Houseboat in the French Ardennes - Day 4 - Givet

12.06.23

We were woken up by the lovely sound of the leaf blower. Jan decides to stay in bed. After he finally managed to get up, we had to do some shopping because our water supply was depleted after three days. We didn't realize that the next supermarket is 1.2 km uphill and it was already 30 degrees outside. A strenuous walk without breakfast didn't improve the mood. After that, we needed some time to cool down.

After breakfast, some people (Vicky) could finally smile again and we set off. Today, we only had 6 locks and about 2 hours of driving ahead of us. Along the way, we drifted in neutral and let the mountain ranges affect us. Everything is deep green - the color somehow calms us down.

We had to go through a tunnel again today, definitely a welcome cooling. This time, Denis steered us through (according to Jan: Lara could have done it better. According to Denis: he did an above-average job - the author does not want to form an opinion on that).

After the tunnel, Givet was already in sight. A beautiful little town, but the residents could definitely be friendlier. Vicky managed to make her way to the town hall with broken French, only to have the door shut in her face with the information that the Capitainerie (where you register at the harbor and pay for water and electricity) is closed for an indefinite period of time. Alright, thanks. Looks like we're staying here for free.

We briefly met some Kiwis who spend every summer in Europe with their boat, and then we headed into town. Turns out we're so far north in France that it's practically Belgium. Accordingly, we end the evening with Belgian strong beer and good food.

And by the way - today we reached our halfway point. Tomorrow we're heading back. So far, no mosquitoes, the sun is scorching, it's a positive thing that we've had minimal contact with locals so far, and we definitely want to go on a houseboat together again sometime.