Setting up for setting off.

Saint Jean de Losne
We have been back in France a little over a week now and it is good.
The long flight from LA and the 4 hour drive from the airport to the boat left us all exhausted – even the dogs who slept all the way anyway. Armida was in the water on the canal side and it was not much effort to get the toilet working and the bed made.  A stumble through the supermarket obtained the essential supplies and we crashed for the night. The next morning the routine returned with the croissant and the pain au chocolat
A couple of days and we had the water tanks full and hot water on board, basic cleaning done, the fenders returned to their ideal (learnt by experience) positions, the sides cleaned and polished, the wine cellar stocked and things generally ship shape, almost.  Last year I replaced the impeller in the pump that supplies river water to the cooling system as it had been there six years and it seemed like a good time.  Well the new one worked for the season but that was enough, so I had to do it again, not my favorite job.  Also the gas strut that stops the 60kg access door to the engine from closing and crushing me decided 30 years was long enough, so we are waiting for a new one to arrive from the UK.

 
A point of discussion has been what flag to fly this year in uncharted political times, we are happy with our choice.

Time to move around to the marina and immerse ourselves in the social scene.
It is an odd year (like everywhere now) with a very hot May, June and early July leading to lower water levels in the canals but rain has helped that.  Since we have been here it has been in the high 20sC, up to 30C (86F) with a little rain – quite nice.
This will be a very short season for us and it appears we are not the only ones. Some people are coming (returning from their cruising) and others are going (like us) but for now we are all here in the marina at Saint Jean de Losne and it is already time to replenish the wine cellar.
Our plan, of sorts, is to head up the Canal du Rhone au Rhin, past Dole and Besancon that we know well into new territory.  We will go until it is time to come back. Sound like a good plan?
There are so many New Zealanders here that if we don’t leave soon we will start talking with a Kiwi accent so we hope to leave by Friday – if the part arrives?