Chilled-out Cravant

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Just before four we left our mooring at Bailly and headed upriver. We knew we only had a few hours before the locks closed so decided to go until we spotted somewhere that looked nice for an overnight stay. After three locks, two hours and just seven kilometres covered, we spotted a grassy inlet and quay in a little bay with a few boats already moored up. We went closer and saw that, although there was not enough space for us to fit on the main quay ans tie to the bollards provided, there was space for us along the sides of the bay where we could hammer in our pegs and tie safely for the night. Mike motored in and I leapt off the bow with a mid ships rope in hand and pulled the boat in. I held her steady whilst Mike adjusted fenders and hammered in the pegs then helped him tie her up. It was a gorgeous spot, bathed in sunshine and surrounded by nature. Again, mooring was completely free.
Mike got the BBQ going as a Dutch man who was staying with his wife in their motor home wandered by and stopped for a chat. He asked what we were doing, how long we'd been travelling for and what was next and, like a lot of people, was impressed to hear we had crossed the channel and would be travelling for a year. He and his wife had spent the summer driving around Europe, finding nice spots to stay and were soon headed back to Holland again. He said he'd love to do what we were doing, wished us well and returned to his van.
The BBQ was now ready and Mike slapped on a huge piece of pork we'd bought at the supermarket in Auxerre. It was like a chop from the Flinstones and almost covered the surface of the BBQ! I made up a potato salad and green salad to accompany it and popped the cork on the sweet crémant we'd bought earlier that had spent the day chilling in the fridge. I took Mike his and sat relaxing next to him on the front of the bow and soaking up the last of the sun as he cooked the giant pork. I tried to read my book but kept getting distracted by the beauty all around me. As the sun began to set, the clouds glowed a gorgeous orangey-pink over the house opposite. The water was so still that it acted as a mirror, perfectly reflecting the moody sky and charming house. I gave up reading and grabbed my camera. The shots are almost as stunning as the real view.
After chowing our way through two thirds of the pork and saving the rest for lunch tomorrow, we poured more crémant and read, sipped crémant and chatted until the light faded completely.

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Comments

[Gemma Wensley]

Wow.
Loving the blogs. You should write a book. Sounds amazing xx

[CarMike2177]

Funny you should say that Wensleydale my lovely - I am actually doing just that!