Macon to Lyon

We set off from Macon early in the morning on 8th April and cruised downstream for just 3 hours to Belleville. The town itself is about a mile from the river and we didn’t need any provisions so we made the most of the large grassy area next to the pontoon for walking the boys and letting them have some much needed freedom to play.

During the week before we left Pont de Vaux Bosun had been very unwell with sickness and diarrhoea. He hadn’t eaten for 5 days and we visited the vets on Thursday before we left. A few injections, a bag full of medication and several Euros later he gradually started to improve. It was only here at Belleville that we saw a full return to health and him wanting to play fight with Brody again. What a relief!

The following morning we moved on to Trevoux. We have been here a couple of times in the past; once with Armanda, our first cruiser, and once by car. It is a lovely town and beautifully looked after. Well worth a visit for anyone passing this way.

As we moored on the pontoon a guy made a beeline for us and announced he was Irish. He’d seen the flag and was very happy to meet a fellow paddy having been on holiday for 10 days and not met a single one! It turned out Collm was a fellow boater too and showed us pics of his lovely ship. Of course he and his lady friend Corina wanted to have a look around Thirza and of course we were happy to show her off.

We met later for a couple of drinks, which of course turned into a session, and the night ended back on Thirza with Guinness and Connemara whiskey.

This morning we had the inevitable headaches and having visited the boulangerie we cast off and headed for Lyon.

We happily passed by the last quay we had stopped on 16 years ago and stopped in the new (as in 10 years old) Port Rambaud just before the confluence of the Saone and Rhone. It is a regenerated dockyard and the port captain was very welcoming and told us we could stay one night for free!! Good job really, because part of the regeneration is a massive shopping centre that definitely needed visiting!

Tomorrow we join the mighty Rhone – we are both looking forward to this part of our trip!