We woke to a millpond morning on the canal with the water smooth as glass, until the first barge of the day “the River” cruised part the port, with their car on the top of the rear cabin.

We used one more jeton for power, before heading for Damazan (because today is Tuesday). We were lucky to obtain a good shady mooring on the east side of the canal, with bollards fore and aft.

During the afternoon, Rita went swimming while I updated this blog.

The reason we had come to Damazan on Tuesday was for the Night Market, where Rita caught up with the organising crew to confirm our gig for August 14, and to catch up again with Terrie and Phil, who were coming down to the market with Steph and Adam. We had also advised Roy and Verne, from Karanja, to come down from Villeton for their first Night Market (they loved it!). We also caught up with Sarah and Kevin from the Buzet Port 2, who are regulars at Damazan.

Unfortunately, it was a  small crowd, because many people obviously stayed home for the night to watch the semi-final of the World Cup between France and Belgium, even though a large screen had been set up at the Market. The band for the night had an easy time, because they didn’t play during the first half of the game, and only intermittently during the second half. One didn’t really have to watch, because the crowd noise let us know what was happening on the field. France ended up defeating Belgium 1-0, and we knew this because of the loud cheer during the game and the louder one at the end.

In talking with Roy and Verne, they expressed their disappointment at not being able to cruise the Baise, because the shorter Piper 49 is also wider, at 4.2mm, and most of the locks on the Baise are only 4.15m. Missed it by that much!!