Beyond Besancon and Back

Dole.

Whoever flipped the switch last time to end summer only left it there for a few days before pushing hard over towards winter. I finished my bottle of Ricard which was the perfect 5 o’clock aperitif for the summer just after it got cooler.  No need to replace it.

We had a few nice days into Besancon and up the river beyond where the cliffs got steeper, the hills got greener and villages started looking more Swiss/German.  Besancon is still impressive with the massive Citadel dominating the town.  It has continued to improve over our visits and is now very clean and well organized – even the graffiti.

We cruised up as far as Baume les Dames, named because of the Abbey. There is a Baume les Messieurs for the men's abbey but it is 100km away, just to be safe.  This is where the weather turned and we decided there was not enough of interest with poor weather and the limited time we had so we turned around and headed back.  We came out of one lock to find a yacht stuck in the middle of the river. We did the good deed and helped pull them off.  Two days later we helped a cruiser stuck above the weir in Besancon.  Paying it forward we hope.

Back in Besancon we met up with friends, Martin and Wilma from Sydney who had come from Granada where they are spending a year.  We had lovely afternoon cruising down to the weir when the weather cooperated and a day more to Dole when it didn’t.  We think they had a good time as the weather was a lot cooler than Granada.

In case you forgot, we are in France.

Now we are in Dole, Martin and Wilma have gone and the weather is supposed to improve.  Only a couple of weeks left.

A French Shrug.

Armida uses propane for cooking and heating and we keep a spare tank on the swim platform. The main one ran out about 10 days into the season and because it is a short season I decided not to replace it.  A couple of days ago the pressure looked a little low and the bottle felt light so it seemed prudent to get a new one as running out of gas away from a marina in the cold weather would not have been fun.

Yesterday we walked the 1km to the Geant Casino supermarket for groceries and I checked the gas bottle stand by the fuel pumps and noted that the lady who collected payment from the non-automatic pumps sold the gas bottles.  So today I loaded the empty bottle on the trolley and trekked over there before the forecasted rain arrives. The little booth was closed up tight even though the sign said opening hours were from 9:00 and it was 9:40.  Into the supermarket services office where I was politely informed the Gas was “closed  Tuesdays”!.  But of course, who would buy Gas on a Tuesday?  Now i have today’s exercise done and tomorrow’s organized.

The Switch is Flipped

By the weir at Torpes.
Last year, in Lyon, the switch that turned on summer was flipped at 11:30 on June 21st.  Before then was a very wet spring and afterwards was a very hot summer.  This year it appears the switch for Autumn was flipped at 3:45 on Sept 1st and this years very hot summer was turned off..  In Dole, the heavens opened and wind blew for enough time to get me completely soaked on the way back to the boat. Now the very hot days are gone (to California it seems) and lovely mild days and cool nights seem  to have settled in, hopefully for a while.
Which makes it perfect weather for taking our time and cruising slowly up the Canal du Rhon au Rhin, even though we have cruised this route more than any other. It doesn’t have the history and charming villages of some other canals but its gentle meandering along the valley of the Doubs (pron. doo) in and out of the river is lovely.  We are now at the weir near Torpes which is one of our favorite spots, spending the day watching the birds feeding (looks like the French lunch time now – no-one there) and the fish surfing the current.  A walk is planned later. Tomorrow we will potter up to Besancon and decide what is next.
Here are a few photos and stories from the last week.

You have probably seen those “trompe  l’oeil” murals on blank building sides in Europe that, at first glance look like. inhabited buildings. There were  many fine examples in Lyon last year.  This one is being done in Dole.  it is no small exercise.

Meanwhile, across the canal from the mooring they were setting up for a weekend car rally with classics from the 60’s and 70’s including my youthfull folly, a 1970’s Alfa 1750 GTV. They set off one by one at about 9am  the the lot was reserved for the weekend so there must have been many activities planned

That Saturday we motored to a lovely mooring below the cliffs at Rochefort sur Nenon where, during a sunny spell, a wedding party showed up with horns blaring and lights flashing as they do in France. It was the photo shoot and everyone had their photo taken while champagne was sipped.  Towards the end the photographer and bride and groom approached and asked us if they could pose in front on the boat. “No problem, would you like to come on board”.  A Titanic moment followed

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The next night we stopped in Ranchot where, on the Monday morning, both the bakeries in the town were closed.  This must be a crime of negligence in this country and may have explained why people seemed so unfriendly that day.  We left quickly and stopped at Dampier, the next village, for an emergency bakery run.  On the way I chanced upon Elizabeth who we had chatted with in Dole three days earlier and was visiting her brother.  After we chatted, I completed my mission and got back the boat to find her and her brother Lucien asking if they could ride a little way on the boat.  “Pas de problem”.  A little local color – they were both born and raised in the village and he was the local priest, now retired.  He once walked, with a donkey, all the way to Bethlehem.  I asked how he got back?.  “By plane”.  No word of the donkey.  Lovely people and they enjoyed their ride.

Bugnados!  Those columns are bugs swirling above certain bushes.

We still love it at the weir.