Last? update from La Rochelle, 21st Aug

Tues 21st Aug
Well, we’re still here in La Rochelle the weather forecasts have not been good for heading out into the Bay of Biscay since we got here and it is a little later clearing away than we had hoped. So the updated plan is to leave here tomorrow (Wednesday 22nd) and go down to Port Medoc and onwards to Santander from there a couple of days later.

The weather here has been several days of showers and heavy rain so we have been pottering about on the boat during the rain and trying not to get caught out in the worst of the showers. The days that we did go out were up into La Rochelle, both walking and by bike, so that was OK. It’s a very vibrant city and absolutely mobbed with people.

It’s quite a trek to the big supermarket but the Capitainerie (marina office) hires out bikes for the deposit of some form of photo ID. The bikes are in very good condition, if not new, but don’t have gears – but that’s OK, the first 2 hours are free and only 1 euro / hour after that. So we have used the bikes quite a few times – just remember which way the traffic is coming from…… and which way to go on the roundabout.

What else has been happening, ah yes, I’ve been playing with the HF radio and managed to talk to some people back in UK, someone in the Orkneys, at Barns Ness lighthouse near Dunbar, Isle of Man and also someone in Swansea. All those contacts were in the Amateur frequencies (either 14 MHz or 18 MHz), we also tried to get in touch with some friends near Oban on their boat by using the marine bands but although they had managed to hear us – we couldn’t hear them – maybe next time.

We have also met a few couples on Brit boats that have helped to quench Carolyn’s thirst to hear British voices now and again (other than mine). One couple are on their way back north to winter their boat nearer UK after having been in the French canals for most of the year and another couple (Bob & Nicky) are on their way south to Bordeaux to get into the canals and to the Mediterranean that way; we may see them next year in the Med. Their web diary is at http://www.getjealous.com/bob-and-nicky .

One of the days that we ventured into La Rochelle we visited the Museum of Automata which is a very good and well laid out exhibition of models, mannequins and toys, which all (most?) still operate even though some were made at the end of the 1800s or early 1900s. There did seem to be a lot of examples from 1920 so I suppose it was probably an in vogue thing to make around about then.

Good luck to all the kids now back at school and thanks to everyone for their messages. We have been asked to include some photos of the blog-meisters; so we will shave off our beards and make some new palm-frond clothes ready for the photo shoot. More pics soon… promise.