Chaumont to Rupt

July 18, 2024

Beautiful morning and hot afternoon on the canal.

Another beautiful day on the Marne and we breakfast in the vast living room set aside for us before refinding the trail. Our host is minding her petite fille and seeing her reminds us of all of our grandchildren we’re missing so much.

Early morning view from our window. Nice day ahead.

The route down to the canal of Champagne et Bourgogne- once the Marne and it quickly puts us back on the canal. It’s a beautiful morning and the quality of the path continues as perfect as yesterday. We see a few more watercraft than yesterday, but still very few. One is waiting to go through a lock and another old tub chugs along at a slow pace. There quite an amount of weed in the canal, which I suspect could take over if left unchecked, but the water is clear.

The canal is just as we left it. Empty trail, still water, heading away forever.

This tunnel offer some excitement though it’s well lit and has a very smooth surface.

The canal path actually runs between the canal and the river Marne which bubbles along at quite a pace and looks reasonably clear.

There are quite a number of ēcluses patiently waiting for boats to use them.

At Vouēcourt we turn off for elevenses and on the way find a beautifully simple old church with colourful lead lights.

These pews must have supported a number of derrières over the years.

A lavoir close to the church for multi taskers.

Later we walk in to Joinville, a neighbouring town for supplies for dinner and breakfast. It’s a pretty town surrounded by both river and canal. We come across people carrying inflatables and paddle boards, off for a float on one of the sources of water.

Église Notre-Dame de la Nativité de Joinville.

After a cooling shower on our return, we settle in for a quiet evening.

Today's ride: 51 km (32 miles)
Total: 968 km (601 miles)

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