Part 2 of the Loing- to Montargis
Next morning we were ready to leave at 9am when the locks were due to open again. About 9.15 the keeper arrived and we set off, sharing the lock with a hire boat. We shared the locks with them for the rest of that day's trip which was quite strange as we were the only two recreational boats on that section of the canal all day. We're sure the lockkeppers were pleased as it cut down thier workload. We came across half a dozen commercial vessels, travelling both North and South, but at the moment there are very few pleasure craft on the move.
We stopped in mid- afternoon at Nargis so that David could get some work done on the roof. It had been showery in the morning but cleared to a fine afternoon. Nargis is a small town, very quiet though well kept. Everything was orderly, down to the Boulangerie which had an "In" and an "Out". When David went to get our baguettes the next morning he didn't notice the signs so started going out the "In" and was quickly corrected.
Our start in the morning was delayed by the passage of a commercial barge but after that the going was very smooth. A single eclusier was with us for the first four locks, again reminiscent of the Burgundy Canal where this is common practice early and late in the season.
Very soon we reached Cepoy, the last lock of the Loing Canal, which had been the first lock of the Canal d'Orleans (heading West) when it was built by the Duke of Orleans starting in 1682. The Loing Canal was built between 1720 and 1723 after the success of the Orleans and Briare (started 1605) Canals showed how successfully canals could speed up carriage of goods and people. After the Loing was built the trip from Briare to Paris could be five days, compared with the previous five to six weeks.
Entering the Birare Canal at Buges we could see to our right the start of the Canal d'Orleans, which looked fine there but is closed. A few more kilometres and a few more locks, some of them automatic, took us into the beautiful town of Montargis, where we will spend the next few days. We tied up at the Town Quay. We have been here before (2007) and there is still more to see and do. On Tuesday, we are driving to Dijon to hopefully complete our immigration formalities. We need to have chest X-rays plus a medical exam, pay plenty more Euros etc. We are hoping it all goes well. David successfully phoned ahead and booked appointments for the chest X-rays.
It still surprises us that Montargis (which is very picturesque, with Venice-like canals) does not make it into either the Lonely Planet or the Rough Guide for France.
Attached is a photo of the overnight stop in Nargis.
Best Regards,
Penny and Dave
