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We are having a sensational trip along this glorious canal. Every-day is blue skies and sunshine and something new to see.
For the past two days we climbed a staircase of 36 locks, each about 500m apart so it was busy and tiring getting up and down to do the ropes to secure the barge in every lock. The Voie Navigable de France, the VNF, lock-keepers have been fabulous and we have had a clear passage straight through with no waiting for other boats. We are often given priority because of our size which can useful! In fact, we have seen very few other boats on this trip. It is good to have the peace and quiet, but, the canals do need to have barges keep their business going.

Today is another exciting day with the Adrenalin high on board with the men. We are going through a 3k long tunnel at Pouilly-en-Auxois; it is a small tunnel and for us to barge through the lock-keepers need to lower the water level of the canal for us to fit without taking off our wheel-house roof! something we have done before and nearly killed ourselves, going under a low bridge!
Whilst going through this tunnel there are various rules to follow; there is no gas on, no lights, no-one on deck and we all have to wear life jackets. Each boat is monitored on camera by the VNF and we have a designated time of departure, which is 12 noon.  We visited here last year to assess this tunnel and discuss our size; I will tell the story when we reach the other side.

After 4 long, hard, concentrated hours travelling at 3-5k per hour, we made it out into the sunshine on the other side! It was exhausting keeping the barge away from hitting the sidewalls of the tunnel.  We have a very skilled captain but the crew were also an essential element in the success of our passage.
To welcome us out into the sunshine was the Lock Superintendent who realised just how tight it was for us to get through without damage.  He and his team monitor the barges’ progress inside the tunnel with monitors and so they understood our relief to be out and free!
It was exciting and, in hindsight, we all loved each anxious and adrenaline rushing minute.  Unfortunately, my photos do not do this feat justice.  So, just believe me when I say we had millimetres each side of the barge and around the sides and top of the wheel-house.
We all needed food and a rest, but no, we continued on, eating at our posts! That night we did treat ourselves to a fabulous dinner in the garden of a lovely restaurant Michael and I had been to just a year before in the very pretty town of Pouilly-en-Auxois. The garden setting was lush, with the setting sun twinkling behind the trees.  These pretty trees and the old well made it just a bit more special. Last time we sat inside as it was May and a bit colder.  The décor inside is a little moral formal and was a good dinner experience. This pretty little canal-side town marks the beginning of the beautiful Canal de Bourgogne.

Even after travelling these French canals for twelve years or more, it always delights and amazes me when we discover little restaurants such as this one serving lovely, delicious, local food, cooked well and presented with pride.  The setting, a simple country garden.  It really thrills my heart; it is these places which are part of the many reasons I love to be in the French countryside.
As you can see from my photos here, our dinner was fabulous: my entrée was fish, a Petite Pochouse, with a white wine sauce made from Marc de Bourgogne, main was a fillet of beef with a Morilles Jura white wine sauce and dessert was the lovely île de flottante or floating islands, of poached egg whites in a creamy, vanilla crème anglaise.

And my dinner….