Nicols Boat Charter Depot, Sireui
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45°36’20.8692″N, 0°1’30.6804″E

to

Hotel Mercure Angouleme
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45°38’58.4376″N, 0°9’27.9864″E

The whole crew was up before 7:00 am this morning. Oddly enough, last night was the best sleep I had for the past week. Catherine even had to wake me up! Perhaps subconsciously I didn’t want to leave the boat.

It’s hard to believe that we left Paris a little over a week ago. Time seems to have flown by, but, on the other hand, our few days in Paris now feels like a long time ago!

Screenshot above – our TGV trip from Paris to Angouleme on Saturday, September 7.

We had a continental breakfast aboard – sounds better/more sophisticated than coffee, juice, fruit, yogurt & granola. Then we cleaned up the galley & finished packing.

We were all ready to go shortly after 8:00 am – plenty of time before our Uber ride to Angouleme.

The Nicols agent came aboard to inspect the boat. We had paid extra to have the boat cleaned so her inspection was really just focused on looking for any damage.

We passed the inspection with flying colours. Plus the boat was very clean inside & outside primarily thanks to Valerie’s fastidious housekeeping for the past week. Valerie, you are a dynamo with a broom & a dust cloth. You can crew with me anytime you like 🙂

Screenshot above – the route we took from Sireuil to Jarnac & back again.

Here are some basic statistics of our week aboard charter boat Royan:

• Travel from Sireuil to Jarnac and  return
• 10 locks each way (20 locks total)
• 27 kilometers travelled each way (54 km total)
• 6 hours engine operation time each way (12 hours total)
• 3 – 4 hours average travel time per day including passing through locks
• Bottles of wine consumed (lost count)
• Euchre games played (lost count)
• Happy memories created – too many to count

All in all, we had a wonderful adventure but the time went by much too quickly.

We took an Uber back to the hotel in Angouleme. Our Uber driver had a spotless Tesla Model S. Very nice!

David & Valerie had a few hours before they had to catch their first train on the route to Spain so Catherine & I dropped our bags off at the hotel & then we all went to a local cafe for some coffee & breakfast.

After breakfast we walked down to the train station with David & Valerie & said our goodbyes.

Photo above – David & Valerie at the Angouleme train station.

While we were all sad to say goodbye to each other we were all excited about the next stages of our adventures.

David & Valerie are off to Spain to walk a significant portion of the Camino de Santiago. This is something they have wanted to do for a long time. We are excited for them to be on this special journey.

Catherine & I are off to Bordeaux to explore the city for a few days. Then we will rent a car for a week & do some more exploring around the Bay of Biscay & the Dordogne region before heading back to Paris.

Photo above – after checking in to our hotel & resting for a few hours we went out for dinner at a nearby Italian restaurant that we had been to a week earlier with David & Valerie.

We were just getting comfortably seated in the restaurant when we received a WhatsApp message from David & Valerie. They had arrived in Spain & were checked into their hotel.

Photo above – David outside their hotel in Spain. Travel safely dear friends. We look forward to seeing you soon back home in London.

Tomorrow Catherine & I take a morning train to Bordeaux.

Cheers!