Brittany Canal Day 11: last day

Overnight the wind drops and it's absolutely calm. We wake to a nice sunny day and I take pictures around sun up before tucking back into bed - the boat only has heating when it's on shore power and without it, it's pretty cold early in the morning.

Sunrise in the marina at Pont de Cran

After the disappointment of finding the restaurant at Pont de Cran closed, we plan to go back as far as Rieux and lunch there if we can find a place to tie up. We arrive just before midday and find there are three possible places where we can fit and insert Pladic comfortably into the easiest one. After a walk around Rieux, we lunch at Au Bon Porc, which is right on the river, sitting in the sunshine and looking out over all the boats moored there. It's a delicious lunch of salad, grilled mackerel (poissons entire, two each) and baked apple with ice cream and salted caramel sauce. Apart from the splendid lunch at the Good Pig, one of the other things I liked about Rieux is that the local public school is called Ecole Escargot Bleu. I would just love to be able to say "I went to the Blue Snail School".

The wide Vilaine river, a contrast to the canal

The church at Rieux

We then motor on up the Vilaine, into the canal and back to Les Canalous. After a couple of not quite successful attempts to back the boat in (tricky as it's now quite windy) we decide to tie up alongside. But the Les Canalous staff are there and as soon as the boat is within reach one of them jumps aboard, takes over from Peter, and backs it neatly between two other boats, something we wouldn't even attempt. He did all this at full revs, both taking it forward into the river again and in reverse. As I haven't seen him come aboard I think Peter is still in charge and am wondering whether he's gone mad or the throttle is stuck. But in no time we are neatly tied up, connected to power and we can relax for a while, then start doing a bit of tidying up for the handover tomorrow.

At about 5pm we go for a walk and spend a couple of hours exploring Redon, before returning to the cafe where we ate the first night we were here, where we have a relatively light evening meal. 

I'll be really sad to leave the boat, the waterways and rural France tomorrow. It has been the perfect relaxing holiday that I anticipated and I'm not sure I want to return to my home duties and responsibilities. But I will be pleased to see you all again a few days hence.