It was a long winter, sometimes beautiful with lots of snow in the nearby hills, sometimes just cold. But, also during the winter we had the fun of being in a big port with other boat-lovers, the happy hours in the small restaurant at the quay, excursions to winegrowers, visits to the “bonbon” factory, etc. etc.
All very nice, but at the end everyone is waiting for the spring with nice weather to sail again. Some leave early, right after the barbeque for the people in the port. Others are busy now, like us, to bring the ship into good condition for the summer voyage. Not too difficult because the ship is always kept in good condition. But every spring we do some painting and we have a new satellite antenna to install now.
In some weeks we will be ready to sail. Where to go? Well, we did already a lot of sailing in France, so it is not an important question anymore. Sometimes now, if we find a nice spot we stay there a little bit longer. Get acquainted with the local population and take time for comprehensive attention to the environment. And the region of the middle of France has a lot to offer. The so called “Canal Lateral”, following the curves of the river Loire with beautiful views or maybe the “Canal du Centre”, climbing and descending over the hills of Burgundy. We think it will be this last direction this year. At the end, arrived in the Saône River, we can visit the beautiful city of Chalon-sur-Saône or simply follow the river to Lyon and the Rhône River with many interesting places.

Of course it is different this year with the ship for sale. Secretly we hope that we will have at least this summer again to sail. We are not in a hurry and are looking forwards to having again the fun of always new vistas. The little villages in Burgundy and the nice cities along the rivers. Meeting again interesting people and making new friends. There is nowhere as easy to make new friends as on the waterways. French people we meet in the villages and people of many other nationalities, also sailing around the canals and rivers. The evening chats with a good glass of wine, exchange of experiences with the other skippers…… We know already now that we will really miss this kind of live. But we also know we will be provided with new perspectives. We stay in a house in France during the winters and we will spend more time with children and grand-children during the summers, here or at home.
But first, let’s take off the mooring lines and head for …..??? Maybe we will meet you on the waterways of France??
Anton