There was a huge storm during the night. Even behind the breakwall we could feel the waves in the marina, moving the boat around and sloshing the water in our tanks. The weather has not been our friend on this trip, although we never had driving rain while driving the boat, mostly cold wind and drizzle.
But the day started out dry.Get out of the way! There are usually toilets and sometimes showers at the marinas. You get a smart card with “units” when you pick up the boat and use it to access shore electricity (2 units) and showers or water. Although you don’t always need the card. Swan butt. I found this sign odd. I could understand if it said “danger deep water”. But I think most people could tell there was water present. This town has an outfit called “Access for All” – they offer river cruises for people in wheelchairs. This boat has a front ramp which lowers down so you can push the chairs on. Very refreshing to see.We’ve seen a few solitary cormorants along the way. They are smaller and lighter coloured than our double crested black cormorants back home. The buoys are all numbered so that if you run into trouble you can pinpoint your location. We were supposed to tie up to this jetty but this woman was having a bath (shampooing her hair and all) and wouldn’t get out of the way. So we had to circle around even though the guide said not to. Some people’s kids. Oh well. But it did make Peter want to go for a swim too.We had to go under a lift bridge. But had to wait for the truck to get off.This boat has about 6 inches to spare before the water comes sloshing in. Ken was careful to not create too much wake.Not the best photo but we’ve seen a lot of crested grebes. It’s our buddy from last night, patiently waiting for the lock keeper’s lunch to be over so we can go through the lock. Ken was pretty tired so we decided to stay in this small town as it was the last opportunity for mooring for a couple of hours. Peter and I off for another walk. No, please don’t! Sigh. Waiting out the rain under the trees. It never lasts long. The weather here changes constantly – sunshine, drizzle, sunshine, cloud, drizzle, sunshine, rain – all in the space of 2 minutes. Poor BugSnax. I’ve carried them on so many long walks but never brought them out until today.
After a scrounged supper, Ken went off to the local pub. He’s been disappointed as the villages along the river have been few and far between and he has not been getting the Irish pub music that he was hoping for. But last night he met a fellow that he could at least talk music with and even introduced him to some Irish groups and music that the Irishman hadn’t heard of. And of course Ken promoted his weekly radio show. He’d had a similar experience in a bar in Dublin with another music aficionado.
