Finally

The marina in Namur opened the same day we arrived. There were only two other boats. Rainer & Josefine, the German couple in the motorboat, and Helgo & Rosie, another German couple in a sailboat without a mast. 

Helgo & Rosie had sailed out into the North Sea from Emden last spring. From there they had reached out into the English Channel and saw the Biscay. Here they had lost the mast 

"Completely undramatic," Helgo explained, as Rosie stared at him stiffly. 

By the time they had climbed the mast, they were sailed for Bordeaux. From here they had reached the Canal du Midi to the Mediterranean Sea and had entered Rhone, despite the boat's depth of 160cm. After New Year they had returned to Emden. Here they had spent the winter. Now they were on their way home.

Easter eve is closed in Belgium.

Just like in the fall, we held an overhead day in Namur. A fine city with 100.000 inhabitants and capital of Wallonia - one of the three regions of Belgium,

In the evening, it was Rainer & Josefine's turn to invite for wine and cheese.

It was getting late before we got to bed. We woke up with a little sore heads to a cold, windy and rainy morning. When the rain stopped we left the marina and were probably so excited when the gate to the first lock finally opened.

It was a whole different landscape we sailed into.

Houses lay scattered from the river up against the lush forested mountains. They were well maintained and had large manicured gardens. Occasionally we passed small towns, with church, bistros and restaurants right down to the river. In some places the mountains rose almost vertically from the river bank. Somewhere we saw climbers in safety lines on the steep rock wall. It must have been somewhere in this area that the Belgian King Leopold, an avid mountaineer, lost his life in a fall accident in 1934.

The river was wide. There was almost no commercial traffic. The two river laths we met were small and emphasized just like the idyll. The locks were shorter and narrower than before. Sometimes we called the lock guard when we approached the lock. Other times it was not necessary because a green light signaled that we could sail into the chamber immediately.

After 5 hours we had sailed 17sm (sorry 32km), had been raised 15 meters by 7 locks and had reached the marina at Anseremme.

Here we were received by a very talkative Scotsman. In the short time he helped us moor, he managed to tell about the Vikings that he had lived in Belgium for 10 years, that he worked as an organist in 2 churches and that he had previously been an opera singer. At the end of our conversation, he sang the first verse of "Lørdagsvise" in Swedish.  

The sun had arrived. Nice to be warmed in the clear fresh mountain air, after a cold sailing in the beautiful landscape.

The next day we cycled along the river to Dinant. Took the cable lift up to the citadel, where there is a museum and a great view of the area.

Here Carl received a boring phone call from Sydney in Australia.

His cousin Niels had been hit by a blood clot in his heart and shortly after he fell asleep. We went back to the boat. Shocked, confused and shaken by his sudden and meaningless passing.

The next morning we went back to Meuse again.

After a few hours we reached the border with France. We showed the boat papers to the lock guard and bought a vignette giving us the right to sail on the French canal system. We were also provided with a telecommander for the automatic locks and a brochure instructing in their use. Everything done in less than 30 minutes. 

We replaced the Belgian visitor team with the French, waved farewell to the good sluice guard and sailed into France. 

Shortly after, we breathed Givet - the first French city after the border.

We moored by the dock for pleasure boats. We were the only boat. Land flow, water and toilet were closed, even though the port lane stated that it was open from mid-April. 

We went up into the small town. Empty houses, shops with 'for rent' signs in the windows and a dilapidated car park gave a slightly sad impression and seemed to illustrate the problems in the French economy.

But the landscape was completely unaffected by the economy. After a dog-cold night with minus 4 degrees, we sailed the next morning under a high blue sky and a sun that started to warm up during the afternoon.

Shortly after departure we reached a narrow, dark tunnel. It was 525m long and led us through the mountain and around a nuclear power plant.

And then it was time to try the automatic locks.

The automation has made the guard's function on the locks superfluous. Definitely a big saving to avoid manning the many locks from kl. 9.00 in the morning to 18.00 in the evening for 365 days a year. Whether there is economy in keeping the system open all year when it is only used by recreational boats in the summer is another matter.

When we reached one of the higher locks the gate would not end until the chamber could be filled up.

… Hmm

Not particularly fat to be trapped inside a sluice chamber, surrounded by 3m high slimy walls with water flowing in from the front gate.

We were the only boat in the area. There was no lock guard to help. He had been replaced by the automatics. So maybe there was a risk that Heron with crew would stay at the bottom of the lock for a long time - maybe all night?

Not a very attractive prospect. 

There was nothing else to do than climb the ladder with the greasy steps, find the box with the alarm button and activate it.

Only at the third press of the alarm button did an answer come. We chose to interpret this as meaning that the problem had been noted and that a technician was on his way.

And quite right. After approx. In 15 minutes, much more water flowed from the front gate. The rear gate closed completely and the water level in the chamber rose. When it was completely filled up the front gate opened and we could continue our journey towards the Mediterranean.

During the last seven days we have sailed through the Meuse Valley, which winds through the Ardennes in Belgium and France.

Fantastic scenery.

We have chatted with Søren Lænkholm from Humlebæk harbor on Messenger. He made the trip in his boat Havhesten last year and says it will be even nicer.

WOW

We just say