buy Gabapentin for dogs online uk We left our “natural” mooring tied to the tree under overcast skies about 10:03 AM back downstream toward Cahors/Douelle. At 11:30 AM, we visited Laroque-des-Arcs, passing by the Chapelle St-Roch, perched up above the town on a hillside. Town was supposed to have a boulangerie (now closed and for sale), water to refill our water tank, and a little alimentarie. Â
buy Clomiphene (clomiphene citrate) Our boat patiently waits for shopping to be concluded
Perched on a rock peak above Larouque des Arcs, is Chappelle St-Roch
The alimentarie, sort-of-like a seven-eleven, was operated by a gentleman form the middle east – some things are the same the world over. We replenished our supply of ground coffee and a few other necessary items like tonic for gin & tonics. We walked down the narrow streets checking out the little village only 3 KM from Cahors. The town seemed deserted, except for three older gentlemen who were very curious about these 6 boat people.
Larouque des Arcs reflected in the calm Lot River
After the Lacombe lock (1.4 meters), we reached the Coty lock, the one that is now electronic so our line handlers didn’t have to work so hard. At the next lock, some British gentlemen were dining on the terrace and relayed the weather forecast, next three days of heavy rain. We processed the information and continued on. At the next lock, at Laberaudie, we saw folks sitting on the sides of the lock and thought there might be a boat coming our way, which would leave the gates open for us to enter. There did not seem to be a lot of cranking going on, so we maneuvered the boat, all 55 feet of her, to the disembarking boat and hopped ashore to work the lock. At the far end of the lock, a crew of Department Navigation guys were having lunch. Our line handlers/crankers had a cheering audience cheering them on – good thing – they were getting tired and cranky by now. As we passed by and said “aurevoir!” we asked about the rain — they said, of course, tomorrow. Just after Laberaudie lock, we pulled over to the bank at 1:50 PM and ate our lunch, everyone fending for themselves. Right after we stopped a rain shower came up and Mike checked the weather on his iPhone – weather forecast was heavy rain starting at 6 PM tonight.
The Pont Valentre at Cahors, the "Devil's Bridge"
Having navigated the Soane previously in rainy weather, we decided to press on closer to Douelle, to prevent a long trek in the rain tomorrow. Just as we approached the Mercures lock, it rained again, our captain went below to steer and we prepared for the worst – a lock in the rain. Shower cleared and we spotted bright skies in the distance, went through the last lock (4.3 meters) and found another “natural” mooring near PK 149, again tied bow and stern to a tree about 4 PM. We showered aboard, plotted our last day’s course of about 5 KM. Our goal had been to cover most of the distance before we had to compete for lock time with all the other leboat boats returning to home base on Friday. We were in great position to do so – no more locks – and despite the forecasted inclement weather, we would be back at Douelle by Friday evening.
Into the lock at Pont Valentre
The best duration time we achieved in a lock was 7 minutes from tying off the boat, then closing gates, working sluices, letting lock fill or go down, opening gates and getting our line handlers back on board. At first we were slower but as the week progressed we got better and more confident.
We have been granted beautiful weather most of the time, pleasant anchorages, plenty of fresh water to fill up our tanks. We had gotten so much sun, that our one pair of shorts could stand up in the corner! Thinking my feet were dirty, I scrubbed and scrubbed my feet in the shower trying to clean my ankles and the tops of my feet. I gave up, and when I put my glasses on, realized I was trying to scrub off my tan line from my new deck shoes! Then it was like a scene from “The Big Chill,” smelling armpits to find the cleanest shirt possible to wear.
One of the many manor houses or castles along the Lot
Tonight Chef Mike was baking a chicken for dinner. Lou made gin and tonics for the guys, taking advantage of the ice we had made all day while the engine was running. Accompaniments to dinner were cooked cabbage and tabouli with tomato and cucumber — all of that topped off by coconut macaroons. While we ate below out of the intermittent showers, we watched the moon rise and dart in and out through the clouds. The weather service predicted rain to start at 6 PM; it arrived at 6:25 PM. By bedtime the intensity had increased and we had full-fledged thunderstorms, heavy rain, and lightening – but we were snug as bugs in a rug in our boat.
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