Port 2, l’Ardoise to Lyon

So! Here at last is an update of the blog.  It has been a somewhat torrid time since our last post as will become apparent in the following.

We left Port 2, l’Ardoise nearly a week after Alex’s release from captivity to allow him to recover from his hospitalisation (appendix op) and set off north again up the Rhone.  At our first evening’s lock mooring we were joined by an Irish couple, Joe and Anne, of “ESS DEE AY” (don’t ask!) who breasted up with us. They insisted on drinks with us in the evening followed by a joint supper and more drinks.

Alex, not long out of hospital, felt it was all a bit too much but hey, ho, it was a jolly evening!  The next day we waited till the stiff wind abated a bit before setting off and had a short hop to Chateaufeuf Lock where we moored on the topside plaisance mooring behind two commercial peniche who were moored for the weekend on the ducs d’Albes just ahead.  They were all having fun swimming in the warm water and when it was clear we were having difficulty coming alongside the pontoon because of the offshore wind one of them took our rope and with some difficulty popped it round a cleat on the pontoon.

The next couple of nights were passed without incident though Alex was feeling noticeably more and more tired at the end of each day.

We had hoped to moor on a sand quay near St Vallier which had provided a perfect mooring for us on the way south 2 years ago, but as we neared it we saw that it was festooned with fishermen – so many that we felt daunted at the prospect of trying to moor there at all, so we carried on hoping for the ducs d’Albes round the corner.  We could see immediately that they’d be too far apart for us and at the same time we spied a new pontoon, installed since we came down, about 1km upstream and empty!  We made a bee-line for it and it was perfect: north end of St Vallier, next to a campsite and sturdy, with a “Welcome to Moor” sign!

We had decided to delay leaving the next day till after lunch for a short restful day’s cruising, but at about 12 o’clock we got a text from Ced and Suzie who were driving south on the motorway, asking us where we were.  We texted back to tell them to take the very next motorway exit and they would be with us in less than half an hour.  So we had a lovely lunch with them and after they had gone we decided to delay our departure till the next day instead!

Approaching the little port of Ampuis, just downstream of Lock Vaugris, we saw a jet-ski floating down the river with the two riders hanging on, swimming behind it.  We stopped and offered help.  They took our rope and we set off again slowly to take them back upstream to their launch site.

Just then however, a motor launch appeared creaming up river behind us.  Louise gesticulated to it and indicated the stricken jet-ski but to no avail.  They shot past us putting up a two foot high wake.  Riccall bounced all over the place: the jetski tipped onto its side dropping the guys back into the water and when we eventually got them sorted out again and Louise popped downstairs, she found the carpets in both bathrooms and dining area soaked by the wash coming in through the portholes.

You don’t usually get that sort of behaviour on the canals and rivers.  We never have before.  Our portholes are often open while we’re cruising in hot weather (though never in DOWN locks) as occasionally we’ve had a bit of water in through the portholes when descending old leaky locks but never like this.

When we got to the lock the launch was in front of us on the plaisance mooring but we had to moor too far behind for Alex to vent his spleen.   The boat was flying French, Spanish and Italian flags at the stern so that probably explains it!

The evening of the next day saw us on a good pontoon mooring at Chavanay.  Two small boats had vacated it just as we arrived.  Good timing we thought!

On the following afternoon we reached Vienne where again we had no problem mooring but there was no signal for our dongle for us to keep abreast of the debits (flow rates) on the Rhone ahead, so when we left the next day and almost immediately discovered a 3G signal, we were able to check the flow rate at Pierre-Benite Lock, Lyon.  It was just half the lowest rate it had been for the last two weeks, so we simply had to take advantage of it.  Pierre-Benite can be one of the most difficult locks to approach from the south because the flow rate can be incredibly high – too much for us – so this looked like a good sign!  Go for it!

We arrived on the town quay in Lyon at about 3.30pm having taken on fuel on the way up and Alex once again, exhausted, went to bed, and virtually stayed there most of the next day.

Monday dawned, and Alex had already decided that something, not just tiredness, must be wrong with him, possibly connected to the appendectomy.  So we contacted the new port in Lyon and asked if they had a space for us which mercifully they did.  We took the boat downstream the 2 kms to the port and booked in.  Christoph, the port Capitaine, was very helpful and spoke English.  He was able to explain how to get to the hospital.

At the hospital triage was held within 15 mins of arrival but 6 hours later the verdict was that Alex had to be admitted – he had acute kidney failure!

Eventually, after nearly 4 weeks in hospital, it was deemed OK for him to return to Riccall, provided we stayed in the port for another week to 10 days for further tests and an outpatient clinic.  During the 4 weeks of his stay Alex was greatly heartened by visits from Peter and Nicci of AURIGNY who came down by motor bike from St Symphorien where their boat was moored.  They had just returned from a 2 month visit to the UK where Peter had been co-opted back into his former police-escort role for the duration of the Olympic Games.  They brought with them their laptop so Alex was able to see their amazing slide show of Olympic scenes. 

The following week Ced and Suzie were passing in PEABODY on their way north and stayed in the port for a couple of nights so were able to drop by to visit Alex, as were our narrowboating friends Mike and Jean who were driving down through France on their way to the Med for a holiday.  Mike and Jean dropped by again on their way north after their holiday.  So all in all Alex did quite well for visitors, bearing in mind this all happened in France!

At first Alex shared a two-bedded ward, but the other two patients who each came and went after a few days, don’t bear mentioning, so awful were they, but then Alex was moved to a single bed ward for the rest of his stay and that was just great.

But now, the blood tests have been done, the out-patient clinic attended and now we have been given the green light to sail once more.  Medications and tests must continue and be monitored to make sure things continue to improve but hopefully in a few months Alex may be fully back to normal.

Meanwhile, Louise has been doing a sterling job, keeping Riccall ticking over, visiting Alex twice a day in hospital and getting to know the environs of Lyon.

The transport system in this city is one of the most comprehensive and best we have ever encountered.  We can buy a week’s unlimited travel on all modes of transport – trams, underground, overground, buses, funiculars - all for €16.60.  Some of the trams and trains run every 2 minutes!  Amazing!  10 minutes is the longest we have waited for anything, anywhere, so far and we have been everywhere – to the furthest ends of each track of course, whether tram or underground, and on trolley buses and the river navette too.  All are clean, quiet and comfortable, even the buses.

The other spur for at last putting pen to paper for this blog is that Alex has had his first alcoholic drink in 7 weeks tonight – not much, but just enough the loosen the scribe in him!!