one evening. As usual, we were sad to see them go, but we look forward to getting together with them soon whether in New York, Miami or back on Biesbosch.

On the dock at Le Somail

A Natural

One of our favorite spots on The Midi

Just love them.

Notice the coypu among the ducks ( lower right )

HOW TIME FLIES!

2009-09-29T11:35:00.000-07:00

Part 2
A WONDERFUL WEEK WITH SYLVIA AND LAURENT

Three days after our friend Ken left, my niece, Sylvia and her husband Laurent came to spend a week with us on Biesbosch. We were so looking forward to their time with us, a time of relaxation, of "far niente" that they so much needed. As young parisians, they lead very stressful lives, so a week on the boat was the perfect way to get away from it all.

We picked them up at the train station in Narbonne on a very hot August day. It was lunch time, so we found a little brasserie near the station and had a quick lunch before we drove back to Le Somail were Biesbosch was waiting for them. The last time they had seen the boat was in Briare, in the Loire region for the Christmas celebration we had with the family. They had not seen the finished wheel house nor the new bathroom. They were soon settled and on a full vacation mode ready to enjoy every minute of it. They started by taking their books and sitting on the deck under the shade of the plane trees to read and enjoy the lazy life of the canal. Duck flocks are plentiful here, and they are a source of amusement as well.

The next day Laurent and Sylvia needed some cash, and in view that the little hamlet of Le Somail dos not have an ATM, they decided to take the bicycles to Argeliers, the closest village, and the one we were told would have a bank. I fixed them a picnic lunch, and off they went. The ride is very beautiful along the tow path, so they took their time and stopped to enjoy their lunch somewhere along the way. When they came back a few hours later, they arrived empty-handed. Not only was there no bank, but the entire town was closed. They waited until past two o'clock and they say they never saw a human being. This, we have observed is not uncommon in the hot summers here in France and also in Spain. It seems like between noon and four or five in the afternoon, everyone retrieves to their homes. All shutters are closed and not a soul is seen on the street, except for the occasional cat napping under a parked car.

During the time that they were here, we had some lovely meals on board, sometimes cooked outside in the barbecue and accompanied by great chilled rosé wine from the region. In The South, people prefer a chilled rosé over any other wine. So in Rome, do as the Romans do. . .

We moved from Le Somail the next day past the Canal de Jonction, direction Poilhes under the bluest of skies and a gentle breeze. For Sylvia and Laurent, this was the ultimate relaxation. We arrived at the lovely village of Poilhes and moored the boat just past the bridge below the Tour Sarracine, a restaurant where we had eaten with my brother and his wife a couple of years ago.
After lunch,we all drifted off into a pleasant nap which was rudely interrupted by a loud bump at the rear of the boat. A rental boat had suddenly hit us while trying to tie up behind us. Needless to say, after such rude awakening we all went out to asses the situation. Their boat had broken our flag pole and our flag was floating on the water! The people did not as much say they were sorry, reason for which we all go upset. Bill demanded they pay him 30 euros for the replacement, and they were very reluctant to do it. They took what was left of the flag pole with flag and all, gave Bill the money, but Bill insisted upon getting the flag back. Since they refused to return it, Bill walked over to their boat and took their boat hook. This, he believed would then be a fair trade. Two of the men started pulling on the hook and ready to have a fist fight, when I said: "I am going to call the police" and then walked to get my phone. Immediately, they gave us the flag back and "sugar would not melt in their mouth." It was very obvious that they were all drunk and did not want the police involved. You really have to watch some of these rental boats. Many of the people start drinking from the moment they get on the boat and you can see them in the distance zig-zagging along, getting in the way and causing problems.

After this very upsetting incident we decided to put it behind us and continue to relax. We walked around the town, found a little market where we bought some drinks and went back to the boat. This time we would be going back to Capestang where we would be arriving before dinner. An interesting thing we have noticed about these canals, is that no matter how many times you repeat the same area, it is always different. The light changes, the direction of the wind, the colors, all seems totally new every time.

We arrived in Capestang and moored before the bridge, a very convenient spot near the access path into the town. We walked into town and went straight to a little Italian restaurant in front of the square where we had eaten before, and where pizzas are very good. The place was full and the woman told us they could not serve us, "desolée." Laurent then asked if twe could come later on after a table would be freed, so she gave us the specific hour of 9: 10 PM, " no later than that." That gave them time to walk around the town and explore and at ten after, sharp, we were directed to a table in their lovely patio where we had a delicious dinner and some very good wine.

The next day we had a leisurely breakfast and a late lunch, and we continued on to our favorite mooring spot, the one where we took Ken on the highest spot on the canal with the view of the Collegiale in the distance. We made it there at sunset, had our appéritif on deck and then I made a great dinner which we enjoyed by candlelight and good conversation.

On the way back from Capestang we made a left turn onto the Canal de Jonction, where almost immediately one finds the first lock. For this canal, Laurent got off at the waiting pontoon before each lock, worked the mechanism and helped us tie up the boat in the locks. He is quite a natural with the ropes, having spent a lot of time on boats in his native Brittany, when he was a child.

There are five locks before you get to the town of Salleles D'Aude, just past Amphorallis, a Roman amphora factory from the III century AC. We arrived in Salleles and tied the boat on the left bank of the canal, just accross from the Quilt Museum. There was no electricity available, so just like the prior night, we would be using our generator, which thankfully is extremely quiet. Sylvia and Laurent went out for a walk to explore the lovely town, which has lgreat architecture, and as we remarked, a lot of beautiful houses, many of them for sale.

We had dinner and retired for the night and after breakfast we sailed off direction Narbonne. The second lock after Salleles, used to be a double one, now made single, a beautiful work of engineering. After this lock, you get to navigate the river Aude for about a kilometer and you have to watch the channel no to get too close to the weir on the left bank. Soon after, the lock of Moussoulens iisthen the start of the Canal de la Robine, which after Narbonne takes you all the way out to Port la Nouvelle on the Meditteranean.

As soon as we entered this canal, we noticed how low the water level was. The boat gets difficult to handle and it drags bottom in areas. At about km. 4 and just at the point where there is a rather large inlet for an irrigation canal, the boat was pulled by the current of this canal and turned its rear into it on a mount of silt and we were stuck!! Bill could not get it to move at all! Luckily, we were close enough to the bank, so that Sylvia, Laurent and I were able to get ropes from the bow and stern ant tie them up to an ancient bollard we found in a very strategic place.

I walked to the lock and told the lock keeper our problem. He did not seem surprised, since this probably happens often. He told me to wait about 10 minutes. He was going to close the flood gate for the irrigation canal, which would not only stop the current from pushing us farther, but it would raise the water level so we could continue. Said and done! Bill was able to get the boat afloat and by the time we made the lock, there were some people from the VNF (canal maintenance people) waiting at the lock in case we would have to be towed. We gave the lock keeper a couple of beers, which he was delighted to get, and said good bye.

The trip to Narbonne on The Robine, is only 10 km. long to the main port. The entrance to the city is very beautiful, all bridges decorated with colorful flowers. As you enter the town you go under the very low Merchant's Bridge, one of the few left in France lined with houses. The arch you go under is the ancient arch which carried the Via Domitia, a Roman road built over the Aude River. At the time of the Romans, the River went through Narbonne, but changed its course in The Middle Ages. We arrived at the port in the very middle of town and across from the covered market, one of the prettiest in France. After resting a while, Sylvia and Laurent went into town to explore a bit and returned just in time to have an appéritif. We had made reservations at a restaurant on the Rue Droite. The restaurant specialized in meats grilled on hot stones and other local specialties, so after our drinks, we changed and walked to it. We were seated outside in the shade, on a cobble stoned street, on a cool night and great service. The food was excellent, as was the wine, and of course the best, the company of my dear niece and her wonderful husband. This was to be their last night wit us, since the next day they would be taking the 4:30 PM train to Paris.

The last day of their stay, Sylvia and Laurent decided to take a bike ride along the Voie Verte, a beautiful bike path that takes you between the Etang de Bages and the Etang de l'Aryolles, all the way to the Mediterranean. It was a very hot day, so I packed a lunch with drinks for them and off they went. Bill and I went to the market and did some work around the boat and decided to move it away from the center of town by the hire Le Boat base. When Laurent and Sylvia returned from their little adventure, they met us there, had time to change, so we all walked to the train station to drop them off. Saying good bye to them was very hard for me. I so loved having seeing them relaxed, that I guess I hated to think they would soon be back to working, and I just wanted for her vacation to last forever.

Busy in the kitchen

Going to Argelliers

Grilling by the side of the canal

Biesbosch at Le Somail

Leaving Le Somail

Chilling on the deck

It doesn't get any better.

Mooring at Poilhes.

Navigating on the River Aude.

Canal de La Robine

In Narbonne

Merchants Bridge, Narbonne.

Sylvia and Laure and special couple.

HOW TIME FLIES!

2009-09-02T14:10:00.001-07:00

Part 1
Ken's Visit

As I sit to write this entry, it dawns on me that it is August 31 already. The grapes are being harvested in many of the vineyards around us, sometimes during the night, process which will go on perhaps until late September or early October, depending on the grape and vineyard.

This last month has been a fun filled month for us. At the end of July, and soon after we put the boat in the water, we sailed it back to The Midi and met our friend and artist Ken Christensen in Beziers. He arrived late one afternoon and we met him at the train station where he was coming from Paris. Ken had lived in The South of France for 8 years and wanted to take a leisurely trip to do some painting. Although we had some very hot days while he was here, we managed to spend time in Beziers, a city he did not know, but instantly liked. It has the southern flavor of The Midi, and its architecture, unique light and ambience add to its charm. We managed to play boules by the canal one evening, something we had done with him and his family in St. Tropez two years before. We had such fun! I had to do some bank business the next day, so we all went into town and after my trip to the bank walked over to the Beautiful Cathedral and square that sit strategically overlooking the Orb River and its valley below. While Bill and I toured the Cathedral, Ken scouted out scenes he could paint and soon found the perfect spot on the wall where he sat and reproduced a stunning view of the tile roofed houses that filed below his feet.

When he was finished we decided to go back to the Avenue Paul Riquet, a tree lined and shady street full of restaurants and cafés. It was lunch time, we were hungry, so we chose one that appealed to all and had a lovely lunch. Ken wanted to do some more street painting, so he stayed in town, Bill and I did some shopping before returning to the boat and decided to spend one more night in Beziers to give Ken the chance to enjoy the city.

The next day after a nice breakfast, we set off in the direction of Capestang and had a superb trip down a most beautiful area of the canal. It was hot, but the shade from the plane trees and the gentle breeze about us cooled things down considerably. We stopped the boat for a short lunch along the canal and continued on to Capestang. Ken wanted to go to the Tourist Office in the port to inquire about trains to Paris. The two ladies at the tourist office were most helpful. They told us to come back in an hour, when they would have a printed schedule for him. We walked into the town, bought some bread at the local bakery on the square and went back to the Tourist Office. They had a display of local wines, so Ken bought a bottle of Minervois, picked up his schedule and said good bye. We wanted to spend the night beyond Capestang at a very high point in the canal where the Huge Collegiale can be seen in the distance and the vineyards glisten in the valley below. We got to the right spot too early, and the sun was still high in the sky. There was no shade yet provided by the plane trees, so we went beyond for a few kilometers and slowly made our way back to our favorite spot. Although the trees were not shading the boat entirely, soon they did.

We all had our cool aperitifs, and while I prepared dinner, Ken sat by the tow path, sketch book and watercolors in hand to produce an exquisite painting of Biesbosch.

One thing I love to do while I cook is listen to music, and when we are moored in a gorgeous spot with beautiful music in the background, I am invaded by such a feeling of freedom . For some reason, if I cook with music, my creative juices flow and I can concoct some wonderful dishes in the kitchen. Every dinner with friends and family is an experience we love to share. Good wine and conversation added to it make the perfect shared moment.
We had some wonderful meals with all of our guests this summer, and I so enjoyed all of them!

The following day after breakfast, we continued westward towards Le Somail, a charming little hamlet on the canal, and a favorite of Bill's and mine. It has a small bridge with a chapel attached to it on one side and on the other an ivy covered stone house, now a Bed and Breakfast, small terraces on both sides and a most interesting bookshop where collectors come from all over to look for first editions and other esoteric books.

We arrived around 1:30 and left the boat in search of a nice restaurant where we could have a good lunch. As we sat on one of the terraces on the edge of the canal and ordered a drink, the young waitress did not seem very happy with our order. We looked at the menu, which did not appeal to any of us and decided we would only have a drink. When she came back to get our order, we told her we were not going to eat, so she asked if it was because of her. She knew she had not been nice at all. We assured her it was not her, and she broke down and told us she was very upset because she had lost her dog two days before and could not find it. We asked for her telephone number so we could call her in case we saw it along the canal somewhere. We crossed the bridge and went to the other side to look at the menu of the O a la Bouche Restaurant. It had a very appealing menu, the setting was perfect and the dishes they were bringing out of the kitchen were beautiful. This lunch turned out to be a fabulous experience in every sense. We sat there for over two hours eating and drinking and after Bill and I left, Ken stayed at the very spot so he could do some more painting.

The next day Ken was to leave in the afternoon, but there was a market and sort of art fair in town and we did not want to miss it. There were vendors of all types, artists, book sellers, jewelry makers, wine tasting, hams, sausages, cheeses, etc. It was a fabulous little event at a very small scale. I had bought some great cured ham and cheese, so before Ken left, I made him a big sandwich for the train trip back to Paris. A taxi came to pick him up to take him to Narbonne, we said good bye, and vowed to see each other when we are in California this coming winter. We were very glad to share with Ken the beautiful experiences we get to live every day of this new life that we have chosen.

BBQ at the port in Beziers.

Ken sketching in Beziers.

The Pont Canal with Beziers Cathedral in background.

Captain and First Mate taking a break.

Ken at the 8 locks of Fonserannes

Interesting view on the Canal du Midi.

Entering the Malpas Tunnel.

Ken sketching with Capestang Collegiale in background.

Ken at the helm.

Entering Le Somail.

AT THE SHIPYARD IN LE GRAU D'AGDE

2009-08-03T11:15:00.000-07:00

It is interesting how a situation that has all the potential to be negative and unpleasant can be just the opposite. That is the case with our experience at the CHANTIER ALLEMAND. Despite the dust, the noise and the wind, being there for over a month, was a memorable experience for us. The shipyard is run by the Allemand family, each of them having an expertise and the good will and knowledge to pass on to heir customers. They make you feel welcome and at home. Mr. Allemand, the founder who is in his eighties is here everyday working on models for future boats and airplanes and checking out what people are doing. His wife and three daughters are in the office and store, and his son, Henri drives the cranes and heavy machinery with the expertise of a magician. I often found myself watching for hours how he took a boat out of the water, drove it across the street and placed it in the spot he had chosen for it without missing a beat. I have never seen anyone work so hard, always with a smile on his face, whistling a song.

The same day Biesbosch came out of the water, Bill washed the bottom with a pressure washer to take all of the fouling that had suck to it after 5 years in the water. The anodes were somewhat spent, but the bottom looked quite healthy. Bill had an inspector come to do a survey on the steel plating in case we would have to re plate areas. The very center of the hull from front to back has the original plating since 1927, so we thought we might have to replace it. After a "hammer" test and an electronic "thickness" test, we were told that our hull was in excellent condition, which gave Bill enormous relief.

PARIS

My sister Ines was in Paris visiting my niece, Sylvia so in view that I could do very little to help Bill with any work, I decided to go to Paris to visit them. Despite some discomfort with my back and the fact that I had to go see a doctor while in Paris, her treatment proved to be very effective, and three weeks later my back has improved tremendously. My niece was presenting her Warmi 2010 summer collection at the salon called UNDER LE LOUVRE. It was held at The Carrousel du Louvre, so there was a lot of work to be done. I got to Paris the day before the opening and was able to help a bit with the translation of the Press Release, but not much else.
Sylvia's display was beautiful. I was so proud to see her there among some of the most recognized names in fashion. She was able to make some contacts, reason for the salon, so she was very pleased, as well.

After the Salon, my sister and I were able to spend time together walking about Paris and enjoying each other's company. We went to The Orangerie to see Monet's Water Lilies and the private collection under the ground floor, which is one of the most comprehensive for expressionists and impressionists I have ever seen. Sylvia took 2 days off, so we were able to spend time with her as well which made my stay in Paris very complete.

When I returned to the boat, Bill had already finished painting the hull and had replaced the anodes. It was a lot of work, especially due to the intense heat of the day and the windy conditions. Biesbosch is sitting very close to the road just across from the River Herault and about two blocks distance to The Mediterranean. July 5 was the day of St. Pierre, patron of the fishermen. They put on an incredible show both on Saturday and Sunday nights on the key at the fish processing plant. They had an orchestra with a guest trumpet player who was amazing. The singers and performers were on stage without a break from 9:30 PM until 2:00 AM. It was so entertaining, The Sunday morning, we were told the fishing boats would be going out to sea to leave flowers on the water in memory of the fishermen who died at sea. We asked if we could board a ship, so we went aboard Vnicenzo, which had a very young captain, and were able to experience a unique event which has been part of the history of this town for hundreds of years. There were about 20 boats with musicians, politicians, beauty queens, etc. It was colorful, but at the same time very emotional. The boats drop flowers in the water, light up flares and fireworks and then circle the area one after the other about ten times before returning to port. People dress in costumes and afterwards all have lunch together. It was a great paella accompanied by a good rosé wine.

On July 7, The Tour de France was passing by Agde on the way to Montpellier from Le Cap D'Agde. We walked to Agde and positioned ourselves near the bridge over the Herault getting there just as the caravans were arriving. As they go by, they toss freebies to the fans. We caught caps, balloons, bottle openers, magazines, etc. The cyclists were all in a group, so we were able to take just a few photos as they flashed by. The whole experience is very exciting. It is the fifth time we have been able to witness the Tour de France. On July 10 I took a train to go to Madrid.

MADRID, BARCELONA

My friend Maria Clara from school was presenting her second poetry book at the Casa de las Americas in Madrid as part of the many activities held in the city due to the Colombian Independence. I had promised her I would be there, so I stayed with our friend Elena with whom I saw so much more of Madrid. She has to be the very best guide one could have. She knows so much about the city and points out so many new things, that it is a true experience to walk around Madrid with her. We went to the Museo del Traje, a museum dedicated to fashion and its history. It is one of the best displays I have ever seen. I could have stayed there all day. What a treasure of a museum! The Prado held a retrospective on Sorolla, so we went to see it as well and that was incredible. His canvases are enormous, and nobody handles whites and light like he does. I thoroughly enjoyed that exhibit.

With Maria Clara and Humberto, we had dinner at the beautiful apartment they were renting in Madrid and got to meet her nephew and his wife. Elena and I had a great time there. They also invited me to an Anthology of Chapi's Zarzuelas at the Sabatini Gardens by the Royal Palace. It was an evening performance with the lit up palace as backdrop, absolutely breath taking. The music, the costumes and choreography were beautiful. Afterwards we went to the center of Madrid, to the famous San Ginés to have churros and chocolate.

The best part of my Madrid visit was Maria Clara's presentation of her book. She was somewhat nervous thinking there might have not been many people present. Madrid empties out during July and August, vacation time. Elena had invited 5 of her friends, and as it turned out the room, which seated about 100 people was completely full, and about 30 more people had to stand in the back. The format of the presentation was a casual conversation between the moderator, Plinio Apuleyo, a very well known writer and diplomat from Colombia and Maria Clara, my friend. They talked about her travels, love, family, etc. and she read a poem or two related to the topic. It was a true success. I was so pleased and proud of my dear friend who has accomplished so much in life. The evening before I left we went to a cocktail at the Colombian Embassy with all the people that had participated in the week's events, an ex president and various politicians, a typical cocktail where it is obvious that everyone present would rather be elsewhere.

With Elena and her friends we went to Bellas Artes to have a drink and then to the Bardemcilla, the Bardem family restaurant. It is a great little place decorated with photos and memorabilia of the family. The food is wonderful, traditional and delicious, so all and all, the experience was a full one. My friend Hortensia from California was in Madrid at the same time, but we were not able to talk until the night before I left. We met for breakfast early that morning. She took me to the train station, so we were able to spend some time together to catch up. She was in Madrid visiting her sons and had just come from a trip to England and Croatia. We hope to see them this coming winter in San Diego, California. I took the train to Barcelona where I would be meeting my friend Luz Maria and her son Sebastian who had been visiting our mutual friend Claudine in Carcassonne. They were there for July 14, the celebration of France's Independence and to see the firework display at The Cité. Bill was invited as well, so they enjoyed the experience together and even drove to Le Grau D'Agde to see Biesbosch. Luz Maria had seen it in Cambrai in 2005 while we were still working on it. Sebastian had never seen it, so they apparently were very impressed with Bill's work. In Barcelona I met Sebastian and Luz Maria at our great little hotel and accompanied them to Avis in town to return the car. Once free from the burden of a car in Barcelona, we were able to walk, takes buses and the Metro and to really see the city.

I had worked out a list of places to see in Barcelona, so we went to the Parc Güell, Gaudi's La Pedrera and Casa Batlló, walked along the Passeig de Gracia, The Ramblas, the Gothic quarter, the churches there, the Cathedral, The Picasso Museum,The Plaza Real, The Port, The Palau de la Musica, where Luz Maria and Sebastian went to a classical guitar concert . We had some great food in Barcelona and thoroughly enjoyed this amazing city.

BACK TO THE SHIPYARD

I arrived at the Beziers train station, where Bill was waiting for me. Upon our return to the boat it was already dark, so I was not able to see what he had done until the next day. Bill had painted the cabin and the decks, so the boat is now looking like new. I helped him with painting the winch and the flag pole, so all that is left is the roof which he is starting to paint today, a month after we arrived here. We will be putting the boat back in the water on Monday, July 27 when we will head back to the Canal du Midi and eventually the Canal de La Robine towards Narbonne. Our friend Ken Christensen from San Luis Obispo is in France and has called to let us know he will meet us next week. We are very much looking forward to his visit.

We will have great memories of this lovely little port with its fishing boats, wide beach and Mediterranean flavor. Needless to say we will return someday with or without Biesbosch.

Large fishing boates on The Herault River

Le Vieux Crabe

Biesbosch being pulled out of the water at Le Grau D'Agde

Allemand Shipyard

Young captain and firt mate of Vincenzo. The day of La St. Pierre

Going out to sea the day of La St. Pierre

The River meets The Mediterranean

After leaving flower offerings for fishermen dead at sea.

Oyster sellers in costume

Le tour de France, July 7 Agde

Might be Armstrong! (blue and turquoise on left)

Murals in Agde

Belly dancers in Agde

July 7 in Agde

Working on Biesbosch

The river and Med in background

Le Grau D'Agde's beach

Biesbosch with new paint being put back into the water 5 weeks later.

ON THE WAY TO THE MEDITERRANEAN

2009-07-14T10:55:00.000-07:00

Our appointment at Chantier Allemand in Le Grau D'Agde, where the Herault river meets the Mediterranean was for June first, but unfortunately my back went out on me upon our arrival in Carcassonne. I went to the doctor and to a physical therapist, Philippe, the same one who had treated me 2 years ago. The doctor prescribed 10 therapy sessions, so we stayed in Carcassonne until the 6 of June, giving ourselves plenty of time to make it to Agde for our appointment.

We took our time going east on the Canal du Midi, staying at Puicheric our first night, just before the bridge at a lovely spot all by ourselves. It was a beautiful evening of special light and we were very glad to be going on our way. From there we cruised for about 8 hours to Le Somail. The canal is so very beautiful at this time of the year with its plain tress on both sides so majestic and so green! Beyond them, the vineyards and wheat fields sway in the wind under the bluest of skies. We were able to get electricity from the Nichols Boat base, so we stayed in this charming little village for 3 nights. It is one of the most picturesque villages on the canal with a low bridge, an old chapel and a round tower used to store ice in the XVIII C. It is very well known because it has an old bookstore with more than 50.000 books, mostly collectors items and lots of first editions. One can spend the whole day in there and find the most amazing books in all languages. While there, we took walks, sat by the edge of the canal on a beautiful terrace to have a drink in the evenings and enjoyed the beauty of this special spot.

From Le Somail, there is a 54 Km run without locks, so the cruising is all pleasure and relaxation. We took about 4 hours to Capestang with an hour lunch break by the side of the canal. We met a Dutch man who has a small sailboat, and who remembered our boat from Moissac last year. An interesting fellow who has lived in India, Greece, the UK and many other places. He lives on his boat all year long and has the most adorable dog called Jimmy. He told us where he had moored his boat beyond the busy port of Capestang, so we did the same. We were away from the "naughty boats" as the British call rentals, but close enough to the town, which by the way has a great Collegiale from the XIII C. that sits on the highest part of town and is quite a view, especially from the canal. Not far from us, there was a barge called St. Antonius, which was a floating theater. They had shows 3 of the 5 nights we were there. They set quite a production with special effects and music, a very romantic thing to see. Unfurtunately, after a few days of felling better, my back went out again and I was in terrible pain all day.

On this day we went as far as Colombiers, only a 2 hour run and tied up after the busy port under the plain trees in a shady spot. Summer is here, as shade is most welcome at this time of the year. Colombiers has a very interesting old "chai" which has been made into a museum and art gallery. They had an exhibit by a German artist who studied calligraphy and Japanese ink drawing. His pieces were quite unique. It was good for my back to move a little even if very slowly. The best thing for me when in pain is eaither to walk or to lie flat on my back; sitting is the worst. At this time I was reading a very good book called A Place to Come to by Robert Penn Warrren, so I spent a lot of time lying on my back reading. I think I read it in 3 days.

After Clolombiers you have to got through an 7 lock "staircase," an original work of engineering from Riquet, who built he Canal du Midi in the 1600's. It is called Fonserannes. This time we were locking down, so the process is a lot easier. The lock keeper tells you where to go, and because the process is long, the put you into the lock with 3 or 4 other boats. The locking down took about an hour to complete. Once you leave the locks, you can see in the distance the imposing Cathedral of Beziers, and soon after you go on the Pont Canal over the River Orb. After here, there are 2 or 3 locks that are not round, like all of the locks on the Canal d Midi. We passed Villeneuve les Beziers, where we wanted to stay, but the port was full, continued on past Portiragnes and then a long straight run to Vias. Here the canal changes its appearance. Trees are scarce, and the topography is more like the Camargue; marshy and flat. In Vias there was supposed to be electricity, since the had all new facitities, but there were no connections. We stayed one night and the next day continued to Agde, a run of only 4 kms. We tied the boat up against the quai just before the round lock behing Omega, a 1917 wooden boat that had wintered in Carcassone the last two years. We left the boat there for the day and drove to Carcassonne. Bill had taken the train the night before to pick up the car, which was parked at the port. I had an appointment with Philippe for another therapy treatment. We had lunch with Michel and Claudine, did some shopping and returned to the boat for the night.

The next day, we asked at the Nautic Boat Base if we could stay and get electricity and water, and they let us stay for 4 nights. It was great because we were able to see Agde, the old Greek port, and interesting city built in dark volcanic stone, and on the river Herault with its jousting tradition and Mediterranean feeling. One day we took a 3 hour walk to Le Grau D'Agde to talk to the people at Chantier Allemand and ask if we could bring the boat in on Sunday. The told us we could tie the boat up at any slip we saw empty. Saturday afternoon we went through the round lock and moor the boat just past it. Sunday it was a very windy day, but we decided to take the risk and make it to the Chantier. It was a fabulous 2 hours on the river, wide and blue, and as you approach the Mediterranean, you can see the 2 light houses at both sides of the inlet, the banks of the river lined with fishing boats of every size, a totally Mediterranean scene. As we approached the Chandlers, we spotted an open slip, and despite the wind, pushing us away from it, Bill negotiated a very tight u-turn and got in beautifully. We tied the boat, had lunch and went for a walk to the beach. The tourist season has started, so the restaurants and little shops are bustling with people and activity. We were finally ready to take Biesbosch out of the water after 5 years.

The Port of Carcassonne

Leaving Carcassone. Locking down with Stephanie, The Port Captain

A low bridge on the Canal du Midi

Beautiful stormy skies from the canal

On horseback along the tow path

Le Somail

Capestang in the distance

Theater Barge

Going over the river Orb . Beziers Cathedral in background

Outing in artistic Pezenas

A Cat balcony in Pezenas

The Herault river in Agde

Agde, ancient Greek Port

Jousting boats in Agde

Arriving in Le Grau D'Agde's shipyard

BACK IN FRANCE FOR 2009

2009-06-05T09:52:00.001-07:00

After a fantastic 5 month stay in Miami with a short trip to Colombia, we left Miami via Madid, where we spent 6 days with our friend Elena, a wonderful tour guide, with whom we always experience the city to the max. We then took the train to Valencia mainly to see the new Arts and Sciences complex, which was still being built the last time we were there. It has been built on the river bed after the latter was deviated far from the city due to large floods. The complex is an incredible work of architecture. The buildings mainly white, with touches of cobalt blue and surrounded by reflection pools. The Opera is done in the shape of a whale and the new Agora, in that of a clam. There is a fabulous Oceanographic museum, the largest and best we have ever seen. It houses every species of fish and birds from all continents on earth. The old part of the city has a Loggia, built in the XV C. and perfectly preserved. Valencia has always been one of our favorite cities in Spain, so it was great to be there again. From there we took the train to Figueras, where we met our friend Claudine from Carcassonne, and who drove us to Castelnaudary where Biesbosch has been left for the winter. After such a long time on land, it sure was nice to be back on the boat one more time.

The port at Castelnaudary was under construction during the time we were gone, so the exterior of the boat was very dirty. Layers of dirt and cement powder had built up, but it was an easy clean. Inside, the boat was as neat as when we left, so it was simple enough to unpack and get settled for another season of travel. We stayed there a few days, since Bill had to do some electrical work before we could move on. We set off direction Carcassonne with all the intentions to make it as close to Agde as possible, before we were to meet our friends Justo and Stella in Nice to go with them to The Monaco Grand Prix. However, the day we arrived in Carcassonne, I hurt my back, pretty much the same way I did two years ago, so we stayed in Carcassonne in order for me to start some physical therapy treatments. We then postponed our appointment to take the boat out of the water for the 21. Before we drove to Nice, my back was a little better, so we were able to truly enjoy our Monaco experience.

We had an apartment which one of Justo's clients had lent us in a very central area of Monaco, with a beautiful terrace and all the amenities. We had been given VIP passes for the race, so the experience was incredible. The whole scene was surreal. We arrived there on Thursday, and while we waited for them, we saw so many celebrities, actors, models, and all and all, the beautiful people that frequent these sorts of events. The weather could not have been better all weekend. The port, lined with yachts, each more beautiful than the next, the streets lined with the most beautiful cars, the city packed to the brim and bustling with activity. Our friend Beppe had made a reservation for us in a restaurant at the port, where his friend gave us the best table and where we were able to see the whole night scene and eat very well.

On the day of qualifying, Bill was able to sneak into a building next to the palace from where he took some fabulous pictures. He was in his element, just like the old days. On Sunday, race day, we were met at the Hermitage Hotel and taken to our terrace on Ave. Ostende, so we could enjoy the race. The building has 4 terraces, so we were able to move levels to take photos. The food and the service were unbelievable. We had all the wine and food we could eat and, were so close to the cars, that you felt as if you could touch them. Now I understand why The Monaco Grand Prix is the King of the F1 events. For us, an experience we would not have missed for the world, and we have to thank our dear friends Justo and Stella for wanting to share it with us.

On Monday, we drove to St. Paul de Vence, a beautiful medieval village, walked around it and saw the place where Justo and Stella were to stay. A beautiful Relais Chateau in the middle of town, among the tiny shops and cobble stone streets, typical of the region. We had lunch with them in Vence, and drove back to Carcassonne. The were to stay in Provence for a few days before meeting us here again. We had got them a reservation at The Jardin de la Cite, a Bed and Breakfast owned by our friend Dany, and we wanted them to enjoy the experience. They came for only two nights, so the first night we cooked mussels on the boat--superb! The next day Claudine made us a beautiful and delicious summer lunch which we had in her backyard by her cherry tree. It was fantastic. After that we went with Claudine and Michel to do some wine tasting of Corbieres wines and to Dany's for drinks in the evening. The next day we drove them to Barcelona where we had made a reservation to eat at El Passadis de Pep, a restaurant that Justo knows very well. We had the most amazing seafood I have ever had! They left for the airport and Bill and I stayed in Barcelona walking The Ramblas and the Barri Goti until ten at night. All and all our time with the Azpiazus was a full and rich an experience as it always is.

We made it home at one in the morning, had a very good night sleep, and the next day really felt the absence of our dear friends who continued on to Portugal and then London before returning to Miami. Now, we are preparing to leave Carcassonne this Friday, June 5. Although we are not due in Agde until the 21, we want to take a leisurely cruise down The Midi Canal, before the full season starts. We think the hull cleaning will take anywhere between 7-10 days. We hope all goes well.

Elena and Bill on Menendez Pelayo

Plaza Mayor, Madrid

Tapas in the evening

Calatrava's complex in Valencia

The Opera, foreground

The Hemisferic and The Agora

Modernist train station, left. Plaza de toros, right. Valencia

XV C. Loggia, Valencia

Mercado de Colon, Valencia

Our apartment Building, Monaco

Tour of the paddock by Valentina from Ferrari

Not a bad car.

Monaco from the train station

Only in Monaco

Qualifying

Jenson Button makes pole position!

Dinner at our apartment terrace

Our VIP Terrace at night

Not enough to eat.

VIP Terrace, race day

Race day

Jenson Button, race winner

MY TRIP TO COLOMBIA

2009-04-11T12:15:00.000-07:00

With my brother, his wife, Ines and my cousins

Pablo and Libia on their land. Quindío, Colombia

Quindío, Colombia

The town of Salento, Quindío

Cocora with Royal palms

With "canelazos" at the best trout restaurant in the world.

Bambusa with pool

My brother's cattle

Luncheon with family and friends in Bogotá

My sister Inesita's house in La Calera ( house built and designed by her)

My mom, Sofía

At house with horse stables in Subachoque, near Bogotá

My three sisters with Bill

Paulina and Sebastián

Lunch at my sister's

Inesita's house in La Calera

Paula, my niece, with my mom

Simón

Jacobo

Isabella

OUR MIAMI STAY

2009-01-28T11:11:00.001-08:00

Ian on El Mico

Relaxing

Calm sea

Show and tell

Christmas dinner spread

Ian and Suka

The boys

Sunset

OUR LAST DAYS OF CRUISING WITH JOHN AND CATALINA (The End of our 2008 Cruising)

2008-11-06T12:08:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday, Oct. 28 our friends John and Catalina Escobar arrived in Carcassonne after a much awaited visit. They had been to Holland and Germany, and before coming south they were in Paris, from where they drove to see us. The weather had been beautiful until the day they arrived. That Tuesday was the coldest day we had had all season, but fortunately, in the days to follow, it warmed up and they had some beautiful sunshine for our last two days of cruising. The Canal du Midi was to close to navigation on Nov. 5, but we wanted to be in our wintering port of Castelnaudary on Oct. 31. The last few days before the closing of the canal, navigation had to be "a La demande," which means you had to ask for permission and subject yourself to their schedules for locks, etc. John and Catalina arrived around 7: 00 PM which was the perfect time to have a drink. I had some appetizers and a bottle of Biesbosch's own champagne to celebrate their arrival. After a much animated hour or so, we had a delicious dinner of Boeuf Bourgignonne, which I had prepared the night before, and which proved to be the perfect meal for a cold evening. In the middle of the night the electricity in port had failed and our batteries went flat. We had to make sure they were fully charged, since on our first night of navigation we would not have a place to plug into. The next day we had our daily breakfast with fresh croissants and out-of- the oven bread brought by Bill every morning. They so enjoyed their breakfasts on the boat. We got ready and Catalina and I went to do some shopping at the Pharmacie de La Gare, a fabulous American Style drugstore that has the most wonderful natural products one can possibly imagine. We went up to The Place Carnot, made reservations to eat at the local" Chez Felix" and went back to the boat to get the guys. We very much enjoyed our lunch at this typical French bistro, walked around and went back to the boat for the rest of the afternoon. In the early evening, we drove to Castelnaudary in both our cars so we could leave them there and get back by train. To our dismay, the last train to Carcassonne was delayed by more than an hour, so we left their car at the station and drove back in ours to see the Cite, so John and Catalina could take photos of it all lit up. Every time I see it up on the hill at any time of the day, its beauty takes my breath away. But at night it looks surreal, almost. That evening we had a light meal of quiche and salad, and vast quantities of wine, as one tends to drink when in company of friends.

The next day, after our usual good breakfast, we got ready, I walked to the first lock--the one at the port--where I had John throw the ropes to me. Going back to Castelnaudary you are up locking all the time and because of the height of some of the locks, it is good to have someone help with the ropes. From then on, John was my rope assistant. We would drop him off at the waiting pier before the lock and he would either walk or bike to it which proved to be a very enjoyable thing for him. The first couple of hours of navigation was a bit drizzly, but later on the weather got better, so we spent most of the time out on the bow. That first night we tied up the boat after the port of Bram right after a lock in a most beautiful and quiet spot. We had nothing but the trees and the birds around, my most favorite thing to do. We sat around with our drinks, and I made a nice chicken dinner, which we all enjoyed. After our cheese and after-dinner drinks, John and Catalina did the dishes and we retired for the night. The next day, due to the fact that we were not full up in power we all washed up--no showers--had our breakfast and continued on for our last day of navigation for the season. At lunch time we tied up the boat in a beautiful spot, the lock of La Peyruque where there is a small boutique owned by an English couple. She makes beautiful ceramic things, so John and Cata bought me a lovely little bell and a ceramic plaque just like the one marking the lock house, for us to hang in the boat. Such a thoughtful thing to do!

This stretch of the canal has very many locks, many of them triple, and the last one at Castelnaudary, a quadruple lock, operated mainly by our friend, Mr. Villeneuve, better known as "The pie man". Most of the lock keepers remembered us from the last time we went down so all of them were wonderful, talkative and polite. I had asked Mr. Villeneuve if he could sell me a pie, but he was out of them. We decided I would be picking one up at the lock house the next day. As we left the last of the 4 locks, we came into the large basin of Castelnaudary. John was at the helm and Catalina and I could not believe the beauty of this basin with its Mediterranean feeling and beautiful old mill and bridge. We moored the boat after the bridge at the port in front of La Police Nationale. We had called ahead, so we had a spot and electricity and water available. John and Catalina were supposed to leave for Barcelona soon after arrival, after 6: 00 PM, but we persuaded them to stay and leave the next morning. We had another lovely evening with them. We went to the local supermarket, got a few bottles of wine and came back to the boat where I prepared a pasta meal enjoyed by all. The next day after a good night, we were starting on breakfast, when we heard a knock on the door. It was "The pie man" delivering a piping hot apple pie that he had made for us that morning. He wanted to make sure our friends could taste it. We could not believe it. So our breakfast was grand. After getting ready we all got in their car, went back to Carcassonne to pick up ours, and we led John and Catalina out to the Autoroute to Barcelona. We said our goodbyes, and although, once again it was sad to see them go, we are glad to know we will be seeing them again in Miami this winter when we are there.

After their departure, Bill and I went out to lunch, came back to Biesbosch and did some laundry, since the next day they were predicting rain which finally came. It rained all night and all day, something we had not seen here in The South since our arrival last year. We stayed in Biesbosch reading all day. I finished a book and almost finished a second, watched two good movies and made plans for our trip to the North which starts this coming Thursday. We plan to go to Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, Holland and The north of France.

A tea break for Catalina

My rope assistant

A lovely bridge on The Midi

The basin at Castelnaudary

The view from our wintering spot

The Cite de Carcassonne

Biesbosch coming around the bend

A great couple

The colors of Fall

Tying up for lunch in shallow waters

Great mooring spot

A VISIT FROM OUR FRIEND ELENA

2008-11-06T11:58:00.000-08:00

On Oct 15, Bill and I drove to Toulouse Airport to pick up our friend Elena who arrived from Madrid Around 8:00 PM. Her flight was a few minutes late, and we were concerned that the little place in Carcassonne where we wanted to eat would be closed by the time we got there, Luckily, we arrived around 9:30, and it was not too late. It is a little Italian family restaurant where we had eaten before. We wanted pizzas, which we ordered with some wine, and Voila. Our pizzas arrived. Elena ordered an anchovies pizza which proved to be too salty to eat. She was too polite to complain, so she ate the crust, a little salad, and some of ours. We got to the boat, showed Elena around, and noticed she was truly impressed. She did not know what to expect, but she loved the feeling and the comfort of the boat. We knew she has a tendency to get sea sick, so we wondered how she would do once we would start moving.

As it is customary, the next morning Bill went out to get the bread and croissants for breakfast, only to find out Elena was not around. She had gone out for a walk before Bill had awakened. We had our breakfast, showered, got ready and went out with Bill as far as the Place Carnot, where they hold the market twice a week. This day they were setting up for the launch of the first wines, so the market had been reduced to less than half its original size. Bill left to do some errands and Elena and I walked to The Cite, the fortified city of Carcassonne. Every time I see it, which is at least once a day, I am in awe of its beauty. This day, it was sunny and beautiful, so Carcassonne was even prettier for Elena. We walked up a steep hill--no path--to reach the outer walls of the city. From there you felt taken back a few centuries. No pavement, electric cables or car noises could be heard. We could only imagine the sound of horse hooves hitting the stone path as they approached its gates. We went into the center of the cite, saw the beautiful cathedral, the Hotel de La Cite, the small squares and all other sites . As we came back into the Bastide--modern Carcassonne -- we went to have lunch at a little place where Bill and I have eaten called Le Cozy. They have great food, delicious salads and desserts, and a very nice atmosphere. We had a great lunch and walked through town, did some shopping and thoroughly enjoyed our day. In the evening, we went to taste some wines at the Place Carnot, many of the chateaux offering some great foods along with the wines. Later on,we cooked a Raclette for Elena, which she really enjoyed.

On Friday Bill had a dental appointment in the town of Fabrezan, so we left sometime mid-morning so we could have the chance to show Elena the countryside. The grape harvest had just been completed, the vines, in their golden and orange splendor made the landscape breath-taking. In Fabrezan, we walked around the town which is very charming and had lunch a a little restaurant across from Dr. Hortal's office. We met Bill and drove to Aigne, the small village shaped like a snail, Caunes Minervois with its beautiful Abbey and pink marble quarry, Minerve and its canyons, and all around the area. We had to get back to get ready for a soiree with our friends, Michele, Claudine and Dany, here on Biesbosch. Elena and I made a tortilla espanola, we had hams, cheeses, olives, and different hors d'oeuvres which we accompanied by some great wines. Dany brought an almond, butter dessert called Financier, out of this world, and Claudine brought an assortment of delicious panna cottas. Although it was not meant to be a meal, it turned out to be so. We so enjoyed having our friends on our boat again, and they were delighted to meet Elena.

During the time She was on Biesbosch, Elena, who does not sleep very well, slept like a baby. I was so glad to know she was relaxed and really appreciating this kind of life. She never got sea sick, not even when we were uplocking and the boat would move from the violence of the water coming into the lock. The next day, under clear and sunny skies, we took Biesbosch in the direction of Trebes. The first lock just after Carcassonne is a triple lock, quite an experience for Elena. She was delighted with the whole thing. We tied the boat up and had a lovely little lunch. After lunch we went exploring around the sleepy town, where despite the signs for the different specialty shops, it did not look like they had ever been open or that there were any people in the town. This is very typical of rural France, though. Our stop for the evening was Trebes where there is a rental boat base with a real port. I asked the captain for a spot, and although they were full, he moved a boat to the other side to give us a spot where we could have electricity for the night. As usual, Elena and I went into town to see the sights, and although the church was supposed to be open, it was not. I guess they knew I was coming! In the evening we had another nice meal on Biesbosch and another good night's sleep.

The next day we had a very e and easy day of navigation. We tied the boat up in Puicheric and had lunch at the picnic area complete with stray dogs--lovely ones--and lovely weather. In the afternoon it got a bit cloudy, but never cold. We arrived in Homps at 6:00 PM ready for a nice drink. Elena announced that since the next day was our anniversary, she wanted to invite us for dinner. We ate at Les Tonneliers where we had a very good dinner and good bottle of Minervois wine. It was a very good evening. We would be getting up early to go back towards Carcassonne, the same way we came. We were invited to Dany's on the day of our anniversary along with Claudine and Michel. Bill had picked up the car and brought it to Trebes, so we could drive to Dany's in the evening. We all got dressed and arrived at Dany's beautiful house, now converted into Le Jardin de La Cite, a gorgeous B&B with a beautiful view of La Cite from her living room and pool area. She had made so many fabulous things to eat and it all looked so beautiful. The punch she made was the best I have ever had. It had champagne, cinnamon, juices and other spices. We had a very good time with our friends, and Elena got to see Dany's house in full. We came back, Elena got some of her things ready for packing because the next day we would be driving her back to Toulouse to take her flight to Madrid.

We got up early to take advantage of the day so we could see Toulouse with Elena. Her plane would be leaving at 8:00 PM so we had time to go to the market at Victor Hugo, where we ate at one of the upstairs restaurants. Elena wanted to try the Cassoulet, I had a very good piece of meat and Bill had some steak, as well. After lunch, we went to see St. Sernin, the impressive and gorgeous Romanesque church of Toulouse, where earlier in the year I had been given my Pilgrim's Credential. We visited Les Jacobins and its Cloister. Here under the altar they have the urn with St. Thomas of Aquinas' remains. We also walked to the beautiful Toulousian church of Notre Dame de Taur, The Capitole, The Parc Wilson and all of the main downtown area with its many little boutiques and numerous cafes full of people at all times of the day. Elena wanted to be at the airport early, so when we arrived, she wanted to get in to the tax free shops to buy a bottle of wine for her daughter, only to be told that on Easy Jet, passengers going to Spain have no right to buy from those shops. She was able, however to buy her a lovely pair of earrings from a beautiful gallery at the airport.

Although we will be seeing Elena in Madrid before we go back to USA, it was very sad to say good bye again, and we only hope to have Elena with us another time on Biesbosch. Who knows? She might join us in Bruges when we are there, perhaps next year.

Elena in Fabrezan

In the snail-shaped village of Aigne

Minerve, Cathar City

Fresques Lock

Charming low bride on The Midi Canal

A reflection in Homps

A quiet stretch of the canal

The painting-like quality of the Fall landscape

Turbulence in lock

A very fit First Mate

And co-captain as well

TO THE END OF THE CANAL LATERAL A LA GARONNE PART II (IAN'S VISIT)

2008-10-11T14:23:00.000-07:00

On September 2 Ian arrived in Paris, where he stayed for a couple of days with his cousin, Sylvia and husband Laurent. The day of Ian's arrival it was Sylvia's first day at The Salon de la Mode where she was exhibiting and promoting her new winter collection. This was a very interesting thing for Ian to see, and he was delighted to be able to help his cousin with the set up of her displays, etc. Although Sylvia was very busy, they were able to spend some time together, so for Ian it was a great experience. On the 6 of September we picked Ian up at the train station in Bordeaux. It was so exciting to see him there waiting for us. I could not believe he was going to be with us again for a few days. We parked the car by the river and the Hotel de Ville, so he could see the new River walk they have built in the city. They have been building it for a few years, and they only have about a kilometer to finish. It is absolutely gorgeous. Across from the Hotel de Ville they built a Mirroir d' eau or Water Mirror, a fountain that spews jets of water steam and trickles of water to form a large square flat water mirror on its black slate stones. People can take their shoes off and play in it, so you see children and adults alike enjoying this unusual fountain. We found a nice restaurant in front of the river, so we sat down for a while and had a very nice lunch. Before we left town, we went to see the submarine pens from WW II, which are intact. Ian was eager to see the boat, so we got back in the car and drove to Meilhan sur Garonne where Biesbosch was.

Ian wanted to relax and not do a lot of navigating, at least not very long days, so we spent two days in Meilhan, took him to see the towns around it, had some lovely meals on board, and on the 8 at around 11:00, we left Meilhan to go to Castets en Dorthe, the end of The Canal Lateral a la Garonne, about 1/1/2 hours away. It was a gorgeous, sunny morning and this last part of the canal, like the rest is green and lush. At the last lock we had to wait for a while. There was a crew of three men working on the gates. After going through the lock, we moored along the canal and had lunch on deck. We arrived at Castets around 1: 30 PM and were able to tie up along the long pontoon away from the port; a great spot. Later on, a large Peniche called Bosco, tied behind us. As it turned out, they had a Peniche Driving School, and the students were all girls. According to Ian, from the looks of them--rather rough around the edges--they must have been young delinquents being taught a skill. In he late afternoon they all jumped into the water to play and sun themselves on surfboards. They all had their eyes set on Ian, without a doubt. We walked to the lock that takes you to the Garonne, a rather intimidating lock whose lock house has three floors, unlike the rest. The river has flooded many times and the marks of the various flood levels are set in the house walls. We then walked up the hill to the Chateau de Castets and the small village of about 400 people. In the evening we set up the barbecue and had a great cookout.

The next day, Ian's birthday, we had a lazy morning, a nice lunch on board and after 2:30 PM navigated Back to Meilhan. Ian wanted to have a raclette for dinner, so after tying the boat up, we took the car to the supermarket and bought the cheeses, meats, and all ingredients necessary. As it turned out, it was a chili and rainy night, the perfect weather for a raclette. For Ian it was a perfect day, exactly what he wanted. To go to Vileton We stayed at Meilhan until the morning of the 12, when we left around 10: 00 AM. Although it was foggy in the first hour or so of navigation, the weather turned into sunny and balmy. For lunch, we tied up along the canal and had a soup and sandwich which Ian wanted and continued on to Villeton. There are a few houses behind the port, but in front of the pontoon, there is a Pizzeria and a small local folklore museum. It is a quiet mooring, so we decided to stay for a few days. From there we took trips by car to Mas d'Agenais so Ian could see The Rembrandt at The Collegiale, to Agen to eat at the train station, to Damazan and other villages in the area. We had left our car in Meilhan so Bill took the bicycle along he canal to pick up the car and bring it to Villeton. On the 14 in the morning, we took Ian back to Bordeaux from where he returned to Paris and the 16 he flew back to LA. This time, Sylvia was not as busy, so he was able to spend time with his cousin. She has always been very special to Ian and he has always enjoyed her company as well as Laurent's, Sylvia's husband.

After such a wonderful time with him, it was very hard to say goodbye to our boy. And for a few days, I kept setting the table for 3, forgetting he was not around. He always is, though in our hearts.

A beautiful day for navigation

Brasserie de la Gare, Agen

A pigeon house in Gascony

Our mooring at Castets

Flood levels markings

Lock leading to Garonne River

Chateau de Castets

Cookout at Castets

View of canal, Garonne and bridge from top of Mas d'Agenais

Ian admiring a Rembrandt

The Mirroir d' eau, Bordeaux

The Garonne

The wild and beautiful Garonne

Our handsome son

A typical Gascony landscape

TO THE END OF THE CANAL LATERAL A LA GARONNE PART I

2008-10-09T23:03:00.000-07:00

After Bob and Doris left, we spent a couple more weeks in Malause doing some work on Biesbosch, a new front hatch that Mark, our friend fabricated for us, a bit of painting, and of course enjoying the company of Mark and Celia, Kit and Steve and Laurence and Andre whom I met when I came back from Spain. On August 17 we celebrated Celia's birthday with a big lunch in the picnic area and a game of boules in the late afternoon. We stayed in Malause until the 30 of August, but did a lot of traveling by car, and explored the Lot et Garonne and The Gers, both very beautiful departments with gorgeous towns, great nearby hill food and history.

The first night we tied all by ourselves at a bend in the canal where we could see on the nearby hill a medieval town with a triangular church tower all pink from the sunset light. As soon as we tied up we were visited by a family of six beautiful swans who swam around our boat for a long time, even after they had been fed a whole baguette. Since it was early still, we left the boat and walked down a little road to see where it would lead. After a few bends we came into a tiny village called St. Pierre de Malaure. The houses were small and low and all around were sunflower fields and plum trees full of purple fruit ready to be picked. The next morning we continued on to Agen, a real city that has a real port by the train station, whose brasserie is famed for its good cuisine. We got there, tied up in front of a big peniche and walked across the pedestrian bridge over to the station. Lunch was fabulous and the ambiance great. After lunch we arrived in the village of Serignac where we tied up to the pontoon along with three other boats. The village of Serignac has a very distinct church tower that swirls up like an ice cream cone. It is quite beautiful. The town is a small bastide with half timber houses and narrow streets; very lovely. In the afternoon we stooped at the local boules court to watch a few people playing, and Bill was invited to join in. He was playing with some very accomplished players and he and his partner won the game. It was such a fantastic thing for Bill to do! The next day we walked from the canal to the River Garonne, a few km away among the plum trees, apple orchards and kiwi plants. The aromas of the warm ripening fruit were unbelievable. The river is very wild and its banks in that area, not at all populated, so with its lush vegetation and clear water, you felt as if you were in the jungle. We walked quite a distance on its graveled banks from where we could see hundreds of fish feeding close to the banks, jumping and splashing about. It was quite a sight!

Our next stop was in the town of Buzet, whose vineyards produce some very good wines. We tied up after the port in front of a restaurant where we thought we might have electricity, but they had disconnected it. However, as it is, we have enough battery power to run the 2 refrigerators, lights, and all other electrical appliances, except oven for about 32 hours. We left the boat, walked to see the town uphill to La Cave de Buzet, a cellar owned by the vintners of the region where they have wine tasting. After tasting a few good wines, we bought a few bottles and walked back to our boat with them. It was a beautiful evening, so we went on deck for our aperitif, had a very nice dinner and watched a great French film.

From Buzet we did a three hour run, an easy run past the port at Damazan, where we could not tie up because their pontoons are too small and mainly for plastic boats. This stretch of the canal is particularly beautiful with three and sometimes four rows of plain trees along its banks. We decided to stop for lunch at a restaurant called Le Bar du Canal because it had a pontoon right in front of its terrace for boats to stop and tie to. The lunch turned out to be a lovely home cooked meal and a fantastic dessert. We were going to continue on, but since the pontoon had all the amenities, we decided to stay and take a long bike ride along the Voie Verte, a bike path that goes from Toulouse to Bordeaux. It was a gorgeous afternoon, so off we went on a 24 Km run. On our way back, we stopped at the lovely medieval town of Mas d'Agenais which has a great view over both the canal and the River Garonne and its suspension bridge. The main square has a covered market from the XIII C. and the Collegiale de St. Vincent, one of the most beautiful of Rembrandt's small paintings of The Cruxifition, one of a series of seven. It was willed to the town by a rich merchant who had lived there.

The next day, we did a 6 hour run with an hour lunch break. There had been a rain storm in the middle of the night cooling things off a bit. We arrived at the town of Meilhan and saw our friends Robin and Millie from Taboe, whom we had not seen since May of this year. They signaled to us to tie up to their boat and told s that the boat behind them would be leaving the next day and we could then have that spot. The port is very well equipped, and it is one of the few with WIFI, which is a real plus. The people who run it is an English couple who used to run a small port in The Midi. They live in their narrow boat with their dog, and have a small concession at the port. Our friends Jane and Hugh from Sea Wolf were also there, and it was great seeing them again, as well. The next day, Bill took the bicycle up to the town of La Reole, where he got a train to pick up the car in Malause and bring it back. Ian was to arrive in Bordeaux in a few days, and we were to meet him there at the train station. While in Meilhan, we did some more traveling in the area by car. We spent a day visiting the vineyards in Bordeaux and saw a few gorgeous Chateaux, but none of the well known ones, such as Chateau Lafite Rothschild and Chateau Mouton were closed for tasting. The region is very beautiful and one can see chateau after chateau for miles on end. At the town of Lamarque, on the West side of the Gironde, we took a ferry to Blaye. It is quite an experience crossing the tidal muddy and dangerous estuary. Blaye has a Vauban citadelle, beautifully preserved with an unbelievable view of the hills and valley below.

Bill broke a tooth, had to go to Carcassonne to see the dentist, so we stayed with our friends Michel and Claudine, the greatest hosts anyone can have. It was the week of Spanish Days in Carcassonne, a yearly Spanish festival of music, spectacles and food. The weather was glorious, as was the whole ambiance in town. On the way back to the boat, we visited the Medieval town of Mirepoix, high on the hills of the Minervois and known for its beautifully preserved half timbered houses with carved wooden beams. It is a treasure of a town.

Celia's birthday in Malause

A beautiful mooring spot on the canal

The Town Hall and Square in Lamarque

A Beautiful Chateau, Bordeaux

Going onto ferry across La Gironde

Premieres cotes de Blaye

With Claudine after market in Carcassonne

Beautiful Mirepoix

Ancient carved beam, Mirepiox

Biesbosch, Agen Port

Going over the Garonne on the Pont Canal of Agen

OUR VISIT WITH BOB AND DORIS GIAMBRA

2008-10-02T12:26:00.000-07:00

A few days after I arrived from Spain, our friends Bob and Doris from California took a train from Paris to Bordeaux where they were met by us. They had taken an overnight train from Rome, the tail end of their Italian trip after having been in Venice, Cinque Terre and Tuscany as a Silver Wedding Anniversary trip. They had telephoned to say their train would be delayed by a couple of hours, so Bill and I decided to go to Ikea in the outskirts of Bordeaux to do some shopping. Their train arrived at the Gare St. Jean around 2:30 PM and as passengers were getting off the TGV, I spotted Bob and Doris, looking tired, but very happy and relieved to see that we were there. We offered to take them around Bordeaux for some sight seeing, but they wanted to get back to Biesbosch, shower and get some rest. Our boat was in Malause, about two hours away, so during our travel time they told us about their wonderful trip to Italy and their many interesting experiences. We were delighted to have them with us and wanted them to have a good experience on the boat.

Once we were on Biesbosch, Bob and Doris decided to leave their large suitcase in the trunk of our car and only take the necessary items for the next few days. That evening they met our friends Mark and Celia, and we sat at the picnic tables and shared a lovely evening of good wine and food. While we were in Malause, Bob and Doris did some walking along the canal which is shady and lined with plain trees for as long as the eye can see. The sunflower fields were a gorgeous contrast to the green pastures and cornfields around. On August 6, the day of their anniversary, I prepared a paella for dinner, which turned out delicious. We ate it on Biesbosch on a rather hot evening. We set a nice tables, candles and all, and Doris put on a lovely sun dress for the occasion. We enjoyed a most fabulous evening with our dear friends.

During the time we were together we decided to share Rick Stein's French Odyssey series with Bob and Doris, since it is all filmed in this canal, many of the places that they would recognize and enjoy. We would watch one or two episodes every night, lying comfortably on our bed, salivating over the recipes and looking forward to the next day's episode.

From Malause we went to Castelsarrassin. It was a beautiful day for navigation and a totally new experience for our friends. They seemed to enjoy the locks, and they both took turns at the helm after a while. In Castelsarrasin we moored just under a pedestrian bridge in front of the park with the War Monument, a lovely quiet and cool spot. Bill and Bob took the bicycles to the supermarket to buy sausages and things for an evening barbeque. While they were gone, Doris and I lay on the grass in front of the boat, did some reading and even took a short nap. In the evening, where we were setting up the barbeque, we noticed a young couple who were fishing very close to our boat and who seemed to be enjoying their time together so much. As the sun set, they started to catch one fish after the other, all very large. The last one was 22 lb.. The fish were carp which they do not eat. They weighed them, took pictures of them and then, they were placed back in the water with such care. It was great to watch them do it. I took some pictures with my camera, cut them a disk, and the next day they brought us a flat of the most luscious tomatoes from the young man's father's garden. We made a great tomato sauce for a pasta the next day.

As we were getting ready to leave the port to go to Moissac, Bill emerged from the engine room with bad news. There was water in the engine, he thought it was grave, so we decided to leave him alone to sort out the problem. It was market day in Moissac, so we called a taxi who took us there and told us to call him when we were ready to leave. The market in Moissac is fabulous. They have clothes, fabric, shoes, and of course, the most wonderful produce, meats and cheeses all produced locally. We had a great time there and Doris was able to buy a few gifts for her friends back home. We kept in contact with Bill by phone, and were told he had sorted out the problem. It was not as grave as he thought and we could leave anytime. Since it was lunch time, we sat in a small restaurant by the Monastery and had a light lunch, called the taxi and in 20 minutes were back on biesbosch ready to go. The trip to Moissac was beautiful, the weather was cooler than the prior days, and a fabulous day of navigation was had by all. After the Pont Canal we wanted to go down the lock to the River Tarn, tie up at the wall by the river with 3 big peniches we had seen from the distance. As I called to ask the lock keeper to ready the lock, we were told they were closed and would have to wait until the next day at 10:00 am. The port in Moissac was full, but we were told we could tie up along the key at the bend entering the lock. It was no easy task, without bollards to tie to. Fortunately, there was a sailboat who lent us some stakes and soon enough we were tied up and secure. The port in Moissac is parallel to the River Tarn, and along the river banks, the trees are plentiful, there is a walkway and downstream, a beautiful old mill which has been turned into a hotel. We took a walk along the banks and Doris got her feet went in the river water. She was looking for a place where she could swim, but there was no easy way to get in safely. She had broken a couple of Ribs on her trip to Italy and was still in pain.

The next day we were at the lock promptly at 10:00, so we turned upstream to go as far as a Chateau on the hill and another mill about an hour ahead. The river navigation is to me the best. There is such openness and feeling of freedom and our Biesbosch loves the rivers so much. Ahead of us we encountered The St. Louis a beautiful hotel barge which takes people from Bordeaux to The Canal du Midi and which we have encountered numerous times while in this area this year. We turned at the mill and navigated downstream as far as the Base de Loisirs, a very wide part of the river with a small port and where the River Tarn meets the River Garonne. When we returned, we tied our boat to one of the big peniches on the river, got off and went for a walk. Along the banks we encountered a group of men who were playing boules, so we sat on the bench in front to watch them play. Another great thing to experience. The men were curious to know where we were from, we talked for a while and back to the boat. We had an appointment to go up the lock at 3:30 PM. This time the lock keeper was alone, so doing a double lock for several boats all afternoon was a hard task. All the time he was pleasant and managed to smile at everyone. We had a bottle of cider, which we gave him with many thanks from our hearts. He was a real trooper.

Since our car was in Malause we went back there arriving late afternoon, so Bob and Doris could pack and leave everything ready for their departure. They wanted to invite us to dinner, but we decided it would be easier to eat on the boat. I made a fresh tomato sauce with the tomatoes we had gotten from the young man, lovely onions and fresh basil from my own herb garden. It turned out delicious, of course accompanied by some good wine and our dear friends. It could not get much better. The next morning we all got up early, drove to Agen for their train was to leave at 10:00 AM. We had time to have a coffee and croissant at the station before their departure. Needless to say, saying goodbye to them was terribly sad. We had such a wonderful time and shared so many wonderful moments together that we hated to see them go. Their vacation was not over yet. They had three days in Paris which they enjoyed immensely. The best thing for us was to hear them tell us that the highlight of their vacation was their stay on Biesbosch. It was everything they wanted; a time of total rest and relaxation, and we were happy to have been able to offer it to them. We look forward to their next visit.

A barbecue in Castelsarrassin

A 14 lb. carp. Castelsarrassin

Bob at the Helm

Captain Doris

"Apero" time by the lock in Moissac

Our guys had a lot to talk about

The River Tarn upstream from Moissac

Doris getting her feet wet in The Tarn

Chateau on The Tarn

A great couple

SANTIAGO - FISTERRA - SANTIAGO

2008-10-02T12:20:00.000-07:00

On July 24, the day before The Saint's Day, we decided to drive to Fisterra--End of the Earth. It was a gray and rainy morning when we left, but as we reached the "confines of the earth" the sun was shining. It was a beautiful drive of two hours along the Rias Bajas with beautiful beaches and lovely fishing villages. At lunch time we stopped at the town of Fisterra, inquired about a good restaurant and were told by a fisherman that all of them had good a fresh seafood. He was carrying a bucket full of shells that he sells to some of the restaurants in town. We did not have to go too far, having found a restaurant in front of the beach with a balcony where were given a table. We ordered a combination of shell and other fish, a deliciously cool Albarino and salad. The meal was an experience in itself. By this time the rain had stopped and the sky was beginning to show its blue colors. We drove out to the tip of Fisterra to take some photos, got out of the car, and it started to rain.

Once back n Santiago, Justo stayed in the hotel to rest his tired back and Libia Stella and I walked over to a big supermarket to buy cold cuts, cheeses, wine and other goodies for the evening. The big fireworks display and piece de resistance was to take place tonight at 11:30. The facade of the Cathedral is made out to look like it has been set on fire, all of this done to music, water technics and fireworks. They were expecting thousands of people, so we wanted to be ready to go around 9:30. On the way to the supermarket we passed a few boutiques, so as women do, we stopped and did a bit of shopping. At the supermarket, not only did we find all our food items, but also some folding stools to be able to watch our show in comfort. Once back at the hotel, we had our aperitif, rested and set out to look for a good place to watch the show. It was raining pretty hard, and although we had umbrellas, we wanted some plastic ponchos that almost everyone was wearing. We bought them at one of the little shops, and felt pretty well protected from the rain. We were ready! As we approached the square, we were surprised to see how few people were there. We took the best places, just in front of the barriers in the center without any obstruction. Soon after the crowds piled in, and since we had about two hours before the show, we took out our picnic and wine all under our plastic ponchos. It was so unbelievably fun to enjoy this under such conditions. People were watching us wishing they had thought about doing the same. Just about five minutes before the show, miraculously the rain suddenly stopped, the sky cleared and the music started. It is difficult to describe how beautiful the whole experience was. The Celtic music, the lights, the photo reflexions on the Cathedral's facade, the luminous jets of water, the whole thing. The show lasted more than a half hour and it left us numb. There were concerts in all the squares, exhibits, conferences and all sorts of shows all throughout the town. Once the crowds cleared, we headed straight for the Parador Nacional where we had a night cap, got a taxi and retired for the night.

On Friday, July 25, The Day of The Saint we got up early had a wonderful breakfast at the hotel before heading for the Cathedral for the Holy Mass that would have all of the pomp and circumstance and would be celebrated by the Bishop of Santiago aided by many priests. This, for all the pilgrims believers and non believers is the true culmination of their pilgrimage. There is a musical procession before the mass and the service is attended by all kinds of government representatives, often The King and Queen--Juan Carlos was meeting with Chavez in Cuba--reason for his absence. This is the day when the famous solid sterling BOTAFUMEIRO (giant incense burner) is suspended and swung across the church after the service. Since Libia and I got there early, we were able to find places just behind the section that had been reserved for all the dignitaries. The service was quite special, with an initial procession of uniformed guards, members of different ancient fraternities and a shrine of The Saint in solid gold carried in by quite a few men. At the end of the mass, the Botafumeiro was swung, and as the crowd came out, another one just as large, was waiting for the next mass.

We met Justo outside in the square, and walked over to have lunch at a nearby restaurant which filled up as soon as we came in. Libia and I had an incredible lobster rice and Stella and Justo had a type of prime rib that it could have fed 4 people. After lunch, we did some shopping, and went back to the hotel early enough to pack our suitcases. Our flight to Madrid was leaving at 7:30 the next morning. Stella and Justo stayed one more day in Santiago, returned the car in San Sebastian and we all met again in Madrid the following week.

Hotel San Francisco, old Franciscan Monastery

Waiting for the show

A photo does not do it justice

Overcome by emotion

Gold statue of St. James of Compostela

Members of the Fraternity of St. James

Botafumeiro

Waiting to get in

The Cathedral

PEDROUZO TO SANTIAGO (THE LAST LEG)

2008-10-02T12:17:00.000-07:00

The alarm went off at 5:00 AM. We showered, got ready and left Pension Orca at 6:00 AM in total darkness. We could feel the heaviness of the air outside. The humidity was unbearable, and as soon as we left, we started to hear thunder in the distance. It was pitch black, so I took out my little flashlight, our life saver that day. We turned into a forest almost immediately, sprinkle soon turned into rain. This was the first day we had had rain in the entire walk. Still in the dark, we spotted a house with an overhang, so we stood under it for a few minutes until it let up. We could hear people coming behind us, but could not see them. They caught up to us and soon disappeared in the mist. They wanted to rush to get to Santiago for the noon mass in the cathedral. We had left without breakfast, so by the time it turned light, we were very hungry with a few km. to go before the first cafe. Finally, around 8:30 we saw the place, but there were lots of people having breakfast, many waiting to be served by a lone cranky waitress, who seemed to go into a fit with every order she got. After more than a half hour wait, she finally took our order, we had our coffees, OJ's and croissants and continued on our way in the constant drizzle of the day. The leg had some short uphills, quite a few, but they did not seem bad, since there was no sun or heat beating on us. We walked along the back of the airport and 2 hours later we arrived at Lavacolla, a crystal clear brook of reddish sand, where according to tradition, the pilgrims would wash to be presentable for their arrival at the Cathedral in Santiago. Hence, the name--Lava(wash) -- colla(rear end-behind.) Of all the legs on our walk this was the least pretty. From Lavacolla on, the presence of the urban area is evident, even if it cannot be always seen. The traffic noise of the highways is forever present. The last climb before Santiago is to El Monte de Gozo or Joy Hill. This was the place from where the city of Santiago could be seen below, and evidence of only few minutes until our arrival. Today there is a large monument at the very top and down below, the small chapel of San Marcos where we had our next to last stamp placed on our credentials. From there, it took us an hour to get to the Plaza del Obradoiro, the beautiful and imposing square where one enters the cathedral. We went to take a picture and found out the battery the camera had run out of juice. It was almost 2:00 PM and the noon mass was still going on in the Cathedral. On this day, the 23 of July, the mass was special, full of folklore and tradition. It was the Mass of the Floral Offers so many adults and children were dressed in the different costumes of the regions and there was Galician bagpipe music and lovely singing. I guess that the shock of our sudden arrival and the fact that we were sort of thrown into this spectacle we did not expect, kept us from feeling what I anticipated would be a feeling of euphoria. After all, we had been walking for 12 days and we had reached our destination!. No small feat, but I guess no big deal, either.

As we left the church and were coming down the steps, we ran into our young friends Francisco and Alex, the ones we had walked with to O'Cebreiro. We were all so excited to see each-other. They hugged and kissed us and told us they were staying at the refugio in Monte de Gozo one hour uphill from Santiago. They were going to stay 3 nights and had to have their gear with them all the time while in the city. They were going to attend the next mass and enjoy the city. The most beautiful feature of the cathedral which is the Portico de La Gloria, the enormous and beautifully carved tympan whose main column holds the statue of Christ was blocked off due to restoration for the Holy Year which will be in 2010. That means that the 25 of July, the day of Santiago de Compostela, Patron of Spain falls on a Sunday and The Pope himself will be there officiating the Pilgrims' Mass.

Justo was waiting for us in front of the Cathedral to take us to lunch to celebrate our arrival. Lunch was at the restaurant in Los Reyes Catolicos, the Parador Nacional in Santiago, a five star hotel and a band former monastery. Needless to say, the food and wines were spectacular, and after a meal of almost 3 hours, we walked to Justo and Stella's hotel, The San Francisco and got a taxi to take us to our hotel The Gran Hotel Santiago, close to the University in the modern part of town. The hotel is excellent, in the architectural style of the new Hyatts with center courtyard and waterfalls and balconies with overhanging plants. We showered, rested, did our laundry and changed into our dresses. In the evening we were meeting Justo and Stella for some tapas in the Casco Viejo--historical center of town. We did so under the magical mist of Santiago. Time flew, and before we knew it, it was past 11:00 PM, we took a taxi and went back to our wonderful hotel.

A wet stop before Santiago

Walking up to El Monte de Gozo

A Templar Pilgrim

The Cathedral of Santiago upon our arrival

CASTANEDA TO PEDROUZO

2008-10-02T12:12:00.000-07:00

Today was one of the hottest days since the start of our walk. We left our lovely place after breakfast as the sun's first rays were painting the fields in hues of purples, oranges and yellows. We were to meet Stella and Justo in Arzua at around 9:00 AM, where we arrived just on time. We went through a beautiful little town called Ribadiso de Baixo, and to get to it we had to cross an ancient stone bridge over the River Baixo. Once we left Ribadiso, we kept on climbing quite a way along the N547. As we arrived in Arzua, Justo and Stella were loading their car with their suitcases. Stella wanted to get some walking sticks for the rest of the way, but she could not find what she wanted. She borrowed Justo's walking stick. (Justo was still recovering from a foot operation.) Once we left the town, we walked for some time inside a dense oak forest, through small stone hamlets and eucalyptus forests. In Boavista we found a cafe and sat down to eat and rest. The sun was incredibly hot and we felt pretty tired. We continued our climb and for some time walked behind the group of young students that were traveling with the priests. There was quite a climb up to El Alto de Sta. Irene. We saw an incredibly inviting creek, so we dipped our bandanas in its icy cold waters, put them around our necks and felt totally renewed. Stella and Libia took their shoes off and took a foot bath in this delicious water. A few kms. later we stopped at a restaurant along the N547 to have a cold drink. I do not remember having been so thirsty. We called Justo to find out where he was, and he was just returning for a day trip to the Rias Bajas. He met us at the bar, bought us a cold beer, so after that, we really had to make an effort to go on walking, but we did. Stella left with justo to meet us in Pedrouzo and Libia and I continued on our way. We started our descent and when we got to Rua, the group of young kids we had been walking with had set up camp behind a little chapel, they had found a hose and were all playing in the water. How we wished we could do the same! From there to Pedrouzo the distance seem so long, although it was only a few kilometers. When we finally arrived in town and spotted our hotel down below, we could not believe our eyes. Stella was sitting outside all showered and pretty and looking as she had just had a day in the park. She told us her room was too hot, reason for her being outside. Our room, on the other hand had a different orientation, therefore no heat problem. It was very nice and it had a fantastic shower. Libia took a nap while I showered and washed my clothes. I went downstairs to meet Stella and Justo and they had cold drinks waiting for us in the salon. Someone had recommended the Restaurante O'Pino, which we had passed by on the way to town. The food and the wines were fantastic. We ate a lot of seafood and Galician specialties and so enjoyed this wonderful meal. Back at the hotel, we set the alarm for 5:00 AM. We wanted to set off early on the day we would be arriving in Santiago.

Ribadiso de Baixo

Deliciously fresh water for our bottles

30 Km to go!

An Horreo bridge!

Hydrangea lined path

This is heaven!

PALAS DE REI - CASTANEDA

2008-09-13T09:16:00.000-07:00

Stella's first day.

Today's leg was beautiful and varied in landscape and terrain. We walked 25 km to Castaneda under a cloudless sky and hot temperature. The paths among the trees were wider than most, the pine forests, dense and covered with ferns. The eucalyptus trees abundant and bigger as we traveled west. We stopped quite a few times to have coffee or something to drink, so counting the stop at Melide, where we had lunch, our stopping time was about 2 hours, which made this leg seem longer than what it was. The little villages we passed, all medieval and unchanged. Fresh water was abundant and our path went literally along and into many small brooks and rivers. The Rio Catasol was of great relief for Stella and Libia's tired feet. Today all of us were traveling with only small day packs, so we felt so much lighter. We saw the most number of horreos in the whole Camino. Some of the farms have up to three of them. Most are built of stone stilts and sides, others with brick and wood sides, but the most primitive and beautiful are the round ones built of rattan and straw; all of them quite special. The last kilometers from Boente were all uphill in a winding path, so it seemed endless. We finally reached Pension Santiago, our B&B, and when we got there, Justo was waiting for us under a shady awning in the garden having a beer. We sat there and had a drinkfresh, and some fresh cheese with olives, went up to our room and when I came out of the shower Libia was asleep. Stella and Justo had reserved in a town called Arzua, about 6 Km. from where we were. They came to pick us up to take us to dinner in Melide, at Pulperia Granache that had been recommended to us and that we had seen on the way out of town. We had the Galician specialties of caldo gallego, pulpo da feira, pimientos de Padron, and a bottle of good Abarino, all of this topped off by a digestive from Galicia called Oruja, an herbal liqueur, quite good. After arriving at Pension Santiago, we decided Libia and I would walk to Arzua to pick Stella up around 9:00 am to continue on to Pedrouzo.

Sylvia, Stella and horreo

An unusual Galician Romanesque church. Horreo, left

Near Leboreiro

Entering the Province of La Coruna

Which way to Santiago?

More horreos

Large eucalyptus forest

What a relief!

PORTOMARIN - PALAS DE REI

2008-09-13T09:11:00.000-07:00

Today was the first cloudy and cool day we had. The temperature did not go over 20 C , so despite de long climbs, this leg was not at all difficult. We left the hotel at 7: 30 AM, took the path down go across the river and did a few km along the road. Today we went through some lovely little hamlets, climbed up to large pine forests, and the last 10 km we started to see eucalyptus trees, the first we have seen throughout the Camino. At the small village of Castromaior we saw a gorgeous little chapel and at the highest point of the walk, Lameiros, a large group of pilgrims was resting before the descent to Palas de Rei. Here we met a couple we had walked with for a while when we left Astorga, Manuela and Angel. Interesting thing how excited we all got when we saw each other. It was as if we had found our best friends. These are the sorts of experiences one lives along the Camino. There is a special bond among the pilgrims. I can only imagine what it must be like to experience the Refuges and Albergues where you have the common meals and dormitories. That is the one part of the experience we missed by choosing to stay in hotels and B&B's. The rest of the leg we walked with the two of them sharing stories until we got to the entrance of Palas, where they stayed. We continued on to town to the center of town, and although Palas de Rei has no special attraction--rather modern and insipid town--the hotel Belinda was a jewel. Our room and bathroom, fabulous, and the location could have not been better. We did our laundry as usual, showered and went down to get information on where to eat. As the elevator's door opened, whom do we see waiting to come up? Stella and Justo. They had just arrived from San Sebastian, and had just been given a room. They went up, rested a bit and later we all went out to eat in a great place called Meson Faxada, around the corner from our hotel. We were shown to our table by a young man whose accent we recognized as Colombian, so sure enough, he took such good care of us. We had grilled squid, a delicious fresh salad, a good bottle of Albarino, a very good Galician wine, and coffee. We wanted to plan our itinerary for the next few days with Stella, so we went down to the Conference Room in the hotel with our maps and guides, so Stella and Justo could see what we had left to do. Justo will be touring around Galicia in his rental car, will take our backpacks to our destination and will meet us their at the end of the day. Having decided on this plan we said our good nights.

Water fountain of Ligonde

Medieval style horreo

On horseback near Lameiros

SARRIA - PORTOMARIN

2008-09-13T09:04:00.000-07:00

Today's leg was around 25 Km. From the moment we set off , about 8:00AM, until 10:00, it was foggy and very humid. The first 6 Km were all uphill, but absolutely beautiful. This is the true Galicia, with its HORREOS, or corn drying Celtic silos, unique to this area of Spain, and its fields divided by slate walls and narrow paths. Oaks and chestnut trees are abundant, as is water. There are sources everywhere, pure and crystal clear water, so cool and delicious! Today we saw hundreds of pilgrims go by. The interesting thing is that you keep your pace, they keep theirs, so you are pretty much walking on your own all the time. There are never crowded paths along the Camino. At the food stops is where you see the crowds, but not along the path. We finally got to meet Juan Carlos, the Colombian priest that was walking with a large group of teenagers. He was young and very nice.

This area is the heart of farm and dairy country in Galicia, so we passed many beautiful dairy farms, mainly small ones. There were some tough downhill areas today. We stopped at Morgade to have a sandwich and a juice. We heard a Spanish couple arguing because the girl refused to go on walking. Her backpack, she said, was too heavy and she was too sore. At the little cafe where we stopped the lady made a phone call and got a taxi to come and pick the young girl up to take her to Portomarin. Libia, whose back was sore today, asked the taxi driver if he would take her backpack too, so once he said "yes" away it went, and a big weight was off her shoulders, literally. The last downhill after Parrocha was all on pavement, very hard, but we could see the River Mino and the bridge that takes you the city. In 1962 a flood covered the entire city, so its inhabitants retrieved every stone they could and rebuilt it above, about 30 m from the river. The river is green and clear, a gorgeous setting for the town. Once we crossed the bridge, we hoped our hotel would be on the lower part, but OF COURSE NOT! We still had to climb 50 steps to get to the closest part of town and walk another 3 blocks to get to it. Fortunately it had an elevator and is a modern and comfortable place. We were delighted to see Libia's pack in the lobby. It had only cost 3 euros to transport it. We decided to send the backpacks by the same means the next day to Palas de Rei. After we showered, we went into town to see the Church of St. Nicholas, originally from the XIII C, the main square, and the many shops around it. I bought a tiny backpack where I could carry my essentials and my water bottle for the next day. We found a fabulous Meson on the main square, so we had a dinner of "Pulpo da feira" or Galician octopus, croquettes, Galician cheese and a pitcher of sangria. It was so great to sit there enjoying the people, the town and the moment. Upon our return to the hotel, we called our friends Justo and Stella who would be meeting us the next day to inform them that we had made reservations in Palas de Rei at Casa Belinde. Son after 11:00 PM we turned off the lights.

A "cruceiro" along the way

100 Km left to go!

Sylvia with Colombian and Spanish priests

Galician Blondes

Church of St. Nicholas, Portomarin

Rebuilt town, Portomarin

Bridge over Mino River at Portomarin

50 more steps up?

TRIACASTELA - SARRIA

2008-09-13T08:54:00.000-07:00

At 8:00 AM, and after a nice breakfast we were on our way via San Xil. This day to me was the one with the most varied and beautiful landscapes. There were lots of short climbs, longer descents through very narrow paths, forests of nothing but chestnut trees and beautiful green fields. We made our first coffee stop at a tiny village called Montan, then around noon in Turela, where we stopped at a great terraza where lots of pilgrims were having a break. We could hear so many languages being spoken. As we ordered a Spanish tortilla, I met a young man from Kuwait who was traveling with his Hungarian girlfriend. He lives in Vancouver and has traveled pretty much all over the world. At this point of our walk we were exactly half way to Santiago. In Pintin we had a panoramic view from a mesa that took your breath away. The largest of the chestnut tree forests was after Pintin. At this point the sun was so hot, that we thanked our lucky stars for the long shaded walk to Calvor.

Sarria is a large town which we could see in the distance, its urban area very spread out, so it took quite a long time to get to the center of town. We found out that the hotel we had reserved was on the outskirts of the city,as seems to be often the case ,and far from the center, so we cancelled our reservation and made one at The Hotel Oca de la Villa, modern, elevators and air conditioning. This was a great stop for us, because we got in at 3:30, got all our washing done, showered and went out to see the town. There is a fabulous river walk full of terrazas and bars and they were all full of people. We went to a bar called Santiago, had a cold drink and then a few of the tapas that are specialty of the region. We had delicious shrimp in garlic and parsley butter, "pimientos de Porron," grilled small green peppers with the most delicious flavor, and grilled small squid that were incredibly tender. The river walk was so cool and lovely that we stayed there for quite some time. We wanted to see the rest of the town, so we got a taxi to take us to the top of the hill to see The Monastery of the Merced. We were so tired to do in by foot! The taxi driver had been to boarding school there, so he gave us quite a comprehensive tour. In the courtyard they ha an exhibit of Compostelan Art, which was too modern and rather mediocre, in my view. The church and the tabernacle are very beautiful, as is the sober architecture of the building. After our short tour, we went back to the hotel and retired for the night.

Panoramic view

A shady path

Among the chestnut trees

Pilgrim sculpture, Sarria

River walk, Sarria

Our taxi driver's Alma Mater

Our Lady of Mercy

Monastery's courtyard

O'CEBREIRO - TRIACASTELA

2008-09-11T09:26:00.001-07:00

We got up before sunrise and went down to the end of the street looking for coffee and some bread. The cafe was open, already full of people getting their "fuel" for a good day's walk. As we came to the edge of the mountain, we could see below us a sea of clouds from which an occasional tree top wold protrude. It was a most amazing sight. We took the path down to Linares, which led us to Triacastela. There were some short climbs as well as descents in a spectacular setting of forests, prairies and beautiful cattle fields. In this part of Galicia, the Galician Blonde is the local cattle, mostly raised for dairy products. We walked through many tiny hamlets totally unchanged since medieval times. As poor and small as they all are, each has its pretty little church. At the highest point of this leg we reached the Alto de San Roque, where it stands a huge statue of a Pilgrim facing the elements. On this day Libia and I did not buy any food to have along the way thinking that we would find little cafes among the many little villages. We got hungry very early in the day and as we were walking we stopped to watch a group of people unloading large sandwiches and drinks from a van. We thought they were for sale, but were told they were for a group of young men and women from Madrid who were doing the Camino with two priests, one of whom was Colombian. They insisted we take a sandwich each--this is what pilgrims do--so, we thanked them profusely and ate happily as we walked. At the exit of the next little village, an old lady was selling fresh crepes, so we had a couple of those as well. Around 1:00 PM, we stopped near a house in a field with some beautiful cows with two newborn calves, and sat under some big shady trees. A woman came out with a little girl and told us she owned the property and we were welcome to stay as long as we wanted. The little girl, Soraya, was her grand daughter, and the two of them spoke only in Galician, a very beautiful language somewhat similar to Portuguese. They told us the youngest calf had been born two hours ago. He was so beautiful! After this stop, the descent was rather long. The last five Km seemed endless to us, under a burning sun. We could see Triacastela down below in the distance, but the path seemed to get away from it rather than closer. When we finally got there, we found out the hotel was at the exit of town and the room they had for us was on the 3rd floor and, Guess what? No elevator! We sat down at a little cafe, had a cold beer and found out the owner had a guest house around the corner called Casa David. After a while, she took us to this lovely house with our room facing a beautiful yard. We could wash our clothes and hang them in the sun, which we promptly did. After our showers, we went into town, found a market, bought some great fruit, a 1/2 bottle of wine and some great local cheese and jamon serrano to eat the evening.

Early morning at O'Cebreiro

A sea of clouds

Alto de San Roque

Galician scene. Newborn calf

Bucolic nap

Soraya with doll

A beautiful Galician church

Down to Triacastela

My favorite type of path

A Galician hamlet

Casa David

VILLAFRANCA DEL BIERZO - O'CEBREIRO

2008-09-11T09:19:00.000-07:00

After a good night, we got up at 8:00 AM and had a great breakfast at the hotel. We got a call from our friend Stella Azpiazu, who would be leaving Miami and arriving in San Sebastian the next day. She and her husband, Justo would be joining us somewhere along the way before Santiago. We had talked to Carmen, the owner of Casa Mendez, so we were very well informed as to everything we should see during our visit in Villafranca. The Calle del Agua takes you anywhere you want to go, so we walked along it to the highest point in the city, going by some very beautiful mansions. At Villafranca two rivers converge,Church both of crystal clear waters that reflect the buildings like a mirror. The castle of the XV C. is a private castle that apparently has belonged to the same family for centuries. Across from it, there is the Romanesque XIIIC. Church of Santiago, which has an incredibly beautiful Byzantine Crucifix. We had been told to eat at La Puerta del Perdon, a very beautiful restaurant that had just been renovated. We stopped, talked to the owner, reserved a table and continued on our tour. We so welcomed this day of touring!. We continued on to the center of the city where we visited the old convent that has a wonderful church, and next to it what is today a fine Hotel called San Nicolas el Real. When we got to the restaurant, we were given the best table with view of the castle, and there we had a lovely lunch accompanied by a very good Bierzo wine. We walked back to our hotel, picked up our backpacks and walked to the road to wait for the bus that would take us to Piedrafita. It was 4:45 PM, but the sun was so hot! We sat there baking in the sun until the bus came. It was totally packed! In the back we found a couple of places next to two young boys, Francisco and Alex who had started their walk at Roncesvalles, in the Pyrenees. They were delightful young men, very polite and helpful. We got off the bus at Piedrafita after a very steady climb; from 800 mt. to 1,300,mt. We were so glad we were not doing it on foot. Galicia opens up to you like a flower. What beauty! What vastness! We walked only 3,5 km to get to O'Cebreiro, an old Celtic slate village which still has a few "pallozas" or Celtic dwellings of thatched roofs. The village is tiny and intimate with its narrow cobblestone streets and tiny church. Our lodge was called Carolo, owned by a young couple who had just remodeled it, so the rooms were very comfortable and the bathrooms, modern. At the bar, we had a beer, some home made "requeson" country cheese from Galicia, and some delicious olives with peasant bread, al lovely combination. From there I was able to make a phone call to my bank to get a new password for my ATM card. I had to scream because they could not hear me on the other side, but I succeeded at the end. We ran into Sol, whom we had met along the way several times. She was getting tired, she told us, so we think after O'Cebreiro she might have gone home. Before it got dark, we went to see the church of Santa Maria, a refurbished IX C. church, and one of the oldest in the Camino. The mass was ending, and the little church was full of young pilgrims from all over the world. The blessing was given in Spanish, Galician and in Polish by a visiting Polish priest. There is a perfect wooden Statue of Sta. Maria from the XI C. and a chalice which has its own little chapel in the church. We went back to the hotel, the temperature having dropped considerably after sunset, so we had a very good night's sleep.

Pilgrim statue Villafranca

Castle at Villafranca

Church of Santiago, Villafranca del Bierzo

Galician "galeria" and S. Nicolas el Real, Villafranca del Bierzo

View of castle from our restaurant table

A poem to The Pilgrim

Green, Gorgeous, Galicia!

Alex, Libia and Francisco

Shining slate roofs of O'Cebreiro

XI C wooden statue

Sta. Maria La Real, O'Cebreiro

Palloza or Celtic dwelling, O'Cebreir

PONFERRADA - VILLAFRANCA DEL BIERZO

2008-09-11T08:47:00.000-07:00

Of the legs we have done so far, this was the toughest, not so much because of the terrain, bust mostly because the temperature was 34C, and the distance to cover, 27 km. Once we left the city of Ponferrada, we had quite a few kms to walk along the road, luckily not very busy, this day. We walked along some lovely cultivated fields and small wooded areas until we got to Camponaraya, where we took a coffee brake and tried to get some money from the ATM. I tried 3 different ones, and none worked. As I was to find out the next day, my bank had changed the system for passwords. On this day we drank a lot of water from the many fountains we found along the way. In the town of Cacabelos we went into the small church of San Roque which impressed us for being very old, but very well taken care of. We also went into the church of Our Lady of the Agustines and were surprised by the many frescoes from the XVIII C in very good condition. I must mention that at every stop you make in EL Camino, be it a church, cafe, restaurant or hotel, the pilgrims get a stamp on their credentials. Somehow it is very exciting to see your credential so full of different types of stamps. They are dated, so at the end of the Camino, when you get to Santiago and go to the Pilgrims' Office, they calculate the distance walked and issue you a COMPOSTELA, an official Pilgrim's Certificate which can be obtained by all those who walked at least the last 100 kms of the Camino. Along the way we saw 4 stork nests in different places. We later stopped in a shaded park next to the municipal hostel and waited until they would open a restaurant that had been recommended called El Gato. The food was fantastic, as was the service, so after a great meal we felt pretty energized to keep on walking, this time uphill, along the road for a couple of kms and finally a path into the vineyards. The view of the valley below was breath taking. After a long ascent, we started a descent in a snake like path leading to a canyon. We arrived in a tiny village called Valtuille de Arriba and saw an open cafe. We could not wait to have something ice cold to drink. The owner was a funny old man who, once we ordered our drinks told us the story of his life. While there, a couple of Poles came in and sat with us. He was enormous and was carrying his wife's backpack as well as his own, because his very petite wife was "under the weather." They were so sweet! They told us they were celebrating their 30th anniversary and had been walking from Burgos. We said goodbye, and soon after, they passed us along the way not to see them again. They were surely seasoned walkers. From there to Villafranca it was all downhill, and it seemed to us that we were never going to arrive. The city is in a canyon carved by the Rio Burbia. Once we got to the center of town and saw people in the square sitting around drinking beer, we decided to do the same. I called the hotel Mendez, where we had our reservations and told them to hold our room. We would not make it until after 7:30. I do not think we have ever enjoyed a beer more than this one. We were so hot and thirsty! Obviously, our hotel was at the very end of the town, so it took us another 20 minutes to get there. When they told us our room was on the 3rd floor (4th) for us Americans, and there was no elevator, Libia could not believe it. She said she would not be taking her backpack up the stairs. She was exhausted. As usual, we showered and did our laundry. Libia fell asleep, so I went downstairs to make a reservation for the next day in O' Cebreiro. There was a History professor, friend of the owners, who told me that the next leg was the toughest, all uphill an 31 kms. If we were to do this, it would have to be done in two stages and we would not make Santiago on the 23, for which we had made reservations way in advance. So, I decided to stay in Villafranca the next day, do the sites, have lunch and take a bus to Piedrafita. There we would get off and walk to O' Cebreiro. The professor told me, that was the most spectacular part of the walk, O'Cebreiro being the gate to
Gorgeous, green Galicia. When I told Libia about it, she was delighted, so we had a light supper of cheese and fruit and went to sleep.

San Roque with stork nests

Beautiful Bierzo vineyards

Before the village of Valtuille

At the top of Villafranca

Our hotel

Beautiful garden by the river

EL ACEBO-- PONFERRADA

2008-09-11T04:12:00.001-07:00

The distance covered today was relatively short--17 km., and a very beautiful path. Our first stop was Molinaseca, very much in the style of El Acebo with its stone and slate roof houses, but much larger. There, we stopped for coffee and walked around this lovely town. Most of the walk was downhill in rugged terrain. We descended what looked like a dried brook for quite a distance through a gorgeous forest. This area, called El Bierzo, is very green and lush. At the bottom of the "brook" we came to a small meseta with the most incredible and gigantic chestnut trees. From the distance, their silhouettes, ghosts from children's story books. Although it was a very hot day, we made good time. At around 1:30 PM we were entering the city of Ponferrada, which we had thought unreachable when we saw it from the top of the mountain the day before. The entrance to the city is through vast and incredibly green vineyards, then a residential area, near which is an underground Roman source. As we were approaching the city center we stopped to admire a vegetable garden full of fruit trees. The owner offered some of his yellow plums, insisted we'd take a bag full of them which turned out to be delicious. Our hotel was located next to the city's most imposing feature, the XIII C.Templar Castle built on the hill overlooking the river. The castle is very well preserved. After showering we went to look for a restaurant. Across from the castle we found an Italian place which was pretty good, especially the wine from El Bierzo. We then visited the Church of Nuestra Senora de la Encina, XVI C. The wooden statue of The Virgin Mary was supposed to have been found by a Templar pilgrim on the way to Santiago. The Ayuntamiento--City Hall-- is quite an impressive Baroque building from the XVII C. To go into the main square in town, you have to go under the arch of a XVI C. clock tower, which encloses the very charming square. Unfortunately, all the beautiful old houses behind the square were covered with graffiti. Such a shame! In the early evening Libia and I went down to the river where we could see the castle up above. What a sight! We enjoyed a moment of relaxation watching the people going by and the ducks placidly swimming in the river. Around 9:00 PM we returned to the main square and sat outside to enjoy a very cold beer and some delicious tapas before retiring for the evening.

Giant chestnut trees

Rugged downhill terrain

Arriving in Molinaseca

Libia and other pilgrims on bridge--Molinaseca

View from Molinaseca bridge

Molinaseca

Statue of Santiago de Compostela--Molinaseca

Arriving in Ponferrada

Ponferrada. Castle left, N.S. de la Encina Center back. Italian restaurant, right

Ponferrada. Templar Castle

Templar castle viewed from river

Ponferrada--Clock tower

Ponferrada-- City hall

Libia makes a friend! Main square

RABANAL DEL CAMINO - EL ACEBO

2008-09-10T01:30:00.000-07:00

This leg of The Camino, although of only 18 Kms., appeared to be longer due to the fact that it was quite a climb up to La Cruz de Ferro (The iron Cross) at 1,510 mt. We had left Rabanal past 9:30 am under clear skies and a very hot sun. Our first stop was in Foncebadon, a semi-abandoned little town, with a newly rebuilt Refugio where lots of people stop for a breather before the last climb. There, we had something to eat and drink and continued up to the highest point. The Cruz de Ferro has been for hundreds of years the point in The Camino where people leave a rock, a personal belonging or a message they have carried from the start of their journey. The cross itself is small, made of iron, but it is set upon a very tall wooden pole, so that in the winter months, it can still stick out from beneath the snow and can be seen by all passers by. All around the cross, a large mound of stones and debris has been created over the years. It is very interesting to see some of the personal items people leave such as photographs, shoes, scarves, and even food. At this point in the Camino, the landscape begins to change, and the mountains turn green with pine trees and ferns. At Manjarin we started a descent, a rather steep one where the path seemed to be a dried up brook, rocky and unstable. Luckily we had our walking poles which proved to be most useful in this situation. At the edge of a high ridge we could see in the distance, in the valley below, the city of Ponferrada and a nearby nuclear plant. From there the descent was very long to El Acebo which we new had to be nearby, but could not see until the last tight turn in the path. It is the most beautiful town, totally medieval, with narrow cobblestone streets, stone buildings, slate roofs and wooden balconies coverded with colurful flowers. To our surprise, our B&B, La Rosa del Agua, was the first building as we arrived. What a beautiful place! It belongs to a young couple from Mallorca who bought it and remodeled it with all the comforts. Cintia showed us to our room, a beautiful and comfortable space with a big window overlooking the yard and the mountains behind, and a great bathroom with a spa type shower. As usual, we washed our clothes hung them to dry, and while Libia got ready, I went to take pictures of this beautiful little village. It had one little store where everything could be bought, a small church and only one restaurant, El Meson Del Acebo, where later we had a fabulous dinner. I had a trout soup, a specialty of the region, a veal steak, perfectly done, and lemon mousse for dessert. Wine and coffee were also included. We returned to our B&B, made reservations for the next day in Ponferrada, and retired for the night.

Filling up our water bottles

High plains

Beautiful country flowers

Palloza--Celtic dwelling

Popular stop at Foncebadon

La Cruz de Ferro at 1, 510 mt.

A beautiful path

Down below, Ponferrada

Downhill to El Acebo

Finally, El Acebo

La Rosa del Agua, our B&B

Lovely house. El Acebo

Little church, El Acebo

Old house at El Acebo

ASTORGA-RABANAL DEL CAMINO

2008-09-10T01:26:00.000-07:00

After a good rest and a light breakfast at our hotel, we set off on our first day walk soon before the sunrise. From our very first turn, we noticed how well marked the CAMINO is. There are yellow arrows and scallop shells--the scallop being the symbol of St. James everywhere to indicate the way to Compostela. A few hundred meters from our hotel we were already walking in the countryside headed for our first stop, The Ermita of Ecce Homo, a XIIIC, newly refurbished little church, where we stopped to sign the Pilgrims' Book. The landscape we experienced that morning was very much like that of The Central Coast of California with oak knolls and golden wheat fields all around. Around 10:00 am, the sun was already hot, so we kept ourselves hydrated. Along the way, we encountered our first pilgrim, Pascualino from Parma, Italy. He was a very nice young man who had been walking for six weeks all alone. His pace was rather quick, so we never saw him again. Soon after, we met Oihana--Sylvia in Euskera, or Basque language--who was a Special Ed teacher in San Sebastian, and who had started her walk in Burgos. She was on her own as well, since her partner, another young girl had just returned home due to severe tendinitis. This, we found out, was a common ailment among the pilgrims. Needless to say, blisters being another problem. Luckily, neither one of us ever had any problems throughout our walk. Oihana told us to take it slowly our first three days, especially on the descents, where most people go too fast and hurt their knees and shins severely. After about 14 Kms. we stopped at El Ganso, a small village where we found a very cool small cafe and had a fabulous salad. We had it with some cheese and ham we had bought the night before. On the way out of town, we sat on some stone benches we found outside the church to take a rest, and before I knew it, Libia had fallen asleep. As I leaned back to take a rest, I saw a large stork in her nest on top of the bell tower. The only other place I had seen storks in my life was in Portugal, during a trip we took in 1979. While Libia slept, I walked around and took some pictures. The rest of the walk to Rabanal was luckily through a shaded wooded area, a narrow path with chicken wire fences on both sides. It was great to see how the pilgrims, through the years have left crosses made with sticks intertwined in the wire. Around 3:30 pm we could make out in the distance the bell tower of the church in Rabanal del Camino and knew we had completed our first etapa or leg of our walk. Our Hosteria de Gaspar was on the Calle Real at the end of the town. The owner, a very nice man, showed us to our fabulous room. Libia, as she did everyday we completed an etapa, took a nap and I took a shower and washed my clothes. This we did everyday, since we only carried two changes of clothes in our backpacks. Luckily, our clothes were made of light and fast drying materials, so before retiring for the night, things were usually dry and put away for an early start the next morning. After a must needed rest, we went out to explore the little town and visited a very nice Refugio, a type of Youth Hostel, to see if we would like to experience them during our walk. We saw people standing in line for the shower, others complaining about how some leave the showers and bathrooms dirty, etc., so we knew that we would not enjoy this kind of experience. We then decided to make a reservation ahead of time in a small hotel or B&B the nigh before, and that way we would have peace of mind. In the Albergues and Refugios they take you on a first-come first-serve basis. No wonder so many people get hurt trying to get a bed for the night. The town of Rabanal del Camino is lovely, built in stone with two very pretty churches and a few small hotels. We had dinner at La Hosteria del Refugio, a very succulent meal with wine and dessert, took a walk and retired for the night feeling great for havin arrived safe and sound to our first destination.

Libia fully outfitted

Sylvia arriving at Rabanal del Camino

Vegetable garden around Rabanal

Libia napping at El Ganso

Stork's nest at bell tower. El Ganso

Crosses left by pilgrims

Our hotel in Rabanal del Camino

MY WALK TO SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA

2008-09-10T01:18:00.000-07:00

Madrid- Leon- Astorga

In the summer of 1998 I studied at the University of Santiago de Compostela and fell in love with the city, its architecture, traditions, gastronomy and people. I remember observing the pilgrims arrive at the Square of the Obradoiro in front of the Cathedral. They were all so filled with elation after reaching the end of the Camino, that I wished I could experience that same feeling some day. Ten years later, my wish came true.

On July 4 I took the TGV from Bordeaux to Madrid which took about 10 hours, counting the train exchange and waiting time at Irun. It was an incredibly interesting ride, since the changes in landscape are so noticeable from region to region. I got to Madrid at around 9:30 pm and took the Metro to my friend Elena's house. In 1995, I spent a summer in Madrid studying and lived with her. She was at a reception with her sister, so Ines, another friend of ours was waiting for me at the corner cafe. We sat outside along with hundreds of people who do this every evening in Madrid, and had a cold beer with "patatas bravas" or spicy potatoes, the perfect accompainment to a tall glass of draught beer on a very hot evening. Elena soon arrived, we went home, talked until past midnight and soon fell asleep. During my time in Madrid, we went to see the Portrait of The Rainaissance in the new wing at The Prado, a most comprehensive and beautiful exhibit. We saw Mucha's Art Nouveau collection at the new Caixa Forum Museum, where we also had a great lunch. One evening we went to a Flamenco Ballet performance based on Bizet's Carmen, and upon our return from Santiago, to a Russian Ballet preformance of Swan Lake. It was hot in Madrid, but very dry, therefore not unpleasant.

Libia, my sister in law and super companion in this adventure, arrived on July 7 and stayed at Elena's as well. The three of us had a grand time shopping, eating and seeing all we could see of Madrid before our departure. On July 10 we took an early train to Leon, where we arrived around 10:00 am. From the train station, we walked to our hotel, Alfonso V, centraly located at the entrance of the old section of town. Leon, is a beautiful city not only because of its architecture, but also because of its great historical monuments. We visited The Casa Botines by Gaudi, the great Catalonian architect. This one is done in a neogothic style, much like the Archobishop's Palace in Astorga. It houses a museum, and its current exhibit is all art from Leon's Heritage. We also visited the Casa de los Guzmanes, a XVI C. mansion which today is a local goverment building. It is built from a yellowish stone from the area, has an inner coutyard and arches supported by Ionic style columns and lovely reliefs which still have some of their original color. The Cathedral, dating from the XIII C. in a sober French Gothic style is one of the main stops in the Camino de Compostela. It has a gorgeous tympanum and incredible stainglass windows and choir. The main square has great cafes and restaurants, as most towns and cities do in Spain. Down in the lower part of the city, by the river, there are the remains of the walls from the original city. There is a majestic old hospital, San Marcos, which is today a Parador Nacional, and elegant hotel. In the Casco Viejo or ancient part of the city, we visited the beautiful Romanesque church of San Isidoro, where El Cid was said to have been married.

Originally we had made reservations for 2 nights in Leon, but decided to cancel the second in view that we had seen most sights in town and we could use one more day to gain terrain on our walk. In the evening, we walked to La Humeda, where all the bars and cafes are in town, bought some cecina de vaca, a type of cured ham made from beef and some aged local cheese, olives and a good bottle of Bierzo wine. On the way back to the hotel, Libia bought a set of walking poles, a must in this Camino. The next day, we got up early, walked to the train station and bought our tickets on the first train to Astorga. We got there after a 2hr and 15 min ride. Our hotel, The Gaudi, was just across from Gaudi's Palacio Arzobispal in Astorga's old section. Troughout our walk, we made reservations for the next night's lodging. It gave us peace of mind and took away all anxiety.

Astorga, a smaller city than Leon, is the sister city of Moissac, the French town to where I walked along the canal to practice with full gear. It is about the same size as Moissac and very beautiful as well. There we visited Gaudi's Archbishop's Palace, the Cathedral, a mixture of Renaissance and Barroque styles in its exterior and Renaissance in its interior, is built from both white and pink stone. The Museum, adjacent to the cathedral has a great collection of religious and folk art of the Bierzo region. Libia and I had an incredible lunch of Cocido Maragato, a local specialty of El Bierzo consisting of courses of pork meats and saussages, garbanzo beans and cabbage and a noodle soup, all broght to us separately, accompanied by a superb wine and bread and a lovely dessert of natillas, very much like a creme brullee. This meal was an experience in itself. We were in the restaurant for about 3 hours. After such feast we walked the rest of the afternoon to walk off the calories and see the entire town. The City Hall, or Ayuntamiento, built in a Barroque style is in a square surrounded by restaurants and cafes. We walked to the western side of the town where we could see in the distance some very high mountains with distinctly traced paths. "They lead to Santiago de Compostela", we were told by some men who went by. Libia could not believe it. Could we possibly climb those mountains? They had to be mistaken. Well, the next day, the truth of their words was to be confirmed.

Our pilgrim silhouettes

Catedral de Leon

San Isidoro, Interior. Astorga

San Isidiro's Romanesque exterior

San Marcos

Gaudi's Palacio Arzobispal, Astorga

Catedral Astorga

Baroque exterior, Astorga City Hall

A TRIP TO THE PERIGORD NOIR - DORDOGNE

2008-07-02T13:25:00.000-07:00

While our boat is in Malause, between Toulouse and Bordeaux we have been doing some sightseeing in the tarn Garonne, Gascony area as well as farther north east to The Perigord Noir--Dordogne. Of all of the places we have seen in France, this area has by far,r the most number of beautiful medieval villages and hamlets that we have ever seen. The countryside is green, luscious and hilly with deep-cut valleys enclosed within the cliffs the rivers have eroded Walnut trees are abundant as are corn fields. This is the area with the largest number of prehistoric painted caves such as Lascaux. In the three days that we were there, I alone took 900 photos. The entire trip was a feast for the eyes. It was sunny, clear and beautiful the entire time we were there. We left Malause early in the morning and soon around lunch time we were looking for a Chambre d'Hotes (B&B) that would be conveniently located for our excursions. In the Upper Dordogne, we found a most charming place called Le Moulin, an actual grain mill powered by a spring. It is more than 200 years old, and the owner herself has converted it into a Bed and Breakfast. From our room on the second floor we had the most amazing view of the Renaissance Chateau de Milandes, whose latest owner was the famous Josephine Baker. The proprietor told me she has inherited the property along with a couple of cousins and that she has been living there for about ten years. The place is at the entrance of a tiny village called St Vincent de Cosses and on the way to the beautiful nearby castles of Castelnau and Marqueyssac.

We visited cities, towns, villages and hamlets, each one gem of a place. Some of the characteristics of the architecture of the area are the yellowish color of the stone and the unique shape of the roofs and tiles called "lauzes". We visited the city of Sarlat, one whose old section had unbelievably beautiful houses. The towns of Beynac and La Roque Gageac, built on the cliffs with their ochre color houses that reflect on the Dordogne's dark, but crystal waters, are almost too perfect. The towns of Souillac, Beaulieu, Martel and Carennac are perfectly preserved Medieval villages, as is the gorgeous bastide town of Domme, whose cliff top view of the chateaux around it and the river valley takes your breath away. The area is well known for its foie gras and truffles which are found everywhere you go. In the town of La Roque Gageac we had one of those unforgettable meals on the terrace of the Restaurant La Belle Etoile, overlooking the river under an unbelievable blue sky. Our senses were definitely on overload during those three days. On the way back, in the morning we stopped at another incredibly beautiful cliff built village in the Department of the Lot, Rocamadour, unfortunately too touristy for our taste, but incredibly interesting. It has been a pilgrimage sight since the XI C and it has an small chapel built for a Black Madonna, who according to history has performed numerous miracles, thus the hoards of people that come to this town. After Rocamadour, we stopped at Loubressac, surprisingly untouched by tourism, totally inhabited and perfectly manicured. The owner of a local little restaurant turned out to be the former mayor, and when I asked him how the managed to keep businesses from ruining their town, he said: "It's very easy, we just say no". Well, it sure has worked for them. Our last stop was the village of St. Cirq Lapopie, built also on a cliff over the river Lot, unbelievably genuine and well preserved with beautiful houses and well kept gardens. Before getting back to the boat, we stopped at Cahors, big city on the Lot to check out the port in case we can navigate the river this year.

As I finish this entry, I shall start packing for my trip to Spain where I will be joining my sister in law, Libia in Madrid. I am taking the train from Bordeaux on July 4 and will meet Libia on the 7. We will be staying with Elena, my friend with whom I lived when I studied there the winter of 95. On July 9 we go to Leon, we'll spend two days there, and on the 12 we begin our walk from Astorga to Santiago de Compostela. We are very excited about our experience, and we hope we can walk all the way to Santiago. We are open to taking buses if we see we cannot do it. I guess we will soon find out. I look forward to sharing this experience with those of you who read this blog. Until the next entry I wish Libia and I a " BUEN CAMINO!"

Chateau de Bonaguil

Chambres d'Hotes Le Moulin

Beynac

Sarlat

La Roque Gageac

Climbing up La Roque Gageac

Josephine Baker's Chateau de Milandes

Chateau de Castelnau

View of The Dordogne from Domme

One of Domme's three gates

Domme

La Roque Gageac

Restaurant La Belle Etoile

Martel, somewhat whiter stone

Entering Carennac

Carennac

Romanesque decorated door Carennac Church

Carennac houses

Castelnau red stone

Half-timbered houses, Bretenoux

Beautiful abbey at Beaulieu sur Dordogne

Walking down only street in Benyac

La Roque Gageac viewed from top of Chateau de Marqueyssac

Beautiful gardens at Marqueyssac

Chateau de Marqueyssac

Approach to Rocamadour

Rocamadour

Loubressac

Village of Loubressac

Road on The Lot

St. Cirq Lapopie view from the top

St. Cirq Lapopie

Beautiful roofs and cobblestone, St. Cirq Lapopie

St. Cirq Lapopie

DESCENT TO MALAUSE (Part 2)

2008-07-02T13:14:00.000-07:00

Biesbosch Makes People Smile

After the lock of Ocean at Naurouze, the highest point of the Canal du Midi, we started our descent towards Toulouse. Locking down is always easier than locking up, especially if you are alone in the lock. We have been most of the time since we started our descent. This part of the canal has a beautiful bike path that goes along the canal past Toulouse. The bikers, walkers and joggers that pass by smile and wave at us sometimes saying things like: "THAT IS a vacation for you" or "That is a beautiful way of life". It is always delightful to see and hear people's reactions when we go by. Soon after Port Lauragais, on the east side of the canal, the small village of Avignonet, a jewel of medieval architecture stands out perched on a hill. The landscape is gorgeous and the vegetation varied. We continued to Gardouch where we moored for the night, and the next day took a bike ride along the path to the town of Villefranche where we met some Pilgrims from Quebec who had left from Arles to do their Camino. It was, as always, great to meet them and get lots of information and pointers from them. The next day, wewent as far as Castanet, a bedroom community of Toulouse, not to interesting, but the mooring at the lock was lovely and rural, despite the fact that the city was only kilometers away. On May 20, we arrived at Port Saint Saveur in Toulouse, where Sylvianne, the Port Captain had reserved a place for us, just in front of the Capitainerie. As always, coming into a town or city in your boat is very exciting, and this was no exception. Our stay in Toulouse was of ten wonderful days and having brought the car from Castelnaudary was a great thing to do, since it allowed us to explore the areas around the city. In Toulouse we walked everywhere and got to see the city quite thoroughly.

One of the things I wanted to do while in Toulouse was to get my Pilgrim Credential from St. Sernin, one of the main stops of the Camino of Compostela. After having visited this magnificent Romanesque church, I was able to get not only my credential from them, but also the one for Libia, my sister in law, with whom I am doing the walk to Compostela. This was the "first step" and one that made me realize how close I was to doing my walk. The credentials have seals from the Bishop of Toulouse and the Association of the Friends of Compostela. While in Toulouse, " The Red CIty", we visited the superb museum of the Agustins, The Capitole with its beautiful square and market, The Bemberg Foundation Museum with an eclectic private collection of art and furniture housed in an exquisite chateau, and of course discovered some charming little squares and parks everywhere. In the covered market of Victor Hugo, we met an incredible Colombian girl who has a roasting chicken business called Poulet Tcha Tcha Tcha. She had delicious Colombian empanadas, so we had lunch there and invited her and her friend Veronique to have drinks with us on Biesbosch. We had a superb time with them and before we left, they treated us to an AIOLI, a typical southern dish of shrimp and oysters served with a garlic mayonnaise, a perfect dish to accompany with beer on a hot day. Luz Stella, the Colombian girl had just sold her business and is moving to Sevilla. Spain with her 10 year old son, Mateo.

At the port we met an American couple from Texas, Bud and Joyce of Hoop Doet Leven, a beautiful Dutch Peniche with whom we had some lovely times on both boats before they went on a vacation to Spain. They will be traveling north and staying near Paris for the winter. After 10 days in Toulouse, we moved on along a not so interesting stretch of the canal. We moored for the night after Pompignan and continued to Montech, a lovely town we had visited by car and where we wanted to spend some time. We moored in the port, only to find out that there was no electricity nor there will be any until after the weekend. We had lunch on the boat and decided to try the newly restored branch of the Canal de Montech up to Lacourt St. Pierre. It was only a few kms away, but a gorgeous stop with all the facilities, a park and picnic area and a great bike path to go to Montauban. We stayed there 2 nights and biked to Montauban, another impressive city over the Tarn River. We visited the fabulous Ingres Museum housed in a Chateau whose lower floor was built in the XI C. The Place National, a beautiful work of brick arches, is one of the most charming I have seen. Our next stop was in Castelsarrasin where Bill had brought the car from Toulouse. The port is a lovely basin full of geese and ducks, and is run b a very nice lady called Maite. Thursday is market day, and one of the best in the region. People come from all over for this market which is held all over town. This area of The Tarn Garonne is known for its fruit, cherries and plums, and for its Fie Gras and Armagnac.

While in Castelsarrasin, Bill and I did a lot of exploring and saw some unbelievable medieval towns such as Auvillar, Lauzerte, Cordes sur Ciel, Bruniquel, St Antonin Noble-Val, La Romieu, Larresingle, Condom, Fources and others. Of these, most of them are classified among THE MOST BEAUTIFUL FRENCH VILLAGES with good reason. Some of them are official stops on the Camino of Compostela. We spent one day in Albi, a larger town and one that houses the Toulouse Lautrec Museum and one of the prettiest French Gothic Cathedrals I have ever seen. It is an impressive town built on the edge of the Tarn River surrounded by beautiful hills and lush vegetation.

To prepare for my 279 Km walk from Astorga to Santiago de Compostela, I did a full equipment first trial 18 km walk from Castelsarrasin to Moissac. To get used to my backpack, I had to do some adjustments, but had no trouble at all with my boots or anything else. I have been wearing them regularly and treating my feet with a special cream to keep them from blisters. Moissac is another main stop in The Camino, so having taken my credential with me, it was stamped before I came into the Abbey to visit. The Abbey's church is incredibly beautiful, especially the Romanesque sculpted door, but most impressive is the Abbey's cloister with its beautifully crafted arches and capitols.

After an 8 day stay in Castelsarrasin, we continued on to Malause where our friends Mark and Celia and Steve and Kit have been moored for quite some time now. It is a quiet mooring with a little park and picnic tables and the path is part of the Camino, so you see pilgrims walking all day, some stopping to take a break at the tables. I have met so many of them--most of them French in this area-- From here their next stop is Auvillar, 7 kms away. From here we have been doing a lot of sightseeing as well, although we have done a bit of painting on the boat as well. We added a red pinstripe to the bow of the boat, which we think livens it up. We also painted the top deck and are preparing to do the side decks also. Our friends Earl and Anneke came to visit with their daughter Kristina. We met them at Moissac and cruised with them to Malause. We were able to take the lock from Moissac to the Tarn River, always exciting to navigate, tied up for lunch and came back up to the canal to go over the river on the Bridge Canal. We turned around and came back To Malause with them. Since they had a rental car, they went back to Carcassone and we met them there on their last day. It was great having the Spencers with us as a family, and we hope they can do it again.

A raclette on board Biesbosch

Moissac on The Tarn

Navigating The Tarn

Earl at the helm

With Dany at Le Jardin de la Cite

View of La Cite from Dany's place

La Cite de Carcassonne at dusk

FROM CARCASSONNE ON THE CANAL DU MIDI TO NAUROUZE THE HIGHEST POINT OF THE CANAL (PART 1)

2008-06-10T15:12:00.000-07:00

We left Carcassone on June 2 after 3 weeks from our arrival. It took us a few days to adjust to the time change, but we were soon getting organized and doing some work on the boat. We spent time with our friends Michel and Claudine, as well as with the two couples left in the port after the winter, who were also preparing to start cruising. We savored Carcassonne and all of its beauty--could never get enough--before we sailed away.

We set off on a beautiful spring day, west bound and very excited to be moving again. The canal, west of Carcassone has less hiring boat bases, so even during the busiest months of the year--July and August- one does not encounter many boats on the way. The canal, majestic, with its plain trees on both banks invited us to enjoy it and share in its beauty. As we went along it got prettier and prettier. Beautiful fields of colza flowers, young vineyards shining in the sun and old stone farms in all their ochre beauty, make this area a very special one. Our first night was spent after Bram before a lock. Did not like the looks of the port, so we tied up along the canal with the birds and the ducks. Great place to be. This is the true feeling of freedom. We stay where we like, as long as we like. We continued on to Castelnaudary, a beautiful hilltop town with a large basin built to feed the multiple staircase locks that lead up to it. A small island was also built to protect the working barges from the strong Tramontane winds that hit this area. We were lucky enough to find our friends Lucy and Malcolm from Body and Soul and their friends George and Sue at the dry dock in the basin. They were cleaning the bottoms of their boats and doing a lot of paint. They offered to give us electricity, so we were able to tie at the basin with the most beautiful view of the city. We stayed in this lovely town 13 days. We loved the view and the changing light, the walks into town, the windmill that overlooks the valley and the Presidial built by Catherine de Medicis that, like many other buildings, give the town a very Italian look. Market day is fantastic, its stalls placed along the streets to the square at the top. Everything from shoes to clothes, meats, nuts, cheeses, fruits and vegetables could be found. The strawberries from the region, a beautiful variety, are the best I have ever had. Lucy and I had decided to make a dinner together, so she took care of the appetizers and I did the main dish. Her friends from England were coming, so with George and Susan and all of us, there were 8 altogether.

They set up their table inside the dry dock, beautifully decorated with candles, under a clear sky. We drank a Cava that was delicious, and accompanied it with Manchego cheese and jamon serrano. A most delicious invention was soon brought out by Lucy: grilled blood sausage stuffed with prunes. What flavor and texture!. Lucy, as I had mentioned before is an outstanding cook. The main dish was a seafood paella, of which I made two. One I cooked in the kitchen and the other one on our camping stove. It turned out delicious. There wasn't anything left. The wines where lovely, as was the dessert. Who said you could not have fun while in dry dock? We sure did.

While in Castelnaudary, we did a lot of walking and biking. One day we took a 26 Km ride along the canal. It turned out to be on the day of a foot race from Toulouse to Beziers, about 200 kms. to be done in two days. The guys leading the race passed us as they ran by, as if we were still on our bikes. We were told they were averaging 18 km per hour! Upon our return to port we met our friends Robin and Millie on Taboe, who had been there for few days. We had drinks with them and a few days later a great dinner on their boat. They told me about a little Internet Cafe in town where you could have WIFI connection as long as you consumed something. Well, this turned out to be a fabulous little place, CAFE.COM The owners, Michel and Caroline have made it so cozy and lovely. They sell exotic teas, great coffees and a chocolate cake made by Michel that keeps you going there. I spent time in the cafe almost every day and made friends with them. The day I left, Michel gave me two bottles of very special wine. He told me wine making is his hobby and he and his father make a few bottles every year. They have no label, and are for family consumption. The wines are from 2003 and 2006. Caroline told me that she was very surprised that he had offered to give the wines, since he does not ever do that. I am lucky, I guess, and delighted to have met such wonderful people.

On May 10, Mother's Day, we went to a restaurant recommended by Caroline, The Mistral. They specialize in seafood. I had the best baby squid I have ever had in my life, and the monk fish in a light mint sauce was unbelievable. It was a great afternoon, after which we went for a long walk and took pictures of the town. A couple of days before we left, Bill helped Malcolm install a new water heater in his boat while Lucy wast in England and by the time we left, both boats in dry dock were looking like new and ready to start floating again. We said goodbye to our friends.

The ride from Castelnaudary to the highest point of the canal--the parting of the waters--is the prettiest. From every point we could see the snow covered Pyrenees in the distance. At one of the locks, the lock keeper was very curious to know why we had so many flags on our boat. He obviously recognized the American and the Colombian flags, but was curious about the California flag, which he did not know. We talked for a while and before we left the boat, he came over with the most beautiful apple pie. As it turns out, he is the mysterious "pie man" who apparently sporadically offers his pies to a select few boaters, us being lucky ones. The pie is made from Viviers flour, a local mill and apples from his backyard. Bill, who is an apple pie lover, considers this pie to be the best, ever. As a result, Mr. "pie man" and I are now corresponding via email land exchanging photos. He is a pretty good photographer as well as a great baker.

At La Segala, where we stopped for a few hours while we went to lunch, we met a couple of English people whom I recognized as "pilgrims". This area is part of the Camino de Compostela, so one sees a lot of them with their backpacks marked with the scallop shell, which identifies them as such. They were a great source of information for me, as they answered all of my questions and enlightened me about this quest on which I am about to embark . The walk to Santiago de Compostela from Leon in the month of July.

The local dish of the region, Cassoulet, is a very rich white bean and duck confit, pork and Toulouse sausage. The best, according to those who know is served at Hostellerie Etienne in the town of La Bastide D'anjou, a couple of km from La Segala. Bill and I walked to this lovely town to eat this amazing dish. The restaurant has a large open dining room as well as patio. It is a bustling restaurant where families come to savour this wonderful concoction. Although we had eaten it before, this Cassoulet was unique in that despite its very heavy ingredients it was a light dish. Eaten with a green salad and accompanied with a local red wine, the whole thing was the perfect combination, and neither of us felt bloated of full after the meal. We walked back to Biesbosch and continued up to the canal Summit at Naurouze. Here, Riquet, the engineer, who in the XVI C. built this canal, constructed an octagonal basin which he filled with streams that came from the Montagne Noir. The basin was built to feed the canal at the parting of the waters, but it silted up in a few years, and a new canal was built to bypass it. We tied the boat at one of the most beautiful spots in the Whole Canal du Midi, just before the Lock of Ocean in a park of magnificent cedar and plane trees. There is an old mill, which is now a hotel, and the obelisk built to Riquet is also nearby. We spent a couple of days exploring this part of the canal, both on foot and by bicycle, before starting our descent.

Michel and Caroline at Cafe.Net

Paella night in dry dock

Along the canal. View of Pyrenees

Plane trees of The Midi

Lock of St. Roch. Step locks (4)

Castelnaudary at sunrise

Man-made island in basin

The misterious "pie man" with his pie

View of town from port bridge

Ancient plane tree lane in old octagonal basin

Old restored windmill

Windmill at Naurouze

Walkint to Riquet's Obelisk

Obelisk to Riquet

Silted up basin

Le Presidial built by Catherine de Medicis

A beautiful street in Castelnaudary

Our mooring at the parting of the waters before descent

Lockhouse Boutique and Cafe

English pilgrims at La Segala

Two beautiful boats ready for the water

Entering the basin at Castelnaudary

Old Mill at Port entrance, Castelnaudary

Castelnaudary al night

BACK IN FRANCE, APRIL 2008

2008-05-15T15:55:00.001-07:00

At the airport in Zurich we were able to find a French car that we could deliver to Toulouse, so we went for it. It was comfortable and roomy making our drive effortless. It was snowing in Zurich and as we drove south, it rained most of the way as far as Lyon. There was little evidence of spring until we hit Beziers, where the weather changed to balmy, and spring was very evident. All along the highway there were blooming trees and beautiful new growth. The sun was out all the way to Carcassonne, where we arrived around 5:30 pm after a nine hour ride. Our boat was in great shape; no leaks, no humidity. Right away Bill connected the electrics, filled the water tanks, and I proceeded to clean do some unpacking, and later went to the corner restaurant to eat. We were tired and jet lagged and managed to have a good night's sleep. Next day Bill drove to Toulouse airport to return the car while I unpacked the rest and cleaned the boat. By the time he got back on the train, Biesbosch was shining--inside, that is. The outside woul have to wait.

Most of the people who had stayed on their boats for the winter had already gone cruising except for Janet and Des and David and Rosie, with whom we had not had a chance to visit for long before we left. Well, this time we made up for it. We got a chance to spend some great evenings together eating a sharing great memories. Janet and Des went south to have their boat taken out of the water for cleaning, but Rosie and David stayed in Carcassonne, since not only do they have a boat, but are renting a beautiful apartment that overlooks The Cite. As we are now cruising, we hope they catch up with us soon, so we have time to spend some more time together.

The day we arrived at the port, we were given the bad news that the port might not be opening for winter mooring this coming year. We had already made a reservation for a spot, so we, along with everyone else were very disappointed to hear such news. The reason, political, we suppose, change of local government, etc. As I write, one month after our arrival n France, the issue has not been resolved, so we are looking for a place to leave the boat for the winter between here and Toulouse.

Our first week was spent getting our food supplies, spending time with Claudine and Michel, our friends who live in Carcassone, and savouring the city's every corner. It took us a couple of weeks to get caught up with the time difference and therefore function normally. Once that happened, Bill got to work painting the interior bow cabin that he had trimmed before we left, and reinstalling the toilet and sink in the same area. The second week, we drove west along the canal to see if we could find a port to leave the boat next winter. We visited our friends Mark and Celia who are in Malause, not far from here, and whom we had me on the Nivernais last year. Celia had brought me a fabulous fish cooking book by Rick Stein. We spent the night on Little Mouse, their beautiful boat, and had a great time together. We visited Moissac, a medieval town with one of the most important stops for the pilgrims who do the" Camino de Compostela". This interests me a great deal since I will be doing it in July with my sister in law, Libia and my friend Stella from Miami. ( More on that later.) We stopped at Castelsarrasin and Toulouse to inquire about winter moorings, but were put on a waiting list for the moment. On that same trip we visited the town of Montauban, which was a true surprise. It is one of the "red towns" in this area. It is all built in brick over a river, a true architectural jewel. As we make our way west on Biesbosch, we will be able to spend time exploring each of these beautiful towns. One sunny sunday we took 14 Km. bike ride to Trebes, east of Carcassone. We went along the tow path, stopped to watch the boats lock up and down, now from the point of view of an onlooker. At Trebes we sat at a cafe on the canal and had a most delightful glass of wine from the local winery before we pedaled back to the boat.

A lovely thing about having a boat is that people come by and want to know all about either the boat or life on it A very tall German man came by and told me how much he liked our boat. He told me he and his wife have been traveling in a 6x6-- at the time parked across the canal. Now that they have been seeing the boats on the Midil, he wants one just like ours. I invited him in to see it, and he said he wanted his wife to come by. They left for a few days but came back, he brought her by, we talked for a long time and I invited them over for dinner the next day. Their names are Uli and Eli. They have been traveling in Africa, The Sahara and Tunisia and all over Europe in their vehicle, whose interior was designed and built by him. This was his business in Germany. They came over for dinner and we had the best of times. They have such stories of their travels and the people they have met that we could have spent the whole night talking to them. The next morning before they left, they brought croissants and pain au chocolat and we had a fabulous breakfast together. We went to see their vehicle which is unbelievably beautiful and functional. analize We hope we get to see them again sometime. They downloaded some of their spectacular photos of their travels onto my computer. Before we left Carcassone, we spent some great times with David and Rosie on ther boat Suki and on Biesbosch. Our friends Malcolm and Lucie from Body and Soul, whom we had met in Briare two winters ago, spent a few days in Carcassone, so we had them over for drinks and then we went to theirs for a lovely dinner. Lucie is a gourmet cook and Malcolm, an accomplished pianist. We had an unforgettable evening with them. Our last Saturday, we spent the entire afternoon and evening at Place Carnot, sitting in the sun celebrating the birthday of Alan, one of our friends from the port at Felix, a great local restaurant. They were about to close, so we decided to walk to the canal to continue the celebration at a great little italian place.

Our last weekend in Carcassonne we went to lunch with Michel and Claudine to a restaurant called Au Prise D'Alzau on the Montagne Noir, a most beautiful spot. It is in an old forge bought and remodeled by a young Dutch couple. Before we ate, we walked along to see the spot where Riquet, the builder of the Canal du Midi canalized the stream, which along with others would feed the Canal du Midi. The night before we left Carcassonne,we had another incredible dinner at Claudine and Michel's with our friend Dany, the one who has the BB with the beautiful view of the Cite and who kept our car for the winter. On May 2 around 11 am, we said good bye to our wonderful Capitaine, Stephanie and cast off westbound in search of new adventures.

Rosie and Merlot

With Uli and Eli and their 6X6

With Stephanie, our lovely Captain

Malcolm and Lucy on Body and Soul

With Stephanie, Des, Janet, Rosie and David

A fabulous meal by Lucy

With Marc and Celia at Malause

The Pyrenees from The Montagne Noire

La Prise D'Alzau

Little Mouse

Portal detail at Moissac

Crystalline waters

Restaurant at Old Forge

Claudine and Michel at local shop

Moissac Monastery

OUR TIME IN USA

2008-05-02T15:10:00.000-07:00

After having flown from Switzerland, we arrived in Los Angeles where our son, Ian was waiting for us. We were anxious to see his new apartment, so we drove directly to it. It is very centrally located on Atlantic Avenue in Long Beach on an 8th floor with a fabulous view. The apartment was remodeled before Ian rented it, so it is modern and spacious. We visited with him for a while and then he took us to Signal Hill, the top of Long Beach, where our friends Bob and Alicia's house is. They were about to leave for Panama on vacation, so we were to house sit and take care of Chip and Dale, their lovely dogs. Before they went, their son, Michael had his birthday, so we celebrated with the family. It was so nice to be there! We had their beautiful house to ourselves, Ian's place was minutes away and thethe weather was so great that we took the dogs for walks every day. We spent a lot of time with Ian, celebrated my birthday and even decorated the house for Christmas. We had a quiet time together, just the three of us and Chip and Dale, of course, but it was a fabulous one. For New Year's Ian had a date, so Bill and I bought some champagne, made a few starters and soon after midnight went to bed. Around 3:00 am, we both were sick. We must have gotten food poisoning, although by morning I was better. Bill was still sick a few days later, even after having been to the doctor. The Los Angeles area has a lot to offer, so we went to museums, walked along the beach, ate some fabulous food, and had a super time. In mid January we left Long Beach to go to San Luis Obispo where we stayed with our friends Debbie and Richard Pinson. Being there was wonderful as well. We feel totally at home in their house and they are a lot of fun. We cooked together, went wine tasting, and had a great time. While there, we saw all of our other friends in Shell Beach, where we used to live. We went by our old house to find that it was for sale again. We spent about two weeks sorting out our storage which we reduced to half its volume by throwing out, giving to Goodwill, selling the big items and sending 30 boxes to Miami. At the end, we were able to leave my car in there, as well. The whole experience was very emotional, going through our entire life, but it could have been worse. While there, we also spent a few days in Avila Beach with our friends David and Jennifer Sansone, and their son, Lucas. Their house has a fabulous view and it is located in a very lovely setting. We had a great time with them as well, had some lovely meals together and were able to spend time with Lucas, who is a very charming little boy.

We left the Central Coast to go back to Los Angeles, see Ian again and spend a few days with Bob and Alicia upon their return from Panama. On February 12 we flew to Miami, the 14, I went to Daytona to spend time with my nephew's children for the race weekend. I thoroughly enjoyed Sebastian and Paulina. They are not only adorable, but very polite and well behaved. I had not seen them for almost a year and the chances of seeing them before coming back to France were slim due to their parent's busy schedule. We flew back from Daytona after the race, Bill met me at my nephew's place, we spent the night there and the next morning I flew to Bogota to be with my family for 3 weeks. Bill stayed in Miami waiting for our storage boxes and doing some work on the guest house where we were staying. It is part of our friend's Justo and Stella's property and it is situated in their lush and gorgeous garden, surrounded by beautiful vegetation and colorful cages full of exotic birds. It is a great place to be. Once our boxes arrived, Bill arranged everything from linens to kitchen and tableware and had the place looking great by the time I arrived.

My time in Bogota was fantastic. My purpose for the trip was mainly to spend time with my mom. I did see some of my friends, and spent a lot of time with my sisters as well. My mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's 3 years ago, and although her case is not very advanced, it is very shocking for me to see how changed she is. Aside for the fact that she still loves to play cards--bridge and canasta-- and does twice or three times a week, she no longer walks or wants to do anything physical at all. She goes to therapy, occupational, physical and musical three times a week, and although she enjoys it once she is there, it is a fight to get her to go. While in Bogota, I was able to see Paulina and Sebastian for a whole day and also visit Simon, my nephew Santiago's baby who was a month old. My mother has 7 great grandchildren now.

After three weeks in Bogota I flew back to Miami to find our little garden house so beautifully done. Bill had even bought flowers! It felt so good to have our own things. We felt totally at home. Our friend Justo had had his foot operated on in January, so he was still spending time in the house. Stella retired the day before Justo's operation and was taking care of him. It was great having them around this time. Stella and I had an opportunity to spend time together and to take care of Julian, my goddaughter's son who was six months old. We also saw all of our friends, spent a fabulous weekend on Isla Morada, one of the Florida Keys at Charlie and Sarita's house. There were eight of us being loud and having fun. Stella and I even went on a kayak run--my first ever--, and loved it. Justo made some fantastic dinners, we had a lot of wine and all and all, Our time in the States was unforgettable. I was also able to visit with Katalina, my niece, her husband and beautiful little 2 year old daughter, Valentina. I had not seen her for almost a year as well, and now she talks and acts like a grown up. On april 8 we flew back to Zurich, rented a car and drove to Carcassonne to find our Biesbosch looking great and in super shape.

My mom with her four daughters and grandson, Fernando

With my brother Diego's grandson, Simon

My mom with Sebastian and Paulina in Bogota

Alex and Sandy with baby Julian. Easter 2008

On top of Signal Hill, (Long Beach)

Justo and Stella's backyard, Miami

Our garden house, Miami

Juana, la cubana. She whistles.

Paulina and Sebastian in Daytona

Walking with Chip and Dale

With Stella at Isa Morada

The Sansone's house

With friends at Isla Morada

Shell Beach

A boat outing in The Florida Keys

Fabulous day at Isla Morada

Drinks on the beach

A sunset on the Gulf side

A raclette at Charlie and Sarita's house

Mountain view from house

Our old house in Shell Beach

Dinner at Ian's apartment with my friend Luz and Ian's friends

Miachael, Alicia and Bob Grubic

Bill and Ian at South Coast Plaza

Dormant vineyards in San Luis Obispo

Wolf Winery, San Luis Obispo

Dinner with Debbie and Richard Pinson

View from The Sansone's house

Jen and David's house at night

THE END OF OUR 2007 SEASON IN FRANCE

2008-04-22T15:50:00.000-07:00

Pablo and Libia left us at Beziers after having made some gorgeous stops along the Rhone. In Arles, we were able to moor on the river where there are pontoons for smaller boats. We were lucky to get a place. We spent two night there, the first a full moon. It was true magic. From our boat the view was the old part of the city, so you felt transported back to medieval times. Arles is the site of a beautiful Roman colosseum and the city where Van Gogh lived and painted. We were lucky enough o have been there for market day. They set up an enormous market where everything can be found from clothes to live animals. That was a great experience. South of Arles, we stopped at some lovely villages before getting to the wild Camargue, a flat marshy area of France known for its wild horses, flamingos and saline beds, all of which we saw. In order to get to the Canal du Midi, you must cross the Etang de Thau, similar to the Bay of Biscay, with a finger of land separating it from the Mediterranean. It must be crossed under the right conditions because the wind can be very dangerous. You must follow the channel along the famous oyster beds because the rest is very shallow. To me, this was most exciting. Biesbosch sailing in salty waters, waves braking over the bow, and taking it all so beautifully! The entrance to the Canal du Midi is marked by a small lighthouse which was our reference point in the distance. The crossing was about 2 1/2 hrs. Lots of little fishing boats were moored along this first part of the canal before getting to the first lock. The locks on this canal are oval shaped, so it took some getting used to. We tied up for the night after the first lock. The Canal du Midi is a World Heritage sight. It was built in the XVII Century by a great visionary called Paul Riquet to join the Mediterranean to the Atlantic. It is lined on both sides by Plane trees which provide shade for the boaters in the heat of the summer. An interesting experience was the passing of the 7 locks at Fonserannes. They put 3 boats at a time, very close to one-another and the trick is to keep from bumping into other boats once the water is let in. It comes in so violently! Thank God we had Pablo up on the lock helping the boat in front of us. The poor lady was terrified and had no clue what to do with the ropes.

After a few more days of peaceful travel along The Midi, we took Pablo and Libia back to Beziers where they took the train to Lyon to fly back to The States. It was so sad to see them go. My foot was still in a cast, but it was getting easier to handle. Soon after they left, we took the boat to a lovely little town called Le Somail, were able to moor at the Nichols rental boat base for a few days waiting for our friends Justo and Stella who were coming from Miami.
At this point it was October and fall was in the air. Our friends joined us at Le Somail. There is a large boat which is a store and deli with very fine products, so it was fabulous being tied up close to it. We had fresh bread every morning in a village without a bakery! After exploring the area by car, we went as far as Homps with them. Along the way, we stopped at many vineyards and tasted as many wines as we could. Needless to say it was a fabulous time as well. Justo did a lot of great cooking, we shared some great times and time flew by.

The day after Justo and Stella left, my back went out. I could not move at all. My friend Claudine from Carcassonne told me she would make an appointment for me to see her therapist , so being a few miles away, Bill took the train to get our car--a whole day travel-- so he could take me to see the therapist. He told me the problem was lumbar, but he could help me. Claudine's doctor saw me at her house, gave me an anti-inflamatory and a prescription for 10 visits with Philippe, the therapist. After about 4 visits, I started to feel better, although it took me amost two months to fell well. The canal was to close on Nov. 7, so we arrived at the port in Carcassonne on Nov. 4. We were given our spot for the winter just in front of the Capitainerie, a very secure place in a port that has all the facilities and a great captain, Stephanie, young, most helpful and professional. There were quite a few boats here for the winter, and many of the people stayed on their boats all winter long. They were all very nice and welcomed us with open arms. There are Brits, Welch, Irish, and us, the only Americans. During our month in Carcassonne, we did a lot of exploring in our car and got to see some of the most beautiful villages and areas in France. We Have visited Narbonne and the beautiful port of Colliure, Perpignan and Toulouse, a great city, and all its surounding towns. We are in the middle of two wine producing regions: the Minervois and the Corbieres. The vineyards were turning colors, so the landscapes were breathtaking. Remarkable towns are Lagrasse, which has an Abbey founded in the year 800 and the village's buildings date from the XI C. The setting is absolutely gorgeous. Minerve, situated above two rivers is another jewel of the Middle Ages, as is Aigne, built in the shape of a snail, the center being the church and square.

On December 12 2007, we left Biesbosch here and took a train to Zurich from where we flew to California to spend Christmas and New Year's with our son Ian.

An intimidating lock

Canal du Midi

Pablo and Libia follow along the canal

Locks at Foncerannes

An autumn sunset

Our winter mooring in Carcassonne

St. Etienne on The Rhone

Fortress on The Rhone

Roman Colosseum in Arles

Cafe de Nuit, Arles

Early Moon, Arles

Later moon, Arles

The Camargue

Flamingos, The Camargue

L'Etang de Thau

There is the marker for The Midi!

Bateau epicerie

Le Somail

Justo and Stella

Want to buy my vineyard?

Quiet mooring on The Midi

Wine tasting Chateau

Lock on The Midi

A nice lunch by Chef Azpiazu

Minerve

Quite a mural

Chapel among the vines

Lagrasse

Benedictine dormitory

Port of Colliure near Spain

Snail shaped fountain, Aigne

St. Thibault, Private castle

Homps, The Midi

Will we fit?

Art at lock

The Midi in the fall

La Cite de Carcassonne

A view of Carcassonne

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

2007-12-12T18:12:00.000-08:00

FROM THE YONNE TO THE CANAL DU NIVERNAIS

2007-08-11T12:31:00.000-07:00

From the town of Villeneuve sur Yonne, our next stop was at Joigny. The Tour the France was arriving there on the July 11 and we wanted to be there for the event. The approach to the town on the river is superb, and as we were coming in the sun touched us with its rays and the light began to change. We passed in front of The Cote St. Jacques, famous for its wines, and the restaurant by the same name, one of the best in all of France. It had been rainy all day up to that point. Luckily, when we got to the port we were able to tie up to a large pontoon on the outside, all by ourselves. From our boat the view of the town was outstanding. We went into town for a while until a sudden rain storm caught us off guard. We went back to the boat, had a lovely meal and went to sleep.

The next day after doing the laundry, it started to rain which meant I could not hang my clothes to dry. We found a Laundromat nearby and used the dryers. We then went by the tourist office, got all kinds of information about the town and activities and went back to the boat. That day we met a German couple and their son who came to have some drinks with us. They had rented a boat for 10 days, it had rained every single one up to that time and they were to return their boat the next day. How sad. And to think that most of the people on rental boats were in the same situation.

The town was preparing for the arrival of The Tour de France, so all public parks and gardens had been done in bicycle themes, they had giant TV screens all along the quay, and all types of activities were planned for the day. It was a Wednesday, but the town was given the day off for the occasion. Bill and I had made a reservation at a restaurant called Paris- Nice, which turned out to be one of the best we have tried in a long time. Our meal was superb from beginning to end, as well as the service and presentation of the dishes. We had a great time. Around 5:30 PM we went over the bridge and took our places on the quay below one of the giant screens to wait for the parade of accompanying caravans. There were thousands of people lined up along the way donning their favorite team's shirt or cap, waving their flags, some singing their country's national anthem. It was a beautiful sunny evening, a true change from the weather we had been having. Finally, the leaders could be seen a few feet away, then the "peloton," zipped by, all in a flash. The arrival about a block away we were able to see on the giant screen. So much preparation, organization and money are put into this event, but the French do it right. It is quite the spectacle.

That same evening we walked over to the center of town whose narrow streets make you feel like you are still in the XIV Century. The half timber houses have some of the most beautiful carvings we have seen in houses of the era. Just across the street from the Mairie and the old library is the house where Madeleine Sophie Barat, founder of the Community of the Sacred Heart was born and raised. Since I went to a Sacred Heart school, I was very interested in visiting the house. It was almost 8:00 PM, so I did not think we could go inside. Bill and I were reading the exterior plaque when a nun came walking in and asked if we wanted to visit the house. Of course, being an alumna of the school gave me the right to a very thorough visit by a wonderfully enthusiastic nun who showed us around and told us anecdotes about M. Sophie, a most interesting tour. The gardens are gorgeous and the house is currently used for religious retreats for women.

Down from her house is the Church of St. Thibault which has over its main door a beautiful equestrian relief of the saint by the Spanish Golden Age sculptor Jean de Juni. As we entered we could hear the organ playing and realized that we were in for a treat. An organist was practicing for his concert the following week and Bill and I sat through the whole thing, all alone in this beautiful church while we admired the beautiful stained glass windows and incredible statues in the interior. It was quite a special day from beginning to end.

The next day we left Joigny and had to wait for about two hours before the second lock while it was repaired. We had lunch after stopping in Migennes and turned around to arrive at the charming village of Gurgy about 5:30 PM. Soon after another boat called Bayleaf pulled up behind us. We had seen them in Joigny and in Sens, but had not talked to them. They are Jill and Kevin Makins, an Australian couple from Surfer's Paradise who have been sailing all over the world and in France for a few years. We connected right away, and since then we have been meeting in other places as we make our way down south. The next day, July 13, I remember very well because it was the first real summer day we had since we left Briare the first week of June. We met a large Vietnamese family the Nguyens, half of them French and the other half from California. They liked our boat, so we invited them for a visit. The grandmother had come to France from Vietnam to see her family, so they thought that a boat trip would be the best. They were enjoying themselves, no doubt.

We left Gurgy under a most beautiful sunny sky and this part of the river Yonne was gorgeous. We saw lots of herons, mandarin ducks carrying their freckled little ducklings on their back, and a couple of martin fishers. The river was wide most of the way and the approach to the city of Auxerre, magnificent. From the distance its three most distinctive buildings, the Abbey de St. Germain, the Cathedral of St. Etienne and the Church of St. Pierre can be seen. It is a breath taking view no matter what time of the day. We were told to stay in the Port de Plaisance and tie up to another boat because the Independence Day fireworks were to take place that evening. Bill brought the boat in alongside an old tanker called SHELL owned by several couples who have it for one month each out of the year. There were dozens of boats already there and many more came that afternoon for the festivities. Bill and I had a great dinner at the Creperie du Pont, one we had discovered last October when we were there in our car.

The fireworks display was fantastic and all of us sat on the decks of our boats sipping on cocktails, lights above our heads, multicolor sparkles flying and bangs echoing in the most stunning of settings. Certainly an evening to remember. The next day, July 14, the real holiday, it was a very hot day. We had made a reservation at a place called Le St. Pelerin, known for its wood burning oven. The lunch was great and copious, so we decided to walk it off by walking the town from north to south. The very sober Cathedral is being worked on but we were able to see it. We also visited the Church of St. Pierre and the center of town with its beautiful XV C. clock tower. That night we had Kevin and Jill over for drinks on Biesbosch and had a great time with them.

The next day, we left Auxerre and soon we were on the Canal du Nivernais, built to connect the Loire to the Seine. The locks are smaller, the lock keepers nicer (usually students with summer jobs) and this northern stretch of the canal, fantastic. We tied up before a lock, had lunch and even a nap! In the late afternoon we tied up the boat and walked up the hill to visit a cave where they produce a white sparkling wine as well as some good roses and others. We got back on the boat, the canal widened to the point that it looked like a river, and in a couple of hours we moored at a little town called Vincelles. The village had a tiny grocery store, which doubled up as bakery and bookstore. After dinner, we took a walk to the town of Vincelotte which is on the Yonne, parallel to the canal. Great little cafes and a beautiful restaurant by the banks, lovely architecture, all and all a great area.

On July 27 we were supposed to be in Chatillon en Bazois to take part in a boat rally that our friends from Anfra told us about. At this point many of the boats we encountered were traveling to the same event, so we met some new people on the way. At Mailly le Chateau we stayed all by ourselves in a basin at the foot of the promontory, walked up to the town, true little hamlet full of treasures, like the path to it, a former mule path, the chateau with its adjacent park and the XII C church with its most unusual statues. That evening we watched the most competent of boules players trying to outdo each other at it. They were absolutely fantastic!

The sun shone for us for five days in a row, and just as we thought that summer had truly arrived, the weather changed. The next week of cruising we had showers, patchy skies and cooler weather.

Medieval church along The yonne

Joigny

Tour de France Decoration at Joigny

July 11 at Joigny

Victorious!

A XIII C half-timber house in Joigny

The house of Madeleine Sophie Barat in Joigny

The smiling Madonna XIV C.

The Nugyen family

Auxerre Port

Kevin and Jill Aussie friends at Auxerre

Along the Nivernais

Old lock house on The Upper Nivernais Canal

Bill helping lock keeper

Sunflowers of The Nivernais

Mooring at the foot of Mailly le Chateau

Mailly leChateau

XII C.church at Mailly le Chateau

Les Roches de Saussois

Les Roches

A beautiful lock

Same lock

Chateau de Faulin on The Nivernais

Draw bridge before Clamecy

Moored behind elizabeth in Clamecy

A GREAT VISIT FROM THE GRUBIC BOYS

2007-07-23T17:09:00.000-07:00

After Paris we went back to St. Mammes hoping to do some painting on the exterior of the boat but the weather did not cooperate. The rain continued, and though not constant, the sunny times were not long enough to get a project started. Bill continued to do wiring and electrical work, which was a great thing.

On July 4, Michael and Joseph Grubic, the sons of Bob and Alicia, our California friends arrived in Paris from Barcelona. They flew into CDG, so we drove to Paris to pick them up. They had to take a train from CDG to Orly --much closer to us -- so it took a while for them to get there. It was great to see them and to hear all about their traveling adventures together. Michael, the younger brother had just finished his semester abroad in Barcelona, and Joseph, who is starting medical school in the fall decided to join his brother for a nice vacation in Europe.

We got back to the boat after midnight, showed the boys how to set up their beds in the wheel house and went to sleep. It had been a long day for all of us. The next day we would be navigating, so we needed our night sleep. After a delicious breakfast with croissants and baguettes from one of the two good bakeries in town, we drove the boys to Moret sur Loing so they could see it. Oddly enough it did not rain at all that day and for the remainder of their stay, so we could say that the boys brought the good weather with them.
At 11:30 AM we cast off the lines and departed under very windy conditions. We were traveling upstream on the Seine with high winds and lots of commercial traffic. I made lunch for everyone while we were underway, so we did not need to stop. Just before the little town of Cannes, we had to wait for the lock to be repaired. There were at least 4 large peniches waiting to go in. These locks can fit lots of boats, since they are 700 feet long! After this lock we turned right onto the River Yonne where the locks were not as big, but the walls were sloped. The first few did not have pontoons for us to tie to, and it was nearly impossible to get to a bollard. If the lock keeper felt like helping with the ropes, you were lucky. In one occasion one of them refused to take my cord. Once the water starts coming into that lock the forces with which you are dealing are incredible. Bill had to keep the motor running to control the boat. Quite a challenge! The locks on the Yvonne are supposed to be open until 7:00 PM, but that day, we got to Pont Renard before 6:00 PM and it was closed. We tied up along the wall on the weir side with a Dutch cruiser called Blaue Banjer. The had been in St. Mammes with us.

Bill and I wanted to teach the boys the game of Boules, so we went ashore and had a couple of games before dinner. We had a great time eating on the boat with Joseph and Michael because they like everything and there is nothing they do not eat. The next day after breakfast we cast off at 9:45 AM heading for Sens, a large town right on the River. This stretch of the Yonne was beautiful. The river is wide and wild, the vegetation very thick and the birds forever present. At 1:30 We stopped at the lovely town of Pont sur Yonne, famous for its IX C bridge, of which only 3 arches remain. It was a very balmy, sunny day, we tied up onto a pontoon before the bridge, and the guys went to explore and look for a bakery while I made lunch. They came back with some scrumptious desserts as well as some bread. The rest of the trip to Sens was beautiful as well. From the river the high cathedral can be seen in the distance. The port was a very pleasant surprise for us. It was so nice and safe in such a central setting. We moored opposite of St. Maurice, a half timber XIIC church and just before the bridge. We had just tied up the boat when we saw our Irish friends in Aquarelle coming from the other direction. We had met them in Briare, where they spent most of the winter. They have always been a great source of information, since they write and contribute to the DBA's Blue Flag magazine. We planned to get together for coffee in the morning.

Entering one of the locks we saw a beautiful boat called FENICKS, owned and built by a British couple. I had complemented them on their boat, and when we got to the port they invited us for drinks in the evening. They were traveling with another couple and having a grand time. Another couple who had a sailboat called Capella had also been invited, so we were quite a crowd. We had a great time, and the boys got to experience a little bit of the social aspect of barging. After drinks we had a fantastic raclette dinner on the boat, which the boys very much enjoyed. The had brought us some wonderful Catalonian wine, a great complement to the meal.

The next morning after breakfast we walked to the train station and bought the tickets from Villeneuve s/ Yonne to Paris. Michael and Joseph would be leaving from there the next day. We then went to visit Michael and Rosaleen on Aquarelle and had delicious Irish tea and cookies. Michael built that boat himself literally in his backyard. The boat is a sea going as well as a canal boat, very beautiful and comfortable. We exchanged information on the state of things towards The North where they were heading, and they gave us all the information on The Nivernais Canal where we were going. We said good bye, I prepared lunch for us and we soon took off in the direction of Villeneuve sur Yonne.

We were very lucky that day, since of 4 locks we had to do, three we were asked to tie up to a large peniche, thus making the process much easier in these sloping locks. There were three of them, a pusher with a dumb boat owned by a young couple, and another one owned by the parents of one of them. They transport grain from the Seine to the Yonne. They were absolutely wonderful, and even gave us a detailed copy of one of their charts for us to have. We arrived at the last lock before Villeneuve as it had just closed, so we tied up to them for the night. They hung a ladder on the side of their boat so we could get ashore to explore the town. We did just that, but not before having a nice game of boules on the quay. The town is a gorgeous mediaeval town with two beautiful gates and vestiges of an old castle. We walked the town, the boys called their parents and back to Biesbosch for another nice meal. The next day, soon before 8:00 AM we untied our boat, let the big peniches go into the lock and said good bye to these wonderful people who made things so much easier for us. The boys continued to sleep and after a brunch of omelets, fruit salad and good bread, I made some sandwiches for the boys to take with them on the train. Soon after, Bill walked with Joseph and Michael to the station while I stayed on the boat doing laundry and such. It was very sad to say good bye to these wonderful young men whose company we so much enjoyed. Hopefully we will see them in the winter when we go to California.

Before leaving St. Mammes

The Grubic boys w/ Bill in St. Mammes

Heavy traffic on the Seine

Joseph at the helm

The Grubic boys enjoying the sun

A XII C. Bridge

Lunch on Biesbosch

Along the River Yonne

Traveling along with Fenicks and Capella

Our mooring in Sens

St. Maurice Xii C. Church in Sens

Villeneuve sur Yonne

Tied up to "The big boys" at Villeneuve

The cook gets some help

SAINT MAMMES AND THE DBA RALLY IN PARIS

2007-07-23T17:08:00.000-07:00

We had intended to stay in St. Mammes a couple of days, but we liked it so much that we ended up staying for 2 weeks. There are a lot of great things about St. Mammes. It is on The Seine, so the spectacle of seeing the large peniches, laden or empty going in opposite directions is quite an experience. The town extends along the quay facing the river, and it has little restaurants, a butcher shop, a bakery, a small chandler's store, a small supermarket and the setting is idyllic.

After our friends Ronnie and Nigel left, Bill continued to work on the wiring of his dash board and control panels. One rainy day, as I was ironing, I looked out and What did I see across the river at the fuel dock? ANFRA, the boat where we lived in Cambrai while we worked on Biesbosch. I picked up the phone and called Rosemary to let her know that Bill was running across the bridge to meet them. We talked them into staying at the dock for the night and have dinner with us. It was a joint effort. Rosemary and Andrew brought a great bottle of Champagne and a quiche and we provided the foie gras and a salad. It was a great evening on Biesbosch and a fantastic way to meet with our friends. They had told us about the Nivernais Rally, so we will be meeting them at Chatillon en Bazois at the end of July to participate together.

The following day, our friends Susan and Doug from Quo Vadis tied their boat up near ours, and a couple of days later, Dave and Juliet Webb of Jubilant, tied theirs up along the quay. These two boats were on their way to Paris for the DBA Rally, as were several others that we saw there. We had drinks on Jubilant, which is a magnificent boat, and then had Dave and Juliet and Doug and Susan for drinks on Biesbosch. As we were talking about the DBA Rally in Paris, we mentioned that we would be going by car and would be staying in a hotel. David suggested that we stay on Jubilant instead so we could be in the middle of it all. We were of course, delighted to comply.

On June 28 we drove to Paris and drove straight to the Bassin de la Villette where the event was to take place. There were about half the participating boats there, since the rest would be arriving on Friday. We saw many boats we knew, said hello to Paul and Bertha King of Tarahumara, Mike and Pippa of Sterna, Jerry and Barbara of Vivante, and a few others. We parked the car by the boats and took the train to Bastille so we could look at some more boats--for a change -- at the port of Arsenal. From there we walked to my niece's neighborhood in Nation and met her and her husband for dinner at a place where we had eaten when the family was here last winter.

I was surprised to see how well Sylvia is recovering after such major knee surgery. It has been 12 weeks and she is already setting her foot down, and the swelling is entirely gone. We had a lovely dinner together and planned to eat a Sunday meal before our return to St. Mammes. We went back to the port, checked in on Jubilant, where we were shown to our beautiful cabin, had drinks with Dave, Juliet and the other guests, and had a great night sleep. Breakfasts on Jubilant were fantastic and plentiful and not served until 9:00, so we could all sleep in. Friday Bill and I had to go to the American Consulate to notarize signatures for some bank business in Miami. When we arrived there, after going through all the security, the place was packed with people. We thought we might have to be there all morning, but their system is so efficient, that in 30 minutes we were done. We walked to a Fed Ex office, sent the documents, so now we could enjoy ourselves.

We were near the Opera, where the large department stores are, so we did a bit of shopping. The big sales were going on, so we found pants and a few things for Bill, and a couple for me. After a small lunch, we went to find some foie gras at a place near the Louvre, but the shop was closed. The sign on the door indicated opening at 13:30. We took a walk, came back, but no sign of life. We decided to go across the street to have a coffee, and around 2:15, as we were about to give up, the fellow came in, opened the store, no apology at all, although we told him we had been waiting for 45 minutes. We bought what we wanted, walked along St. Honore and in the early evening got back to Jubilant. Friesland and La Chouette and our friends Tam and Di and Bob and Bobbie had arrived earlier. We saw them briefly before dinner and decided to eat at the Israeli restaurant by the port, but being Friday, it was closed. What a disappointment. We had seen it so full and lively the night before. It was the Sabbath, so nothing to do. On Jaures we had noticed a few ethnic restaurants, so we went to check them out. The one that appealed to us, a small Indian and Pakistani proved to be the right choice. It was as authentic and fabulous as one can find. We had stayed away from Indian food in France, because it is usually cooked to the French taste, so the spices are not quite there. We thoroughly enjoyed our meal, walked back to Jubilant, had an after dinner drink with David and Juliet and retired for the night.

On Saturday after breakfast, Bill took the car to a parking garage, so I went for a walk along the basin. I heard my name called, and it was Tag Caisley, our friend from Cambrai, who had taken the train to see the rally. We had a long chat and I took him over to meet Dave in Jubilant. He had a beer, saw the boat and left to see the rest of his friends. Sadly, Bill did not get to see him. Later, when he arrived, we watched Tam and Di do a demonstration on Barge handling. It is always interesting to see that, especially the two of them who do it so well. To the French who live in the neighborhood this event was most interesting since it brought such color and life to the basin which is virtually empty all year long.

In the early evening, we changed to go to have drinks on Sterna before going to eat with Bertha and Paul on a boat called Libertijn, which was tied up to theirs. Doug and Susan were on Sterna along with Pippa's daughter and two other British couples. We had a great time on the rear deck of this beautiful boat and very much lamented the absence of our dear friends Ronnie and Nigel and their boat Blokzjil.

Bertha was cooking a Mexican meal for 8 people. Dan and Emma, Americans, and owners of Libertijn were in charge of the Margaritas, the real thing. The other couple, we had met in Cambrai last year when they had stopped by the port in their camping car. What a small world! We had a fabulous evening and a wonderful time eating and drinking on deck. I helped Emma bring the dishes down to the kitchen, and I could not believe my eyes! This boat was so beautiful inside, so different from anything I had ever seen, but yet it looked familiar. Two years ago, I had read an article written about Libertijn in House and Garden, the British magazine. The boat is extremely comfortable inside, open space, island with professional stove in the kitchen, home theater in the salon, and the most beautiful woodwork in cherry and maple. It is all very modern and colorful, except for their cabin which was redone with the oak salvaged from the original cabin; superbly done. There is a full marble bathtub in front of their bed. Dan and Emma come from San Francisco and live on the boat most of the year. They are very gracious and generous hosts.

On Sunday, after visiting with friends and saying good bye, we drove to Sylvia and Laurent's for a Sunday lunch. They has roasted chicken, an avocado and tomato salad, delicious potatoes and some great wine.
We had a wonderful afternoon with them and then drove back to St. Mammes where we had left Biesbosch.

Bassin de La Villette, Paris

Di demostrating rope handling from Friesland

Beautiful Jubilant

An assortment of Dutch Barges

Mexican meal on Libertjin

FROM CHATILLON COLIGNY TO THE SEINE

2007-06-23T09:13:00.000-07:00

I drizzled the morning we left for about two hours, but then it cleared up beautifully. This part of the canal is very pretty, the locks are all from 1885, many of them have beautiful and elaborate gardens. At one of them there is a beautiful pipe organ, a giant music box, that as we entered the lock started to play a happy tune. Imagine, a serenade in the middle of the day! The lock keeper told us that the great grandson of the man who built this organ kept the business and repairs and even builds new ones. As we locked down he played 3 tunes for us.

Our destination was Montargis, but being that there was going to be a jazz concert on the weekend, we thought we might not find a mooring at the Port de Plaisance. Ronnie and Nigel had been there for a couple of days and sent us a message letting us know there was no place to tie up. As we approached the port, Nigel signaled us to tie onto his boat, we did just that without asking if it could be done.

After we secured the boat, I changed and walked downtown to the bank where my new credit card had arrived. Montargis is the city where last year our friends Debbie and Richard left from. It is called "The French Venice" for its many canals. I did a bit of window shopping, checked out some of the good stores, and as it started to rain I got back to the boat to find Bill and the port captain talking about the fact that it was not permitted to tie up onto another boat for safety reasons. At that hour the canal is closed, so there is no other traffic at all. We thought that argument was weak. He called his boss, who came down to the port and, rather than argue, as his work day was coming to an end, decided to look the other way, to our delight.

Nigel and Ronnie had seen an Indian restaurant they wanted to try, so we all changed, walked to it, about 7 minute walk from our boat, and had a very good meal. Next day we left ahead of Ronnie and Nigel, but soon after the 2 locks in town and just after the commercial port, Bill spotted a Bricorama by the railroad. This is a store much like a Home Depot. We tied up Biesbosch and within the hour Bill was back with a box full of things for the boat. Nigel and Ronnie went by and stayed ahead of us until we got to the Seine.

We had thought we would tie up at the port in Moret sur Loing, the town where Alfred Sisley lived and died, and which we so enjoyed last year. But the moorings were all taken, so we continued on the Loing which flows into the Seine at St. Mammes. We tied up onto a pontoon in the Port de Plaisance, right on the river, along with Ronnie and Nigel, and have been here for 5 days. Sunday they set up a market along the quay, very picturesque and very good. I even found mums for my flower pots, which I planted right away.

We had heard of a restaurant in Moret that belonged to a Colombian lady and a French man, but did not even know the name. We ventured to go by foot along the river to see if anyone knew of it. In town we inquired in 3 different restaurants from one end of the town to the other. Our friends were able to see the town, until finally the owner of the Cheval Noir told us it was beyond the other side across from the river, about ten minutes away. The place looked beautiful, smelled delicious and we were hungry, but were turned away. No reservations, no place. Sunday lunch is very popular with the French and a reservation is a must. As we got there a party of 7 had been turned away although they had come from Paris. I joked about having come from Colombia, but it did not work. Luckily, nearby there is a very good Chinese restaurant where we had eaten last year and we had a great meal and a good afternoon after all.

On the way back to St. Mammes, we stopped to see Ronnie and Nigel's friends aboard Sterna, who were moored on the side of the canal. It had started to rain, and the guys wanted to see the start of the US Grand Prix. Mike and Pippa, got out the wines and goodies, and we wound up staying until about 8:30 PM
The next day I did laundry, some painting, Bill did work on his dashboard, so we felt very good and productive. Tuesday morning I called Le Relais de Pont-Loup, the restaurant in question, made a proper reservation and after a long day's work, we walked to Moret. The hostess recognized me from Sunday and remarked that I had persevered. "You will not be disappointed," she said.

The restaurant is an old and elegant house with an enormous garden, very tastefully decorated. We later found out that it was the owner's grandfather's house. He, the owner is quite a character, interesting and very humorous. His wife is the chef, so we did not get to meet her until the end of the meal. The food was fantastic, as were the wines we chose. Mme. Moncada sent us some champagne--on the house--to have with our dessert. She came and chatted with us for a while, and it turned out that she is from Bogota and knows my brother Diego and his family because they go to Providencia Island when they go to Colombia. What a small world!

Our friends Ronnie and Nigel left yesterday and will continue to travel until August. The will be exploring the Champagne region. As for us, we will stay here tonight and tomorrow we will continue upstream on the Seine to the confluence of the Yonne in the direction of Auxerre. We shall see what new experiences this new river will bring us. We cannot wait.

Port at St. Mammes

Sisley painting of St. Mammes

Organist lock keeper

Blokzjil and Biesbosch at Montargis

Mike and Pippa on Sterna

Farm near Nemours

Biesbosch with big barges in St. Mammes

WE ARE CRUISING AGAIN

2007-06-23T08:47:00.000-07:00

As it turned out, to our dismay, we were not able to get on the Paris flight from Atlanta due to an error from one of the Delta employees while rewriting our ticket. Fortunately a couple of hours later there was a flight to Barcelona which we made without a problem. The flight was wonderful and we had a chance to truly unwind in Business Class with good service, food and wine.

We arrived in Barcelona early in the morning, took a taxi to the train station, put our luggage into lockers and set off to make the most of a beautiful sunny day in the capital of Catalonia. The Estacion de Francia is by the port, which to us was an opportunity to go look at the array of yachts, sailboats and catamarans of all sizes and conditions which are moored there. Barceloneta is a very interesting area off from Las Ramblas with great restaurants and cafes. After a long walk, we settled for a restaurant recommended by our taxi driver. It is by the water and its specialty is seafood. The Salamanca was exactly what we were looking for, a great paella-like dish with lobster, a truly delicious experience.

After lunch we walked up Las Ramblas, enjoyed the flowers, merchants and mimes, and most of all the unique feeling of Barcelona. We then walked to the Gothic Quarter with its narrow cobblestone streets, walked into Santa Maria de la Mar, an impressive church which was always a point of interest to Sylvia's students while on their annual trip to Spain. We had booked a couchette on the overnight train to Orleans, which included breakfast. We left Barcelona at 9:15 PM, got settled in two cabins. The one next to ours was empty, and the conductor told us we could use it to store our luggage. Around 10:30 we went to the restaurant car, had a drink, and upon our return, found our beds already made inviting us to go in.

It was a beautiful night, and though we were jet lagged and exhausted, despite the comfort of the beds, sleeping was difficult. The train jolted and jerked about all night. We did rest, but got little sleep. Around 6:15 AM our lady porter came to wake us up. We got dressed and promptly got to the restaurant car for a very nice breakfast, well served with good coffee and croissants. Around 7:45 AM we arrived at the outer station in Orleans and promptly got on the adjacent train going to the main station in town. The station chief told us we could leave our luggage with him until about noon, just before our departure by bus to Gien, a10 minute ride from Briare. Just as we did in Barcelona, we walked the old section of the city with a beautiful cathedral, lovely markets and shopping centers, as well as very nice banks along the River Loire. Orleans is in the history of Joan of Arc.

The ride was about 1 1/2 hr. We were dropped off in Gien center, called a taxi and in 15 minutes we were on our Biesbosch. We arrived on a cool dreary day, so the boat and the port looked dreary as well. Bill got immediately busy connecting the power, filling up with water, installing the gas and other essential things. I started the process of making the bed and unpacking. By 10:00 PM we could not stay awake, so we went to bed and slept like logs. We got up at 11:00 AM the next morning. We really needed the rest after a couple of sleepless nights. Saturday was spent finishing unpacking and going to the market. Sunday, it was a gorgeous sunny day, so we decided to go to the nearby castles that we had not had the time to visit in the fall. We visited 6 very different and lovely castles. This eastern side of the Loire Valley is less known for its chateaux than the famous western side of it that dons chateaux such as Chambord and Chenonceau. Of the ones we saw on Sunday, the most impressive to me was St. Fargeau, an enormous XII century castle, beautifully preserved and well kept. There was La Bussiere. built on a small island on the river. This one is from the XVI century and has some of the most beautiful gardens I have seen. It is called "The Castle of Fishermen" as it holds a collection of fishing gear dating back to medieval times. A true charmer was a small hidden castle called Ratilly accessible through a narrow dirt road, set on a hill, with a beautiful view of the valley below. Pont Chevron, a modern chateau by American standards, is a n XVIII century gem. St. Brisson, on the outskirts of Briare is another beauty set up high on a promontory over the Loire with beautiful round towers, where they have a demonstration of the use of the old catapults used for the siege of castles. Gedelon is unique in the sense that it is a castle being built since 1998 by a group of 35 people using medieval techniques as well as tools. There are blacksmiths, rope makers, basket weavers, etc. It was quite interesting to see.

On Monday, a warm sunny day, we washed the boat down and left it sparkling clean. On Tuesday, our friends Doug and Susan Cruzan arrived on Quo Vadis and came to look for us at the port. We had not seen them since we took the PP exam in 2004. They bought their boat 2 years ago in St. Gilles, next to The Me, and have been cruising north to go to the DBA Rally in Paris. We had a very nice meal and evening on Biesbosch and made plans to meet along the way. The following days we organized, got rid of things we did not need and started preparing the boat for cruising. On June 7, we left Briare, Said good bye to Pascal, our very nice and warm captain, and set off for Ouzouer sur Trezee. Somehow, locking up in these locks was a lot easier than locking down. We had an easy cruise to Ouzouer, where we arrived early and saw Quo Vadis on the quay. They helped us tie up the boat, I did some laundry, we had drinks on the deck and a nice dinner prepared outside. The next day we left around 11:00 AM and had a beautiful day of cruising. We stopped at Dammarie, tied up the boat to the side of the canal and walked across the bridge to see the old town's washing basin fed by a spring by the edge of the river. They have planted lovely gardens by it, the path that leads to it is quite charming, and the washing basin is in excellent shape. We made two more locks including the beautiful flowery one of La Picardie and tied up the boat to have our picnic lunch by the Gazonne Reservoir with its white swans and numerous ducks.

Our destination was Rogny els Sept Ecluses, a place where we could not stay on our way to Briare last year. The name comes from the staircase of seven interconnected locks built in the early XVII C when the Canal de Briare was built to connect the Seine to the Loire. The locks are a beautiful sight, now a monument visited by many. The lock keeper told us we could tie up the boat by the bottom of the seven locks, which we could not believe. What a spot! We got off, walked up the to lock, to admire this beautiful work of engineering. We then walked to the town of Rogny, visited its lovely XII C church, walked down to the port and along the canal to find a small deli where the owner sold products from The Gatinais, the department where we are. We bought some delicious cider and apple juice. After our cider was chilled, we sat on deck admiring our lovely surroundings and enjoying this delicate drink as well as our tranquility.

After a good night sleep and a good breakfast with fresh bread from the local boulangerie, we set off to Chatillon Coligny where we would be meeting our friends Ronnie and Nigel who were one day away from us. When we got to the port, Chantal, the lady captain, recognized us from last year and welcomed us with open arms. She said she'd come later to see the boat. After I did some laundry, she showed up with a chilled bottle of cider--perfect for a hot day -- and came aboard Biesbosch. She could not believe what she saw, from the expression in her face. She wanted to see every feature of the boat, and was very impressed by Bill's craftsmanship. According to her, Biesbosch is more comfortable than her house. She did not stay to join us for a glass of cider because she was working, but she hoped we stayed until Wednesday, when she'd be back to work.

Sunday, another warm and sunny day, was spent on paint touch ups, rust sanding and deck painting. The new paint on the deck is a light gray nonskid, very attractive and easy to apply. By the end of the day, the boat looked great and we were exhausted. We showered and went into town to get something to eat. We found a restaurant bar where people were sitting outside enjoying their "apperos"so we decided to do the same. Inside, on the large TV screen the Canadian F1 Grand Prix was about to start. We decided to stay to watch the start, and when we asked about eating, they said they would let us watch the race there and they would bring the food to us. Bill had a pizza, and I a very good and hearty salad, a couple and beers, and before we knew it, the race was over. The new MCLaren driver, Hamilton won the race. We were very happy to see this young talented driver take the podium.

Monday we woke up to a gray and rainy day. What a contrast! Our plan for painting outside had to be changed. Ronnie and Nigel arrived in a downpour while we were guarding a spot for Blokzjil along the quay. We helped them tie up, came in for coffee and had a lovely time with them. We made plans to have a raclette together. They would supply the wine and dessert, and we the rest. Around 5:00 PM it cleared up, so we went into town to buy the meat at the little butcher store, the cheese at the market, etc. We walked with Ronnie and Nigel so they could see the lovely things Chatillon has to offer. Around 6:30 they came over for some of our champagne and then we took our dinner to be shared on their gorgeous boat, the best feature being an open deck behind the wheelhouse, where they usually eat. The wines we had, especially the Santenay were superb. The food was good and plentiful, but best of all, our time spent with our wonderful friends. We hope to meet up with them again before we get to the Seine and we all part in different directions.

Bill has been doing some electrical work on the inside of Biesbosch since yesterday. We now have reading lights and fans on both sides of our beds, as well as a spot light by or music area and one by the stairs. Today he is connecting the indirect lighting over our kitchen counter. It is difficult work, but he has done a superb job of concealing wires and making the job look totally professional. Just before lunch, a friend of Chantal's whom we had also invited to see the boat, showed up with a beautiful glass bottle in a bluish green color that we can use for serving water. He, as well was truly impressed at what he saw. He is looking for a boat about the size of ours, so he got a lot of ideas from it.

In the afternoon I recieved an email from Rosemary Millis, owner of Anfra with some information on a boat rally that will be taking place the last weekend of July on the Canal du Nivernais. I downloaded the info, and Bill and I decided to take part in it. The organizer called us tonight, got us all excited, so it is a go! They will be having all kinds of activities all weekend, and so far there are more than 20 boats registered for the event.

Tomorrow morning we shall be leaving Chatillon to go to Montargis. There is supposed to be a large Jazz concert there, so we hope we can get a mooring. We shall see. It is always sad to leave a place where you have been so welcome and you felt so at home, but we take with us the lovely memories and the experiences we so intensely lived

Chateaau de St. Fargeau

Chateau de Guedelon being built

Chateau de Ratilly

Catapults at St. Brisson

La Bussiere

Susan and Doug Cruzan on Quo Vadis

Biesbosch in Ouzouer sur Trezee

Break at La Gazonne

Rogny les Sept Ecluses

Rogny XII C. church

Washing basin at Dammarie

Ronnie and Nigel arriving at Chatillon Coligny

Chantal and Sylvia at Chatillon Coligny

A WEEK IN COLOMBIA

2007-06-12T11:54:00.000-07:00

On May 22, we flew from Miami to Bogota for Sylvia's mother's 90 birthday celebration. We stayed at Sylvia's sister house until the 26 when we drove to El Quindio--coffee growing region -- where the event took place. While in Bogota, Sylvia had the opportunity to meet with a few friends from school, and Bill was able to relax for a couple of days. My nephew and his family were in Bogota, so all four Montoya sisters had the children for a whole day and enjoyed them tremendously.

On Saturday the 26 we left Bogota at 6:00 am. Sylvia's sister, Maria Victoria and her children were in another car, and the rest of the family was already in Bambusa, Sylvia's nephew's hotel doing all the preparations. It took us 7 hours to get there.

Upon our arrival we were shown to our beautiful room with a view of the pool, gardens and the mountains behind -- breathtaking view no matter what time of the day. We got settled and soon after were summoned to the dining room for a wonderful lunch. It was the first time in a few years that all six siblings were reunited with Sylvia's mother, Sofia. She looked great and was very excited to have all of her children together. One of Sylvia's nieces came from Mexico for the occasion. Sofia's two sisters, Ines 92, and Judy, 86 were there as well as Sofia's nephews and nieces who live in Cali, a two hour drive to Bambusa. There were 29 of us.

Needless to say the conversation was animated at all times, the decibels higher and higher, and large quantities of food and fine wines were consumed. A great time was had by all.

On Sunday, May 27, a mass was celebrated for Sofia. She was later surprised by her children with musicians who played all her favorite songs while the family celebrated with another wonderful meal. It was a great opportunity to spend time together and to share such a special occasion. Santiago, Sylvia's nephew and his employees went out of the way to make our stay memorable. Bambusa is an incredibly beautiful place where the weather is perfect, the sunrises and sunsets like no others, the shades of green numerous, and the birds that fly around, most unusual. It is truly a magical place.

Monday morning after breakfast, we said our good-byes and left for Bogota. Sofia stayed in Bambusa with her sisters for a couple of days, and the next day we were at the airport at 6 am waiting to get on the flight to Paris.

OUR LAST FEW WEEKS IN USA

2007-05-19T11:58:00.000-07:00

Reflecting upon the time passed here in USA, I must say that it has been wonderful. We have spent a lot of time with family and dear friends and have shared some great experiences with all of them.

After Richard and Debbie's visit, we had the opportunity to go to Talladega, Alabama on Juan Pablo's plane, which by itself was a fabulous experience. We flew out of Boca Raton with Connie and the children and stopped in Orlando to pick up Juan Pablo and continue on to Talladega. The airport is adjacent to the track, so it was easy and convenient for all of us. That weekend they were to stay in their new motor home at the track. Connie and Juancho were very anxious to see how it had turned out, so we drove immediately to it. They were very pleased with the way it turned out. It is spacious and beautiful--much better and prettier than their prior one.

When we got there, our friends Skip and Jill from California, who have in the last couple of years been living in Alabama, were there to meet us. We stayed with them at their house about 45 miles from the track. Even though it was Wednesday before, there were already hundreds of campers and motor homes along the highway ready to participate in this event. On race day there were over 200,000 people at the track. This is one of the great NASCAR events of the year.

We had a chance to take Pablo and Libia to Skip and Jill's home in Rainbow City and to have a fabulous southern barbecue meal on their deck over the River Coosa, quite a spot! We also took a boat ride, motorcycle rides, and even golf cart rides. It was great being with them although it was short. At the track Libia and I spent a great deal of time with the children and enjoyed watching Sebastian, 2 years old learn to ride a bicycle. All the NASCAR tracks have parks for the children of crew and drivers in the area where the motor homes are. Both Paulina and Sebastian love going to the park. As far as the races went, Juan Pablo finished 7 in the Busch race and quite far back in the Nextel Cup race. All and all, a great time was had by all, and soon after it was over, we flew back to Boca Raton and drove to Miami from there.

The next couple of weeks have been spent doing some shopping and having a lot of medical exams done. Unfortunately all the appointments were given to us during one week, so it has been rather intense, especially for me. So far, all is good, no problems. A nice break was Mother's Day at Connie and Juan Pablo's apartment. They had just had their terrace done, so they had a Mother's Day party for the mothers in the family. The view from the top of their building is breathtaking and the decoration as well as the food, superb. Juancho arrived at 7:30 pm coming back from a race, just in time for a beautiful sunset and a good time with Sebastian in the Jacuzzi. We all gave each other little gifts and had a wonderful time.

Pablo and Libia left for Bogota last Tuesday, and we are getting ready to leave this coming one, and in view of the fact that I will not see the children until next winter, I spent the afternoon with them yesterday. Katalina brought Valentina today so we could say good bye. I hate leaving these beautiful babies, to whom I have become so attached. This evening and tomorrow morning we will be packing, and in the afternoon we will go to the beach with Stella and friends. On Tuesday our plane leaves for Bogota at 5:00 pm. We shall be staying at my sister's house until Saturday morning, when we will be driving to the coffee growing region of Colombia to my brother's ranch where the whole family will be gathered for my mom's 90 birthday celebration. We are very much looking forward to being together again and sharing some good family times. We return to Bogota on Monday and fly back to Europe on Tuesday.
We plan to start cruising right away, so be sure to check the blog for future European adventure posts.

About to board plane

Libia and Sylvia

With Paulina during flight

With Skip and Jill at The Ark

Skip and Jill's house in background

Team members and Sebastian

Sebastian before race

Quite the crowd!

Sunrise at Skip and Jill's

The Montoya family

TWO GEAT VISITS

2007-05-03T09:27:00.000-07:00

April 13 our son Ian arrived in Miami for a short, but fun filled visit. We drove to Ft. Lauderdale to pick him up on the first flight of the day which arrived at 6:00 am. The flight was a bit delayed and the wait seemed endless. Once he arrived, we were so glad to see him that it did not matter how early we had gotten up or how long we waited at the airpot. On the way back home, we stopped for breakfast and as soon as we arrived, Ian went to sleep for a few hours. He was to be here for only three days and he wanted to see Pablo's boat, as well as Juan Pablo's, so we took him to see them, of course.

My nephew Gabriel was in Miami that weekend, so Pablo and Libia invited him along with Ian, Bill and I and Katalina, her husband and baby to go to Elliott Key for the day. Libia and I prepared a lasagna in the morning before we left and had a beautiful day of sailing. For Ian it was a great day with the family that we all enjoyed. Lunch was great and afterwards we watched one of Juan Pablo's races on the boat. He did well and the race was very exciting. In the evening after our return, we went to Miami Beach to see Juan Pablo's boat. Al berto, the captain showed Ian around and we stayed for a while visiting with him. The next day after breakfast, Bill took Ian to see JP's F1 car,n which he really wanted to see. Libia had prepared a special lunch for Ian at home, so after we ate, we rushed over to the boat to see the Nextel Cup race in the Hotpass channel. Each weekend NASCAR picks 5 drivers, each of which has a designated channel, and one can watch the race from the driver's seat and perspective. It is a most exciting way to see the race, but also very intense. It was also a good race, and we all finished feeling emotionally exhausted. In the evening we went home, worked on our photos, spent time together and retired for the evening.

Monday morning, we got up before 5:00 am to drive Ian back to the airport. Although it is far from Miami, we made good time and got there early enough. We sat and visited with our son some more until it came time to say good bye. Needless to say, we hated to see him go through the gate, but at the same time started looking forward to seeing him in August when he comes to visit us in France.

The following week, our friends Debbie and Richard from California came to see us for a short three-day visit. They were going to stay in a hotel nearby, but our friends Justo and Stella offered to have them stay with us in their guest house, which turned out to be the best of ideas. We did not waste any time driving to and from downtown and instead spent all the time together.

The first day after a late lunch at a Cuban restaurant, we came back to the house and took a break sitting in the garden among the trees in the company of Justo's wild birds. The weather was fantastic, we did a lot of catching up and drove to South Beach so they could see how that whole area has been recovered. All the Art Deco buildings are remodeled, and there are hundreds of sidewalk cafes and restaurants with nothing but beautiful people all around. We parked the car and walked along Lincoln Road, where Debbie and I did a bit of shopping.

The next day,we drove down to the Keys as far as Isla Morada. It was a great ride, especially the part where you are driving along with the east coast on one side and The Gulf on the other. Again, it was a gorgeous day. We stopped for lunch in Isla Morada at a place called Morada Bay. The restaurant is literally on the beach, Bahamas style, an unbelievable spot. we ordered drinks, then a great lunch, and then moved onto the sand for dessert and live music by a bahamian male singer with a beautiful voice. We spent the afternoon in the sun enjoying the sand, the waves and the company of our good friends.

Next to the restaurant there is a very beautiful and very big store wher they sold fishing equipment and clothes. Inside, they have Hemingway's boat fully restored, along with memorabilia and photos of his fishing expeditions. Debbie found some things to buy and after that we drove back to Miami. The next day we took a boat ride on El Mico with Pablo and Libia. This time we went as far as Boca Cheeta Key, a former privately owned island which has a beautiful lighthouse and lovely harbor. We had lunch on the boat after we anchored there and took the dingy to shore to explore the island. It was great walking along the small beach and seeing the large sting rays and mantas that are abundant there. After a lovely day, we arrived back at Crandon Park Marina after dusk to find that the sailboat moored in front of El Mico had sunk. We could not believe it! There it was in the bottom of the water, only its masts sticking out. What a terrible loss for its owner.

Saturday morning after breakfast, we took Richard and Debbie to the airport, all of us very sad to say good bye. We are so thankful to our friends for coming to see us, and happy to have been able to share such lovely times with them.

Key Biscayne & Crandon Park Marina

Our Apt. Bldg.

Leaving for Elliot Key

Ian, Valentina and Katalina

Ian

Father and Son

Lunch on El Mico

Bill, Richard nd Debbie at Isla Morada

Good friends

Richard and Debbie

After lunch at Morada Bay Restaurant

Love birds

Boca Cheeta Key

Richard and Debbie

BACK TO FLORIDA

2007-04-14T20:25:00.001-07:00

On Thursday, April 5, we got up before 6:30 am, and navigating by 7:30. It was a gorgeous day, although the wind was not blowing enough. It took us 11 hours to sail from Warderick Wells to Lyford Cay on New Providence. We had called this morning to reserve a spot in the marina, where we spent 2 weeks before setting off for the Exumas.
As we entered the port, the Harbor Master was waiting to help us tie our boat. It felt good to be back in a familiar place. Libia and I borrowed the golf cart and went to the supermarket to get a few things. On the way out, we saw one of the fishermen we had met here before with a truck full of the fish he had just caught. He filleted a couple of red snappers for us. We were hoping someone would have fish or lobster to sell us, and here this guy appeared out of the blue.

After the market, we met Bill and Pablo at the local Captain’s Table, the marina restaurant where we had a few beers and some great crab. We had had a long day of navigation and were very tired.

On Good Friday, around 11:30 am, we left Lyford Cay. The wind was just right, so we had the sails most of the way. It was a beautiful day for navigation spent on deck soaking up the sunrays. Around 4:00 pm, as we were entering the port, we called the marina and got instructions as where to tie. The place is enormous, with more than 300 spots. The facility is a place called Chub Cay Club, a new resort which is still being built and whose marina was inaugurated in August of list year. It is a pristine and modern facility with restaurant, stores etc. We planned to stay only night, so we tied the boat up and off to explore we went. The development has over 100 houses in the island style, wooden facades and pastel colors. Outside the club, there are ocean front houses with private beaches, a small airport, and mangroves in the center of the island. The Cay belongs to the Berry Islands, and Chub is some 30 miles from New Providence.

Saturday we set our alarms for 430 am, but as we set to go, the wind started to blow so hard, that we could leave the dock without being pushed into it. We waited until 7:00 am, but no luck. Since we were to sail some 70 miles to Cat Cay and wanted to be there before dark, we decided to stay. We took out the bicycles and went off to see the island, which has basically only one road along the length of it and one across. At the end of one of them we found a path to a lovely beach of warm and shallow waters, where we sat for a while to cool ourselves off.

At exactly 6:40 pm, we left Chub Cay, had an absolutely gorgeous night for navigation. The sunset, breathtaking, and a starry night like we have never seen before. We were able to set the sails for at least 6 hours of the 13 that it took to get here. The moon came out like a ball of fire soon after midnight, lighting the way for us the rest of the night.

This was our 31st day away on the boat and our third of night sailing. We took turns watching the radar while others napped. The sun came out shortly after 6:00 am on this Easter Sunday, and around 8:00, we anchored at the same place we were before, this time making sure the anchor is in the sand. It was here that the anchor alert went off on our way down south.

We had breakfast, some of us slept some more, and we are now waiting until noon or so to do the Gulf Stream crossing. If all goes well, we will be back in Miami this evening full of wonderful memories of the new places we have seen and anxious to come back to see more of it. On Friday, our son, Ian is coming from California, so we are very excited to be able to see him and spend a few days with him.

“Once you are flat, you never go back” This is a reference to a ride in a catamaran. The flat stable right and the comfort of it make it a great vehicle to sail long distances in all kinds of weather. We love El Mico and only hope to be able to do some more sailing on it.

Samson Cay

Taking a break

Samson Cay

Laggon at high tide

Lagoon at low tide

Bill at Samson Cay Lagoon

Sharks!

Exumas sunset

Cat Cay

Bill working the anchor

Arriving at Warderick Wells

A lovely spot

Sunset in Miami

Miami skyline

Warderick Wells

Our Dingy

Pablo, Libia and El Mico

Moorings at Warderick Wells

Our own aquarium

Sailboat at sunset

Reading at night

SAMSON CAY

2007-04-14T20:24:00.001-07:00

The next day we set off North to go to Samson Cay, place we had been told not to miss. We anchored at the entrance to the Marina, which is beautiful. It is definitely a place for the rich and famous. The boats there are beautiful, and the cay itself, the prettiest we have seen so far. There is a lagoon with the most incredible colors, where the sand becomes exposed at low tides, so one can walk from one side to the other. At the docks, there were dozens of nurse sharks waiting for the fishing boats to come and feed them. It is a magnificent sight. The water being so clear, the fish are very easily seen. We took the dingy, tied it up and set off to see the place. There is a lovely restaurant, a beautiful grocery store-boutique, and a few lovely houses with their own private beaches facing the lagoon. They belong to the yacht club. This island in our opinion, was the most pristine we have seen. In the afternoon, we hopped a few miles to the next island, Compass Cay that unfortunately we never did get to see. It was very tricky getting in, and the current a bit treacherous. We anchored outside of the marina along with two other boats, and when we woke up, the tide had gone out and the depth was barely 4 feet, which is the draft of El Mico. We had called Warderick Wells Park, a protected Zone in the Bahamas, to reserve a mooring spot for one night. We got on the radio around nine to see if they had a spot for us. They called us and assigned #18, so we left around ten in the direction of the Island. It was Libia’s birthday and we wanted to celebrate it in a very special spot.

When one sees so many beautiful spots on earth it is very hard to say what is the prettiest because every place has its unique charm and attraction, but to me, this place topped it all off. As you go into the island with the boat, there are about 20 mooring spots in the darker color water. They are all on the north side of the island placed in a crescent shape at equal intervals. The width of the canal is no more than 30 feet, so everything on both sides of it is of lighter colors, very pale towards the center of the lagoon, which just like Sampson Cay exposes its sand at low tide.

We took our snorkeling gear on the dingy and went into the shallower areas for Libia to give it a try. She had never snorkeled before, but with Pablo as an instructor, she soon felt comfortable and did not want to get away. The water was warm and clear, and as we got into the deeper areas there were a wide variety of fish and beautiful corals varying from yellow to orange, red and purple. I got so relaxed doing it, that I did not realize the current was pulling me away far from the dingy. It took some effort to get back to the dingy, but it was well worth it. After our snorkeling adventure, we left the dingy on the beach and went to the Park office to pay for our mooring and buy a few things at the park boutique, The building, a wooden island house is set up high on a rock overlooking the whole lagoon. As we stood there, I was truly out of breath. What a magnificent spot! The park warden gave us a map of the trails to follow to go to the caves and to the
Mangrove creeks. Unfortunately, it was getting close to sunset, so we could not do any more exploring on the island. The next day, we had a long way to go back to New Providence, Lyford Cay, where we had been before, so we could be in Miami by Easter Sunday.

When we got back to the boat, we witnessed an incredible sunset. When it got dark, we turned on the underwater floodlights on the boat and we had an instant private aquarium. There were yellowtails, jacks, snappers, needlefish, and even 3 nurse sharks swimming around. To top it all off, around 9:30 pm, the moon came out from behind the island to complete the most beautiful picture one could possibly imagine. As we were witnessing all this beauty, I could not help but think how very lucky we have been. This has been an incredible few weeks for us, and we know we definitely want to see these islands again.

PIG BEACH

2007-04-14T20:20:00.002-07:00

We continued south towards Staniel Cay. There were a few boats anchored in front of a lovely white beach, so we joined the group. There were about 15 of them. The spot was breathtaking, and as I looked onto the beach, I saw what I thought were pigs, or very big dogs. I chose to believe they were dogs, because who has ever heard of pigs on a beach?. After checking with the binoculars I realized they were pigs! There were 4 adults and 5 piglets. There were people on the beach playing with them and feeding them. Needless to say, Libia and I could not wait to go see them.

The next day after breakfast, we took the dingy with all of the food scraps from the day before to feed the pigs. They ran towards the boat, tried to get in, and one of them thought the oar was something he should eat. They were so adorable! People feed them everything, even beer from a bottle. The island is called Big Majors Spot, and the beach, of course, Pig Beach. We continued onto Staniel Cay to explore and to see as much as we could. The island is truly primitive. There is a funky Yacht Club with a restaurant and a few houses with rooms to rent. The village is tiny, but it has 3 grocery stores and a big church. It was Sunday; everyone was in church, so most businesses were closed.

We found out there would be a public party on the island at Club Thunderball, the local club that overlooks Thunderball Grotto, a very popular snorkeling spot. We were invited to it, but we had a Nascar race to watch, so the invitation was declined. We spent two nights anchored at Pig Beach, and on our second day, we took a better look at the island, did some food shopping, had a beer at the Yacht club, and had a great time with the dingy.

Gorgeous water

Pig Beach

Sunset at Big Majors Spot

Feeding the pigs

Beer drinking and swimming pigs

THE EXUMAS

2007-04-14T20:20:00.001-07:00

Pablo returned on Monday, we waited another two days, and Thursday, we left Lyford Cay at 5:00 am, bound for the Exumas. We sailed without engines about 3 of the eight hours it took to get to Norman Cay, where we are now. The wind was in front of us most of the time, reason for which we did a lot of motoring. We had a couple of hours of rough seas, but as we approached the islands, the water was light blue and aquamarine, for miles. The bottom of the ocean is so clear; you can see every rock and every fish. As we were getting close to our anchoring spot, we saw a nurse shark swim by, a brown spot amidst the beautifully blue clear waters. There were about five boats anchored in a sort of cove, close to the beach, so we decided to join them there.

It truly feels like paradise here. The beaches are so white, and the sand so soft! We took the dingy out this morning to explore the other side of the island. We found an old abandoned dock, restaurant and all and a gorgeous beach in front of which there was a tiny cay with a solitary palm tree, just like the ones you see in the movies about castaways. There is an airport from where planes can be chartered to other islands. A drug lord, who was the owner of the island in the 1970’s, built it. According to history, 70% of the drugs that went into the U.S.A. went in through The Bahamas.

We decided to stay one more night here and continue south tomorrow, perhaps as far as Staniel Cay.

TWO GLORIOUS WEEKS ON NEW PROVIDENCE

2007-04-14T20:03:00.000-07:00

Our stay on New Providence Island has been absolutely wonderful. The Yacht Club where we stayed was a class act, and truly gorgeous spot to be waiting for the “good weather”. In sailing terms, good weather refers to good sailing conditions. The entire time we were there, the weather was gorgeous, but the winds out at sea exceeded 25 knots. We knew we had to wait it out, so we decided to rent a car in order to see the whole island.

Pablo went to Bristol to see Juancho race, and Bill Libia and I stayed behind doing something different every day. We went to see the Bacardi Plant, which was quite interesting. Besides the one in Puerto Rico, they have one in Mexico, this one and one in Florida. They give you a short tour and they also do a tasting where you can try everything they produce. It was quite good. They have a store where you can buy their rum at factory prices.

The island has many different areas, and a lot of development is going on. Interestingly, we saw an incredible amount of churches, all of different denominations. One day I counted 22 between 2 neighborhoods. The area where we stayed, Lyford Cay, is by far the prettiest on the island. The houses and their gardens are unbelievably beautiful. Every time we went out walking or biking we saw gardeners at every house giving them maintenance. At the marina, the boats were huge yachts with large uniformed crews, who worked on cleaning them all day long. The Club had a private beach, restaurants, and of course golf and tennis courts.

On a Sunday, Libia and I took the car to downtown Nassau, parked it, and took a walking tour of the old city. We went to the fort, which overlooks the island, and where the large cruising boats can be seen very clearly. We went to Columbus House, the governor’s house, the old library, the hospital and many other old colonial buildings.

The most popular and well known attraction here is Atlantis on Paradise Island, a very large resort Casino, much like the ones in Las Vegas. We went to see the aquarium, which was truly impressive, the rest we could do without. Too many people, too crowded, and so much like all other tourist infested places in the world.

Lyford Cay Marina

El Mico at LCM

Coming back to El Mico

Quite a show

Lyford Cay house

Along road in Lyford Cay

Another lovely house

FROM GREAT HARBOUR CAY TO WHITE CAY TO NEW PROVIDENCE

2007-04-14T19:57:00.000-07:00

After breakfast, we went to the store in the marina to buy a few things we needed, and to the Harbor Master’s to pay for our mooring. It was a beautiful day, a bit windy, and our navigation time was not supposed to be longer than 3 hours. We were told about an ideal spot for an overnight stay at a secluded spot between Hoffman’s Cay and Devil’s Cay. We planned to go there to do some snorkeling and some beachcombing, as well.

When we left, the wind was very good, but soon it started to shift, so we wound up doing some zigzagging, which prolonged our trip about 2 hours. The wind kicked up as we found our anchoring place, and it was rather late to do a dingy trip to the shore. We made some drinks and appetizers and sat to watch the beautiful sunset. A cold front was to arrive along with rain and high winds, but we felt secure in our spot.

Pablo was worried about the winds, and kept reading the weather report, which was not good. Because of the fact that the anchor had moved with 20 knot winds, and being that we were literally between two coral reefs, we decided at 11:30 pm to leave for New Providence island and stay in Nassau. We called several marinas, but none had space for our boat. We found one on the western side of the island, called, and made a reservation. We had to stay at least 3 nights to be able to have a spot. It is a Private Yacht club called Lyford Cay.

The first two hours of navigation were easy, winds of 12-18 knots. On the screen, we could see the storm coming from the east, looking bad. If all went well, we would arrive around 7:00 am. Around 2:00 am, the rain arrived along with winds up to 32 Knots. There was a lot of rock and rolling, but we were never scared. The boat is so incredibly stable. Catamarans give you a flat ride. They do not keel like sailboats.

The rain passed, but the winds stayed and the waves started to get beat us from the side. The last hour was the worst, but we could clearly see the island a few miles ahead as the sun was rising. We called the Marina to announce our arrival, but it was not open. As we entered, we could not believe our eyes. The boats there were gorgeous, and the setting, breathtaking. We saw a big enough slip, figured that that was ours and tied up our boat. It was such a relief after such a rough night. Bill and Pablo went to sleep, and Libia and I went to see the Harbor Master after having prepared a breakfast for all of us. The people at the office were very welcoming and polite, as we have found all Bahamians to be. They told us about all the facilities and services the Club has for its guests. As a transient boat, we can only stay 4 nights, but we can use all the facilities we want. The marina is inside the most gorgeous neighborhood on the island, as we later found out.

The harbor Master gave us a golf cart to use for grocery shopping, or just to go see the area. Libia and I took advantage of it, and went to the supermarket. We found everything we needed, even the Digestives, cookies from England that Bill loves. Next to the market, there is a lovely shopping center with nice boutiques, bank, post office, etc.

When we got back, we prepared a lovely lunch, which was much welcome by the guys who had slept the whole morning. We then watched the Busch race, a good one for Juan Pablo. He finished in eight place. Late in the afternoon, we took a taxi to go to Nassau and Paradise Island to see Atlantis. The trip took about 35 minutes, and it was very interesting. We found that the prettier side is where we are. Nassau reminds me so much of San Andres, the island where we spent our vacations when I was young. It has a very Caribbean flavor, and a lot of character.

Pablo and Libia wanted to show us Atlantis, especially the gigantic fish tank behind the casino. It was definitely worth seeing. There are so many species of fish! We spent a lot of time there, got hungry and decided to eat at a Deli called Murray’s right at the Marina.
It was like Monaco during the Formula 1 race. So many yachts, and such a show! We walked around and did a bit of shopping around the lovely boutiques. We were tired, so we found a taxi and came back.

Next day, Libia and woke up early for a bike ride around the area. We were so impressed by the beauty of the houses and gardens in this neighborhood. Most of the houses are mansions painted in pastel colors, in exquisite island designs. We rode for almost 2 hours, and did not see it all. Since we are going to be here at least until Friday to wait for the weather to sail, we shall be seeing the rest of Lyford Cay,

In the afternoon, we watched the Nextel Cup race, in which J P finished fourth. It was a very exciting 500 mile race. It is great to see Juan Pablo gaining confidence and learning so much each time he races. I have no doubt that he will win an oval or two this year.

Captain at rest

Entering Great Harbor Cay

Buying fish, conch and lobster

Anchored at White Cay

THURSDAY ON GREAT HARBOUR CAY

2007-04-14T19:54:00.003-07:00

Another beautiful day with perfect weather! After breakfast, we hired a taxi to go around the island. Although, the island is not big, for Pablo, walking is still difficult. David, the driver, took us around the island, which took about 30 minutes. There is no true village, and the businesses are scattered about the island. There is a Credit Union, a Post Office, a beauty salon, liquor store and a few grocery stores. In its hay day, the island was harbor to great big ships, and a few years back they sold a portion of the island to some developers who built a golf course, a hotel, club and a few beautiful beachfront houses. On that side of the island there is The Beach Club to where we were invited to a party given by the Homeowners association. The whole port, and the rest of the island was invited, so we decided to attend

After a fabulous grilled lobster lunch and a nice siesta in the sun, we got ready and walked to the club. The location is an ideal beachfront property overlooking a couple of small cays and gorgeous turquoise waters. There were speeches and gifts for all who attended, and the bar was selling everything one could want. There was a spread of island food from entrees to salads and desserts, all in great quantity and quality. We met a few other boaters from the port, and a after a couple of drinks, we stood in line for the food. There were peas and rice, dumpling soup, shepherd’s pie, fried chicken, meatballs in hot sauce, fresh baked ham, cabbage salad, potato salad, and the best lobster salad I have ever had. For dessert there was quite the array of cakes of all sort, pineapple, pumpkin squares and more. There was a disk jockey, so the music, mostly reggae, added quite a magic touch to the whole evening.

David, our taxi driver in the morning, was in his Sunday best greeting all the guests, so we figured he might be a minister as well. Around 8:30 pm, we started back to the boat, only to be picked up by David, who offered to bring us to the boat. This was an experience we had to live. Everyone is so nice and welcoming, and when we got back, all the natives wanted to know if we had enjoyed the party.

Right now, Pablo and Bill are reading the weather report, so we can plan what to do tomorrow.

AN UNEXPECTED EVENT

2007-04-14T19:54:00.001-07:00

At 12:00 am, the ANCHOR ALERT, signaling that our anchor had moved, awakened us. The winds had picked up to 21 knots, so we had to go out in the rain to lift the anchor and drop it again, but it didn’t hold after two more tries, so we decided to take off at that time of the night, in choppy waters. Happily with the aide of the AUTOMAATIC PILOT and GPS, we had no problems. We took turns watching the screen and checking the radar, in case there were other vessels close to us. El MICO has every gadget known to man, and back-ups for just about every one of them.

It was a long night of rough waters and strong winds, but the stability of a catamaran is remarkable. Although we were banged around a few times, we never felt scared. Once the sun came up, we were able to set the Genoa (main sail) and we continued to our destination with both sail and engines. We arrived at Great Harbor Cay at 3:30 pm.

The island is all coral, with few sandy beaches and very clear waters. We had heard that the weather was going to get bad, so we wanted to moor the boat in a secluded place. We found a lovely harbor, at Harbor Cay Marina, where the captain was very friendly and helpful. The place has all the facilities of the marinas we know in Europe, such as showers, laundry, electricity and water.

After a good night sleep, Libia and I did a couple of loads of heavy laundry, and after lunch, we washed down the boat completely. It is incredible how bad salt water is, and how it gets into everything. It took us all afternoon to do it, but the boat is so immaculate now, that it was worth the effort. While we were out washing the boat, a couple of fishermen came by to offer us some lobster tails. We bought ten for $ 10.00, quite a good deal, since yesterday they had offered us some for $ 5.00 a tail.

Tomorrow we plan to go into the village in the morning with our bikes, and then take the boat south to a place between Hoffman’s and Devil’s Cays. It is supposed to be a fabulous place to fish, snorkel, walk the beaches, and plain relax. The winds will be subsiding, so it should be good sailing for us.

FROM BIMINI TO CAT CAY

2007-04-14T18:36:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, March 11 we left North Bimini Island around noon with perfect sailing conditions. The weather, about 76F, winds of 12 knots, sunny blue skies and beautiful waters. It took us only about two hours to Cat Cay, which we approached by coming in between Gun and Cat Cays. El Mico was anchored about 150 meters from the beach, close to the Yacht Club. The beaches are pristine white, and unlike Bimini, this island, which is a private island, is full of palm trees, and gorgeous houses and mansions.

The Nascar race from Las Vegas was to start at 4:00 pm, so Libia and I prepared a lovely lunch, which we accompanied with champagne to celebrate our arrival. After having read for a while out on the bow of the boat, we sat down to watch the race. Juan Pablo finished 23, after many mishaps, although he managed not to get into any accidents of which they were many. After a light dinner, Bill and Libia played a few rounds of backgammon, and I read some more. The night was beautiful, and the sky replete with stars. We had our hatches and windows open, so we had a great night sleep with the rocking of the boat.

On Monday morning after our breakfast and daily chores, we took the dingy ashore to explore the island. We tied the boat at the port and inquired about what we could see. We were allowed in the Yacht Club, a very large and beautiful area with golf course and gorgeous mansions, covering a long a narrow stretch of land. Most homes have lovely manicured gardens, swimming pools, and of course, beach fronts. It took us two hours to walk around, and on the way back, we found a lovely restaurant by the Marina, where we had a great lunch. They had a computer with Internet access, so I was able to read my messages and send a few of my own, since I don’t know when I will be able to do it again.

We returned to the boat around 4:00 pm to rest for a while. Pablo hurt his back getting on the boat, so he lay down with some ice to alleviate his pain. He hopes to be well enough tomorrow, so we can sail again. The plan is to get up at 4:00 am and sail to the Berry Islands, a 12 Hr. stretch, or so. We want to get there in daylight, so hopefully the wind will help us out.

Pablo Libia en Bimini

Biking on Bimini

Resort on Bimini

sunset on Bimini

Cat Cay

FROM MIAMI TO BIMINI

2007-04-13T20:42:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, March 7 we left Miami’s Crandon Park Marina at 7:45 am under very windy conditions, sailing into the wind at a speed of between 7 and 9 Knots. The waters of the Gulf Stream were choppy, so at times, we had a rough going, although all in all, it was pretty good. At 2:15 pm we saw land, and arrived at North Bimini Island at 3: 30 pm. As you get close to land, the colors of the water are incredibly beautiful from dark blue to turquoise to aquamarine. The port were we moored is located between North and South islands in a very beautiful spot. Unfortunately the people who helped us with the ropes had no idea what they were doing, so it took us a while to secure the boat safely to the dock.

After we tied El Mico, we went off to explore the nearby beaches, and found a beautiful rusty wreck that might have been pushed into the reefs by one of the more recent hurricanes. The beaches are of very white fine sand, and the vegetation is unlike the other Caribbean islands farther south. There are two main areas on this island: Alice Town and Bailey Town. The architecture is quite eclectic and unattractive and there are very few palms. There are, however, lots of trees belonging to the acacia and pine families. We sat on top of a fallen palm to watch an unbelievably beautiful sunset and returned to the boat to have an early meal preceded by fabulous tequila with sangritas, a recipe that Libia brought from Mexico. They had been there for the weekend to see their son win a most exciting Busch race. There is a bar near the port, so we could hear the beautiful island music playing in the background. The evening was cool, so we had a great night sleep.

It is hard to believe how primitive the islands are when the distance from Miami is only 45 miles. As with all the Caribbean islands, the pace of their inhabitants is quite slow, all of them having the “Don’t worry be happy” attitude. No wonder people like Hemingway fell in love with these islands. We went to the bank this morning, and to change a $100.00 bill, it took the girl 20 minutes. Then again, who’s in a hurry?

Pablo and I washed the boat down the next day and then we all went for a bike ride to look for some charts we needed, as well as some of the famous Bimini bread and Kalik beer, both made in The Bahamas. On the north side of the island they are finishing a Resort called Bimini Bay, and what we saw of it is beautiful. They have beachfront houses, condos and studio apartments all in Caribbean architecture and gorgeous pastel colors. They will start the golf course soon. Although this project has generated lots of jobs for the islanders, many of the construction workers we saw came are mostly Central and South Americans.

We spent 4 nights at the Weech’s Dock Marina, where we so enjoyed ourselves. On Saturday, we took a water taxi to South Bimini and explored the island a bit after having left Pablo at the airport for an emergency trip back to Miami. The island is not as inviting or as charming as North Bimini, but it was interesting to see it.

On Sunday morning we went for another bike ride before the sun got too hot. Pablo returned at 11:00 am. and after having read for a while, Libia and I prepared a lovely
Lunch. Bill taught Pablo and Libia how to play backgammon, and I am afraid there is going to be a lot of playing on this trip. We then went for a swim in the beautifully clear waters of Weech’s dock and went inside to watch the Busch race from Las Vegas. It was a hard race for all the drivers due to the tire compound they were using, as well as to the new finish on the track. They had 10 yellow flags and only about 30 of the 43 cars finished the race. Juan Pablo finished 20, which was not bad considering the car had not been set up for the Las Vegas track.

As I write now, the band at the bar across from the boat is playing some fabulous Bahamian music, which will probably go on for a long time. Tomorrow, Sunday we will be sailing for a couple of hours to Cat Cay, where we plan to anchor, so we can see the Nextel Cup race where Juan Pablo will be starting fourth in the grid. We hope the weather continues to be as great as it has been all of this week.

First Breakfast in Bimini

Miami skyline

Old wreck

Our mooring on North Bimini

Lowering dingy

Catching grapes in the air

Warm and clear Bahamian waters

BACK FROM DAYTONA BEACH

2007-02-24T19:35:00.000-08:00

We left for Daytona Beach on MONTY, Juan Pablo's boat, a beautiful 86 foot Azimut that can reach speeds of 45 knots. Since we had a sensible captain, we did not try to go at full speed. We did reach 35 knots at times, but it felt so smooth! We stopped the first night at Ft. Pierce, half way to Daytona and continued on the next day. The entire two weeks we were there, we had cool weather, between 38 and 70 F. My nephew was staying at the track in his motorhome, and we stayed at the port on the boat. There were many gorgeous yachts there belonging to team owners and other race drivers, so there were lots of events pretty much every evening. We were able to spend a lot of time with Sebastian and Paulina, and at times, they spent the night on the boat with us. I guess I could say that I was playing "grandmother" and loved every minute of it.

The Nascar scene is very different from F1, in the sense that it is very fan oriented and very friendly. The spectacle is incredibly colorful, and we were truly amazed at the fact that for the 500 Miles there wasn't an empty seat on the grandstands that hold close to 200,000 people. Juan Pablo finished 19th, a good place for his first race. There were a lot of accidents, and he managed to avoid being hit. It was a very good race.

We had been to Disney World with the children the first week and had a great time. We were able to do a few rides and see one of the parades. The Monday after the race, it was Connie's birthday, so we went to Animal Kingdom for the day. It was Presidents Day, so there were long lines and crowds, but we all enjoyed ourselves very much. It is great to see the children's reactions to the animals and the characters at the park. We stayed in Orlando for the night after having gone out to dinner, and the next day went shopping at a great outlet center there. While the women shopped, the men played miniature golf. Around 2:00 PM, Juan Pablo and the family left for Miami by car, and Pablo, Libia, Bill and I, returned to Daytona where we picked up the boat to go back to Miami.

The return trip was wonderful, the weather great, and all and all the whole time away was fantastic. The day we got back, Libia found out her mother was going to have surgery, so she had to leave for Colombia the next day. Luckily all went well with her surgery, she is recovering, and Libia will be back on Wednesday. Pablo has been a bit under the weather, but I have been taking good care of him. Today he has been feeling well all day, so I guess he has turned the corner.

Today, Saturday, we watched the Fontana, California Busch race. Juan Pablo's car was disabled by a car that lost control. His was not handling well since the qualifying, so he would not have had a good finish anyway. Tomorrow is the Nextel Cup race, and we hope he does well. Our son Ian is at the race this weekend and having a great time. Next weekend there is a Busch race in Mexico City to where Pablo and Libia will go. Upon their return, we will be leaving for The Bahamas on their catamaran. We are supposed to be gone for 3-4 weeks, so we will see how it goes. We are truly looking forward to it.

Our friends Gail and Dale from California will be arriving this coming Tuesday, so we are getting together with them here in Miami, and are very excited to see them again.

Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Christmas in Briare

The Montoyas in front of cottage in Briare

Paula on her wedding day

Paula and Rodrigo, newlyweds

JPM at 24 Hrs of Daytona

JPM and Sebastian giving autographs

Sebastian, Paulina and grandma

Paulina at rest

At the Daytona 500

JPM with Chip and Felix

A relaxing moment before the race

Sebastian with mom and uncle Michael

Libia and Sylvia on Pit Row

Nicholas Cage, race fan

Monty leaving port at Daytona Beach

Beautiful Florida Sunset

Valentina's first birthday

Sebastian

Our apt. is in 4th bldg from left on the water

El Mico

BACK IN MIAMI

2007-02-02T06:05:00.000-08:00

Upon my arrival in Miami, I was met by Bill at the airport from where we drove to my brother's house so I could quickly repack a suitcase for a five day trip. We drove that very afternoon north to Daytona Beach for the 24 Hours of Daytona, race that my nephew would be racing. The drive was about five hours, so we were rather tired upon our arrival at the hotel, across from the race track. After a good night sleep, we got up early to get the race credentials for the weekend. The Thursday before the race there were practices by all three drivers, so we spent the day watching the practices and enjoying the track. On Friday, Juan Pablo had the day off, so my brother, sister in law and the two of us, spent the day sightseeing, looking for a marina where we could tie their boat for the following race, the Daytona 500. Juan Pablo's wife and children arrived on Friday evening along with Catalina and her baby girl, so Libia and I spent a lot of time with them the rest of the weekend. They are the best behaved little ones, and the most adorable. It was a great weekend and a very exciting one. Juan Pablo and his two codrivers won the race. Between 12:30 AM and 4:30 AM JP drove in the rain and when he gave the car to his codriver, he was one lap ahead of everyone else. It was a great accomplishment, since there were only 3 cars that finished on the same lap.

Sunday afternoon, we drove back to Miami and decided to stay with Pablo and Libia instead of going to our friends The Azpiazus. Reason being, the fact that we are going to the Daytona 500 ( Juan Pablo's first NASCAR race ) this coming Tuesday, and are taking JP's boat, where we are going to stay. Upon our return, we will be sailing to the Bahamas on Pablo's catamaran, and will probably be there until the beginnig of March. We are all very excited because this will be their first long trip. Pablo and Bill have been preparing the boat to have it in shape for the long journey.

The weather in Miami has been cool and dry. It is definetely the best time of the year in this part of the world, and we are very much enjoing it.

IN COLOMBIA AGAIN

2007-02-02T05:49:00.000-08:00

After we winterized the boat, we left Briare and took a train to Brussels from where we flew to the U.S.A together. Bill flew from Atlanta to Miami, and I continued on to Bogota for my niece's wedding on January 13. It was a beautiful affair which took place at an old Hacienda on the outskirts of Bogota, There were around 200 people and the reception was fabulous. It had great food, music and a lot of ambiance. The bride was gorgeous, and a great time was had by all.

My stay in Bogota was totally relaxing. I spent lots of time with my mom and my sisters and enjoyed the good weather. It was a fabulous two-week vacation for me, but Bill was getting anxious for me to get back, so the 24 I arrived back in Miami to join him.

HOLIDAYS WITH THE FAMILY IN FRANCE

2007-01-05T15:47:00.000-08:00

On December 19 our son Ian arrived in Paris, where we spent the day doing a bit of shopping. We returned to Briare, and needless to say, the boat truly impressed Ian. Although he had seen its progress in photos, he did not imagine how great it was. The next day My sister Inesita and her son, Fernando arrived to the cottage they had rented. We spent Sylvia's birthday together and celebrated on Biesbosch with a wonderful raclette, great wine and good conversation. On the 23, the rest of the family arrived. My sister Mart, her 2 children, Angelamaria and Gabriel, as well as Inesita's daughter, Sylvia and her husband, Laurent, and Diego's daughter, Sara Maria. Marta's family took the apartment across from the cottage, so after everyone was well installed, we had a fabulous evening all together, drinking, laughing, eating, just being together. The 24, 25 and 26, were very cold days in Briare. We were brave, so we took walks along the river, went to see the Pont Canal, and explored the town a bit. On Christmas Eve, we had a lot of good things to eat and drink so we decided to spend it at the apartment, where we would be more comfortable. We decided to open our gifts then, and around 2 O' clock, we all retired to our own places. On Christmas day, the young ones went for a walk, and "Jurassic Park", us adults, as christened by our kids, decided to stay in and cook. We did all the preparations and cooking in the cottage, due to the fact that in the apartment we kept tripping the circuit breaker every time we tried to turn on any extra electric appliance.

We had foie gras with champagne, made confit de canard, potatoes and a salad. For dessert, we had a couple of fruit tarts we had bought, so needless to say, it was a great meal. Sylvia's sisters stayed up and cleaned the entire house before going to bed. The next morning, they were all going back to Paris, and the inventory for the two places was being taken at 10:00 AM.

Bill took the family's luggage to the train station in the car, and the rest of us walked in extremely cold weather. Because we were early, the wait was long, so we got sandwiches and drinks for the train ride, only to find out they were too hungry to wait, so all was consumed at the station. After they left, Ian Bill and I returned to the boat to relax and recover a little from the holiday. Sylvia did some laundry, we all packed, and the next day, we got up early, since we had a long ride ahead of us to Germany. It took us only 6 1/2 hours to drive to Aachen, were we wanted to take Ian ever since we went the first time. We got a very good hotel, in a great location by the old town, so we could walk everywhere. That evening, we went to our favorite restaurant, and walked quite a bit. The town was beautifully decorated for Christmas, and they were taking down the Christmas Market, that unfortunately we did not get to see. The next day we visited Charlomagne's Cathedral, did some shopping, and in the afternoon drove to the nearby Belgian town of Kanne to visit our friends Jamie and Anne, the owners of Orange Nassau. we have always wanted Ian to meet them and to see their beautiful boat. Anne Had prepared a very special meal for us, a fabulous fish pie and her mother's chesnut-chocolate dessert. We had a great time with them, slept on the boat and left for Maastricht, Holland, before noon. This is another city we love, and wanted Ian to see. There are great shops in this town. It was market day, the after-Christmas sales were going on, so the town was lit up. We had a great lunch, did a lot of walking and drove back to Paris, where we had made reservations for 4 nights. The rest of the family was there and we had made plans to get together again for New Year's.

Our hotel was near Nation and very close to Sylvia's niece's apartment. The cousins went shopping on Saturday all day, the adults took it easy in the apartment, and Sunday was New Year's Eve. Bill took some of them to a big store named Ikea to do some shopping, and some of us stayed in the city. Our meal was prepared by Sylvia in her apartment, where we started an early celebration with great champagne. A few minutes before midnight we walked to Nation from where we could see the Eiffel Tower in the distance, and we were able to see a few fireworks. It was very exciting being in Paris for this occasion, must most important was being all together. What a great time we had!

On New Year's Day, Sylvia and her sisters decided to do some sightseeing, so they went to the cemetery of Pere Lachaise, where most intellectuals and musicians are buried. They then went to St. Germain de Pres to meet Bill and Ian. By they time there were to meet, it was too late, so they went back to the hotel to pack, since Ian was leaving the next day.

It was so sad to say good bye to our boy. We loved having him with us and look forward to seeing him again when he comes to Florida to visit. Bill drove back to Briare, and Sylvia stayed 3 more days in Paris with the rest of the family, walking the town, shopping and doing more sightseeing. Most of them go back to Colombia tomorrow, except for Inesita and her children, who will be going to Berlin for a few days.

Next Monday, the 8 of January, we take the train to Brussels, from where we will be flying to Atlanta on the 9. Bill continues on to Florida, while Sylvia goes back to Bogota for the wedding of Paula, her niece, on the 13. She will be gone for two weeks, and will be joining Bill in Miami. The plan is to stay there until April, time to be back in France to continue our cruising on Biesbosch.

SYLVIA'S VISIT IN COLOMBIA

2006-12-15T10:16:00.000-08:00

Due to the numerous social committments while with my family and friends in Bogota, I could not take the time to post an entry while I was away. I arrived in Paris on Dec. 13, after a wonderful month away. This visit I was able to spend a lot of time with my mom and my sisters as well as with some good friends.

The first weekend of my arrival, we had our 40 High School reunion at one of my classmate's holiday home about 3 hours away from Bogota in a place called Guaduas. The Organizing Committee was able to gather 21 of us ladies for a three-day weekend. We had a wonderful time, ate some great food, and shared some fabulous memories together. I had not seen several of my classmates since graduation, but the reconnetion was immediate. We all came away somewhat renewed and very happy to have shared this time together.

Back in Bogota, where the temperature was ideal, I took up walking early in the morning. I would have an early breakfast and go out for about an hour. It is great to walk around my mom's house before the heavy traffic starts. Once it does, it is pretty bad. I have never seen so many taxis in my life. I cannot say I developed a routine, but I tried to go out as often as I could.

Because of the fact that my sisters are very busy, I kept them company running errands and going shopping. The idea was to spend as much time together as possible. I usually spent the morning wth my mom once I got back from my walks. I helped her get ready sometimes, did her hair and spent some quality time together. She had her memory therapy twice a week in the mornings and in the afternoon, she usually had a game of Bridge whether at home or away. This is the one thing that she loves and keeps her going.

Living away makes you feel very special when you go back home. Everyone invites you places, everyone wants to see you, so that was the case with me. I even had to get an agenda to keep up with the invitations. Sometimes I had breakfast, lunch, tea and dinner in one day! I thouroughly enjoyed it ,though. My niece Paula is getting married on January 13, so my sisters and us had a lovely shower for her at my sister Ines' home. It was a lovely affair and it gave us the opportunity to meet her future husband's family.

I went out to eat quite a lot, and I must say I had two of the best dinners I have ever had in two different restaurants in Bogota. One is called Leo Cocina y Cava and the other, Cadaques. They each have unique food, totally different from one another, but dining there was a true experience.

My last weekend in Colombia was spent at my brother Diego's farm in Quindio, the coffee growing area of Colombia, and one of the most beautiful places one can see on earth. My sister Marta and I took my mother with us to meet her sister there, since the two of them will be spending the Holidays with my brother and his family. The weather was gorgeous, the place full of birds of all types, lush vegetation, greens like I have never seen, and of course, superb food. We spent three days there, and needless to say saying good bye was extremely difficult.

Being back on Biesbosch with Bill is great. He has done a lot more work on the boat. The central heating is working great, and the boat is very cozy and warm inside. We are preparing for our family's visit and our Holidays together. We have put up Christmas lights on the boat, as well as a tiny Christmas tree. My sister Ines and her son are in Paris with Sylvia, my niece, and will be going to Barcelona this weekend before they come to Briare. Our son, Ian will arrive on the 19, Ines and her family will be coming on the 21, and the rest of the "troop" on the 23. We cannot wait to be together again. For our children it will be a very special time to be spent with their cousins.

We hope all of you who read this blog have a wonderful Holiday season and a wonderful New Year.

SEASON'S GREETINGS

2006-12-14T12:39:00.000-08:00

TO SANCERRE WITH STELLA AND JUSTO

2006-11-06T14:17:00.000-08:00

Due to high winds, which would make navigation difficult, we decided to take the car and tour the area. We went to see the beautiful town of Apremont, the Pont Canal de Guetin, and the round lock nearby. We wanted to take Justo and Stella to a well known restaurant, that specializes in Charolais meat, but to our dismay, it was closed. We were getting very hungry, and luckily we found an open restaurant called La Grenouille, which from the front did not look like much, but which turned out to be rather cozy and good. In the afternoon we drove to Bourges, one of my favorite cities in the center of France. We visited the cathedral which has some of the prettiest stained glass windows, as well as portals and doors. We walked around the old town, which was home to Georges Sands. The half-timbered houses are beautifully preserved, many of them with carved wooden columns and beautiful windows.
We returned to the boat, had our usual wine, and of course, a wonderfully prepared dinner by Justo.

The next day ,cast off around 10:00 AM direction Nevers. It was a balmy day, a beautiful one for navigation. We tied up the boat to the side of the canal, and this time Stella and I prepared a simple lunch for all of us. We planned to go out to dinner in Nevers, so we did not want to eat too much. We arrived at the Port de la Jonction, moored in front of the Capitainerie, and after a little cocktail, walked up to the phone booth to make a few phone calls. By the time we were done with our calls, it had gotten too dark to walk across the river to go to town, so we decided to try the Restaurant de la Marine across from the canal. While Bill and I were in Nevers, we noticed that it was always crowded, which is always a good sign. We walked to it, and a lovely young lady showed us to our table upstairs. The place has been redone in warm colors, but the house is old with exposed wooden beams, very charming. We had a great dinner of mussels in a cream fraiche sauce, and a sea food casserole with saffron. The wine was great, and a lovely evening was had by all.

Before ten in the morning, we were on route to Marseilles-les- Aubigny, a 26 Km. run from Nevers. It was a great day of cruising through countryside, farms and chateaux. Since the locks close between 12:00 and 1:00 PM, we decided to stop just before one of the locks to have lunch. However, the lock keeper took his time and did not show up until 2:30 PM.

We had some shrimp, so Justo grilled it on deck, along with some fresh endives. So we had our lovely lunch accompanied by a great Pouilly Fume--this is the region -- and enjoyed another gourmet treat made by Justo. Just as we were finishing up, the lock keeper showed, we passed the lock, and continued on our way, going by the lovely stop at Cours-les-Barres, where we had spent a night with Skip and Jill, and then the lock at Beffes, where we had met our friends Dominique and Nicolas on the way to Decize. We arrived in Marseilles around 5:00 PM, tied up the boat to a pontoon at the end of the port, in front of the park. This town is very interesting, since it has quite a few commercial barges tied up, a dry dock, and also a port for pleasure barges, right in the middle of town. As soon as we arrived we were out exploring the tiny village, which had a grocery store, a bakery, a beauty salon and a post office. At the City hall there was an information center. Stella and I inquired about an open market, and the lady told us that they did have one, but only one vendor came, a cheese maker! Stella and I went to the bakery, where the owner, and odd looking lady, sold us some pastry which we bought the boys for dessert. We could not figure out if she looked like a witch on purpose, or if she was dressed for Halloween. This was only Oct. 26. Our dinner consisted of meats of all sorts cooked on a hot stone, accompanied by different sauces and a lovely salad. Needless to say, wines of the region were consumed that night.

The next day, the most gorgeous day of navigation, it was warm, so after breakfast, and under a sunny sky, we left for Menetreol sous Sancerre, from where Stella and Justo would be leaving the following day. This day was just like summer, so when we stopped for lunch, Stella surprised us by setting up a picnic on the side of the canal at Herry, in front of a beautiful chatelet with its own pond. She decorated an improvised table with flowers and autumn leaves, while Justo and I prepared a delicious chicken Caesar's salad. We sat on the grass and had the most beautiful lunch, accompanied by a chilled Blanc de Blancs.

Justo and Stella wanted to take us out to dinner in Sancerre, which is quite a hike up the hill from Menetreol, so as soon as we tied up the boat around 4:00 PM, I called a taxi and we all got ready to go see the town. The taxi driver, Myriam, was a very nice lady, whom we contracted to pick us up after dinner, and to take Justo and Stella to Cosne the next day so they could take the train to Paris. As we arrived in Sancerre, we walked around the edge of the hill to see the Valley below, a breathtaking view from above. Stella and I did some shopping and then we went to Alphonse Mellot, a fabulous winemaker of Sacerre wines. We tasted quite a few wines and bought some as well. Fernanda, the girl who took care of us, was Portuguese, so she and Justo hit it off right away. We spent quite some time there, and then went to Joseph Mellot's restaurant to have a drink before dinner. It is quite amusing for us Americans to ask for a drink in France, even at a bar, and be told they have no ice. It has happened several times. The one drink the French drink with ice is Pastis. The guys ordered one, Stella and I a Whiskey, and somehow, the ice appeared.
After our drinks, we walked to the Restaurant de la Tour, the best in town, and we were immediately taken to our table by the Maitre D. The decor was modern, warm and elegant, and the dinner was fantastic. They gave us a "mis en bouche",an "interlude" and a pre-dessert. Everything we ate was superb and beautifully presented, a true delight for the senses. The second bottle of wine we ordered was corked, so they very graciously gave us another. We arrived at 7:30 and left at 10:30 PM. Myriam picked us up and back to the boat.

The next morning, after breakfast, Justo and Stella got their luggage ready and waited for Myriam to pick them up promptly at 10:15 AM. As always, it was so hard for me to say good bye. We had such a good time with them and they were such wonderful guests, that we hated to see them go. Fortunately we shall see each other again in Florida in January. After their departure, I moped about for a while and then spent the rest of the morning cleaning around. In the afternoon, Bill and I took a long walk along the canal to St. Satur and back, had a quiet dinner, and really felt our dear friends' absence.

BACK TO BRIARE

We spent another night in Menetreol, so the following morning, after breakfast, we took a walk across the canal to the Loire. It was balmy, almost hot, a great time for a hike. In the afternoon, I made a couple of phone calls, and then, in the evening, it started to rain. Bill worked some more on the central heating. On the 29th, we set off on a foggy morning, not cold, and between locks, I did a bit of step dancing. At the lock where we had bought the Sancerre wines before, we waited over an hour for the lock keeper to show up. We tied up alongside a boat already waiting, and had our lunch. While in the lock, we bought some more wine, and the lock keeper informed us that he had 4 locks to work that day. It was Sunday, and I noticed when he arrived that he was already a bit tipsy. We decided to spend the night in Belleville, a gorgeous little town with a beautiful mooring, but after we tied up, we realized that everything was closed, and we were not going to get electricity for the night. We continued on to Beaulieu, a stop we had made before, but noticed the same lock keeper was not there. We tied the boat up, I walked to the lock, and saw that he had left his cell phone on the desk. There was a phone number to call in case of emergency, and as I dialed, the phone on the desk was the one I was calling. We were rather frustrated, since he had made us wait so long at lunch time.

Down from the lock there was a beautiful house with a rear terrace, where a couple of young girls were smoking a cigarette. I asked them if they knew when the lock keeper was going to arrive--first day of day light savings--and the locks would be closing within the hour. They said they would ask their grandfather. He came out of the house, walked over to the boat and told us the lock keeper would eventually show up. When we told him we were Americans, he said, "Je n'aime pas les Americains, mais venez boire un verre avec nous." I did not know what to say! This guy does not like Americans, but is inviting us to his house to have a drink? He would not hear "No" for an answer, so we complied. When we went in, the whole family was there, daughters, sons in law, grand daughters, wife, etc. The house, 150 years old, had been redone beautifully, under floor heating, original wooden beams, great fireplace, the works.

They are all very classy Parisians, who have this as their country retreat. Each daughter has a part of the house, and Grandpa, who is 77 years old, and looks 65, seems to be the one who calls the shots. What a character! By the time we left, we had had two bottles of wine, and knew everything about one another. We invited them over to see Biesbosch, and they loved it. They had never been inside a boat before. Needles to say, we stayed at that spot for the night and would have not traded this beautiful experience for all the electricity in the world. They told us to come by at Christmas time with my family, because they will be there for the holidays. This expierence, as many others, negates the stereotypes of Parisians.

That night, the lock keeper's supervisor called me-- my number was registered in his telephone-- to let me know that someone would be at the lock whenever we wanted the next morning. At 9:30 someone was there, soon after Bill had fixed the electrical problem. To this day, 5 days later, it is still working. The run to Briare was gorgeous, and the town greeted us with bright sunshine, as did our friends Nicolas and Dominique.. We were showed to our wintering spot, at the end of the port basin, in front of a small restaurant, by the "Rialto" bridge, in front of the tree lined old canal, a most beautiful view. We feel very lucky to have found such a great town for our winter mooring. Our friends Dominique and Nicolas will be here, as well as an Irish and English couple with whom we had tea the other day. Yesterday, November 1, was the first cold day we have had. We went to St. Leger with Nicolas and Dominique to pick up our car. It is so great to have it here to continue exploring this beautiful region. In the morning, we went for a long walk to the river and found a most gorgeous beach, where we want to go for a picnic one of this days. The river there is like a mirror, and I cannot wait to go there again. Today it is sunny and cold, 4 degrees C. As I write, Bill is working on the central heating system.

Paella with Tristan and Paulette, Nevers

St. Leger, dukcs and Lucky Duck

Justo and Stella on deck

Stella and Sylvia

Stella, Cercy-la-Tour

Cercy-la-Tour with horses

Relaxing time for The Azpiazus

Nevers, sunset cocktail

Grilled shrimp and endives on deck

Waiting for lock keeper

A beautiful idea at lock

Mooring at Marseilles-les-Aubigny

Picnic with champagne at Herry

Menetreol and Sancerre

View of St. Satur and The Loire from Sancerre

Wine tasting at Sancerre

Sylvia at the helm

Entering the Pont Canal de Briare

Port de Commerce, Briare

Coming into Briare

Last lock!

Friends welcome us back

At home for the winter

Port de Plaisance, Briare

Briare, view from stern

The old Canal de Briare

Falling leaves

Temperature on Nov 1, at 9;00 am

Frost on ropes

WITH JUSTO AND STELLA

2006-10-24T16:02:00.001-07:00

Having Stella and Justo with us has been a real treat. They met us at St. Leger des Vignes, the port of Decize, where they came to in the early afternoon. They had had a very long ride from Valence, so we decided to relax on the boat and have some wine and a few chips and things. We had a fabulous afternoon talking and catching up, and in the evening I cooked a light dinner for all of us, had some more wine and then Justo and Stella had their lesson on setting up their beds so the wheelhouse could become their bedroom. They have now spent three nights with us,and have become masters at setting it up and dismantelingt it.

We were worried that they might not be comfortable there, but they slept well, so wewere ready for a new day the next morning. As usual, Bill went out to get fresh bread and croissants, had a good little breakfast. After getting ready, we decided to sail south on the Canal de Nivernais to the little town of Cercy la Tour, only about 16 Kms from here. It was a beautiful and sunny day, a true fall day, so Justo and Stella's first experience, on Biesbosch was a fine one. They spent most of the time at the bow, taking advantage of the fine weather, making sure they would not miss anything. Stella and I made a light lunch for all and continued to Cercy, where we arrived about 6:00 PM. The pontoons were set in front of a beautiful horse farm, and at a point where the canal meets the river Aaron. We were supposed to get electricity, but being Sunday, nobody from the City Hall came to connect it, so we had to run our electrics on the batteries. We took a walk up to the village, a very small one with little church, post office, bakery and a bar by the port that belonged to a man from South Africa.

After our little tour, we sat down with our wine, and Justo prepared a fabulous cock au vin for us. Next morning around 10:30 AM, we left Cercy to come back to St. Leger. At the last lock there is a Champion supermarket, right by the canal, so we tied up the boat and went to do some shopping. We needed to stock up especially in the wines, wich are being consumed in great quantities. We loaded our groceries from the quay to the boat, and back to St. Leger. We spent the rest of the afternoon organizing and cleaning up, and in the evening, we prepared a lovely meal of pork chops, creamed spinach, and a dish of potato and buttenut squash. It was superb! I cannot believe how fabulous Justo's cooking is. He is such a good sport about cooking in a small kitchen, about 1/5 the size of his own.

As we finished our meal, we could feel a storm coming. There was lightening and a lot of wind. We took my computer out and watched the video of my god daughter Sandy's wedding, which was like being there again. What a beautiful production that was! We so enjoyed it, and it was such a great ending to a wonderful evening! After midnight, Stella and I did the dishes and went to sleep, only to be awakened a few times by the wind banging the boat against the quay. It was quite strong. This morning, it is still windy, so we are not navigating today. We are taking the car to go to Bourges and Nevers so they can visit these cities.

We are loving our visit with our dear friends. They are not only great travelers, but real troopers as well. More later.