Day 73 & 74: 24/25th August 2018 Viviers

Yesterday was a long day,  despite it only being 60km we had 4 locks, some of which we needed to wait a fair while to enter. One of them was had a drop of 18m which was our biggest so far. I have to say I got a bit freaked out by the lock gates not properly sealing and some water leaking through with a terrifying amount of pressure.

On the way the kids had some school time with Patrick making a lego model of a funicular after our ride in Lyon.

We were also a bit concerned about our destination, Viviers which we'd heard had some depth issues. As we came out of the last lock the wind picked up and we were crossing our fingers that I could get into the small marina at Viviers. As we arrived we saw a scotsman we had met earlier and luckily were able to shout to him asking about depth. Eventually he and the captainere pointed at a berth they said had enough water. I nudged in gently and we were safe... what a relief!

On the boat next to us was a 2 year old girl with parents who were keen for her to play so Esmé took her ponies and finger puppets up top with a picnic blanket and the 2 girls played for an hour or so after which the French parents offered me a lift to the supermarket. I didn't quite realise how far it was with 5 of us squished into a tiny car. It was a little awkward too as I could see that the 2 year old wasn't strapped into the car seat properly, as I tried to correct it the Dad said that she "didn't like it that way". I took a deep breath and left it, I still feel uneasy about it.

Today we had a lazy morning, getting up late and having a nice cooked breakfast before starting school and a mountain of hand washing. I've decided hand washing isn't too bad and really isn't much more hassle than dragging trolley loads of washing to a laundromat and then having to stay or return very quickly, and washing by hand saves us money... one load of washing and drying is averaging at about 7 Euros.

This afternoon we lazed about as it was really hot, then did another load of washing, some scooting around and then had showers before heading to the open air restaurant for dinner. Our on board shower is a hose off the taps with a rotating switch that changes between water coming out of the taps or the shower. The problem is if you forget and go to wash your hands after using the loo you can end up getting an unintentional shower as AJ did today.... luckily he came out laughing.

The restaurant was lovely with a dancefloor which all the kids played on.

We also took this opportunity to  introduce the kids to frogs legs... really impressed they both gave then a try.

Back to the boat for bed, stopping to watch the river cruise boats leave and come alongside the dolphins nearby. Patrick thinks he can do a better job of lassoing bollards!