Having left the Canal de Bourgogne at St jean de Losne, we were now in the pleasant slow flowing river Saone. Wide, and with not many locks, we were able to increase our speed, from the pedestrian 6kmh, in the narrow gauge canals to the more respectable 10kmh (5 knots). in fact in the larger rivers some sections permit 35kmh! So we ambled across the map in a generally southerly direction, most of the towns and villages, synonimous with names of wines We met Mr & Mrs Hoffman and became friends, and we worked out a team effort for working the locks. The wives landed us before the locks, we cycled them, the ladies brought the boats in, then they picked us up again below the locks.

                                           
                                                                                                                            New meets old,                                                                                                                      Goodbye to
                                                                                                                          Airbase Longvic                                                                                                                      Bourgogne

                                       
                                                                                  Macon                                                                      Approaching Lyons                                                   Our Friends the Hoffmans

Soon we were passing through Lyons, France's second city, an elegant place, and from there into the mighty river Rhone. We were a bit apprehensive, but it was in a benign mood with only a moderate flow. The locks are very deep, Bolene the deepest is 23 m, but has rising bollards, so not difficult to transit. We had a break at Avignon, which has an excellent marina, and helpful harbourmaster. We toured the town, including the Popes palace, from which the wine "Chateauneuf du Papes" gets its name.

                                           
                                                                                                                    Avignon with the "Pont"                                                                                          The Mighty Bolene Lock (23m)

The lower Rhone below Arles (of Van Gogh fame) has no bridges only ferries, it is low lying willow lined, very wide, and sparsely inhabited. At last the Mediterranean sea was in sight! We exited the lock at Port Saint Louis de Rhone, and decided to head west towards the Camargue. We thought the Cote d'Azure would be too crowded, and we prefer wild places. Our first Port of call was Grande Motte, a modern resort with most of it's buildings in the shape of pyramids!

                                           
                                                                       The Lower Rhone                              Grande Motte                                  The Camargue                              The Mate Relaxes                                 Grau du Roi

We stayed in the Camargue for two weeks, and explored on our bicycles, both inland round the Etangs, and along the coast to villages such as the fishing town of Grau du Roi. We saw the white native horses, but sadly no flamingoes, (except on postcards)! At last we had to turn back, and headed east, and stopped next at another small port on the Golfe de Fos called Carro. We stayed there for five days before re-entering the Rhone, for the return journey. While we were approaching the lock at Port St Louis de Rhone, we saw a very strange sight, 2 dogs playing with a dolphin! At first we thought that the dogs were attacking it, but no they were just playing around.

                                             
                                                                                  Carro Local boat originally Lateen Rig                                          Carro Harbour                                                            Dolphin & Dogs
 
 
 
 

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