When we left you last week we were on the Canal Lateral a L’Aisne which as the name sounds follows the path of the River Aisne which is a tributary of the River Oise which flows in the Seine just West of Paris. That was our expected destination but at the last minute we decided to change our route and head down the River Marne directly to Paris instead.
Last Sunday we went for a walk in Asfeld on the Lateral a L’Aisne and stumbled across a war cemetery where 4000 German soldiers were buried as a result of the carnage in WWI in the battle of the Marne. We were to see many more such cemeteries over the next week, a poignant reminder of the futility of war.
The next day as mentioned above we turned off the Lateral a L’Aisne canal and onto a watershed canal that connects the River Aisne to the River Marne. It was a very rural canal and we cruised high above wheat fields with panoramas in every direction. We were headed for the great city of Reims but when we got there we found the boat harbour right by the A4 motorway, next to a busy main road and by a railway line. We decided to forgo the pleasures of the great cathedral of Reims where Kings of France were crowned for hundreds of years and continued along to a quiet village called Sillery. The next morning we had our first encounter with a long tunnel (2300m). It is one way but a little wider than other tunnels we had experienced last year which were very narrow and we had also purchased a flood light which we placed on the deck of the boat and which lit everything up quite well.
Out of tunnel we began to spot vineyards on the hills and soon we were approaching Champagne country. The weather by now was getting very hot (30C) and in fact continued for another 5 days in almost heat wave conditions only cooling today. It was glorious. Our mooring near Epernay in the famous champagne growing town of Cumieres was quiet with spectacular views.
We decided to spend three days and met up with Charles and Joyce and English couple who we shared the mooring pontoon with. They told us about a big hypermarket in Epernay, the capital of the Champagne Region, where we hoped we could get some materials to fix our leak with. (Thanks to everyone who responded with suggestions on how to fix the leak)
So we got down the bicycles and soon spotted a flat tyre on on of the bikes. So I mended that and in we rode to Epernay and found everything we wanted and started to ride back. Then the bike with the puncture had another hole and the other bike’s rear axle had come loose and wouldn’t turn probably so we were forced to walk the 5km back to the boat on a very hot day. The bike with the loose axle was easily fixed by tightening the bolts but the cause of the recurring punctures was a worn outer tyre. So I rode back into town and found a possible new tyre but wasn’t sure as the codes didn’t quite match. After a lot of research on the internet I determined it would work and rode back again to get it and also got some inner tubes. I am now an expert on bike tyre sizing!
Next morning I got up to fix the bike before we both rode into Epernay for some sightseeing when I discovered that the inner tube valve stem was too wide for the hole in the bike wheel rim. So off I rode the 10km into Epernay again and got the correct inner tube and by 10.30 am we had two working bikes and so we headed into Epernay to visit the Mercier Champagne Cellars. Mercier are part of the LVMH group that includes Moet, Hennessy and Louis Vuitton and while little known outside France are very big in France.
As the last tour of the morning was at 11.30 we go there and waited for the English tour to begin and then we were whisked off in an electric train for a tour of the huge underground cellars. Afterwards we had a tasting of four different types of their Champagne before heading back to the boat for a late lunch.
After lunch we had a go at fixing the leak and Wendy managed to get her body between the engine and the tank and place some quick setting putty over the hole. But alas as it was the far extreme of where she could reach and because we couldn’t see anything that didn’t work and we are back to square one. we will try again with some more putty later this week.
The River Marne flows into the Seine at Paris, 180km away and we were going to take a week to get there. Initially the countryside was covered with champagne fields but they gave way gradually to wooded hills and small peaceful villages.
The locks are easy, the countryside is spectacular and life is easy. We stopped last night at Chateau Thierry scene of fierce fighting by the Americans in WWI. Today we reached La Ferte sous Jouarre and have tied up behind an island in a quiet spot with a free mooring and water and electricity. We may spend two days here before wending our way to Paris in the coming week.
