Just as well that I fitted the old flytent yesterday, because we had overnight rain, with more forecast in the coming days. So we phoned ahead to book in at Viviers to ensure we had a secure mooring for the night. Given that it was going to be a longish day, we left l’Ardoise early, without waiting for the bread that the Capitainerie lady was picking up from town for us - I guess she’ll now have an extra loaf for herself.

We backtracked 5km down the old Rhone to get back to the main Rhone, and then turned left at PK219. As we did, the clouds in the distance looked ominous, but at least we were now heading away from them.

Two kms further on, we approached Ecluse Caderousse, where the eclusier told us to pull over and wait for a commercial barge to go through. While we were waiting, I noticed that Whitey, our white snail from the Malpas Tunnel was starting to explore the wheelhouse. Rita thought he might be getting hungry, so she went ashore and got some grass that was growing on the bank and brought it aboard. As she was placing it in some water in a jar, she noticed another snail (Browney) was already resident in the grass. So now we have two pet snails on board Kanumbra.

After we entered the Caderousse lock, we heard the eclusier in conversation with another peniche de plaisanciers, telling them he would hold the lock open but that they should hurry along. Ten minutes later we were joined in the lock by a Dutch couple on board a small Dutch cruiser.

The river banks were filled with interesting sights, including these two chateau south of St Etienne les Sorts.

The water was also full of interesting sights, including this “Jumbo” that was fully laden and sitting very low in the water.

We lost the Dutch cruiser at St Etienne des Sorts, when they pulled over and moored at this pontoon.

Can’t say I blamed them for stopping, because it looked like a very interesting waterfront town.

In particular, this house had a fabulous waterfront view, but I’m not sure what happens when the river is in flood.

As we rounded a bend at PK202 just north of St Etienne des Sorts, we saw these two very attractive high-tension towers, which just proves that not all infrastructure has to be ugly, like the tower in the middle.

Around this bend, we entered a canalised section which bypassed the River Rhone.  As we cruised along on this somewhat boring section of the waterway, I looked behind and saw a large gas barge approaching from behind. It was going fairly quickly, so I moved out of the way to give him plenty of room to pass us near Pont de la D44 at PK197.

Further along this canalised section at PK190, we arrived at Ecluse Bollène, the largest Ecluse in Europe, at 22.5m deep.   The hydro plant alongside the lock looks a bit like a Russian Government Building to me.

We were again asked to go to the waiting pontoon, which gave us time for a walk and a few photos.

We soon saw why we were waiting, when the gates opened and a container barge started to emerge. As it came past us, we saw that it was 11.45m wide (written on the side), which is a snug fit given that the lock is only 12m wide.

It was also a snug fit length-wise, being two container barges plus the pusher, which would not have left many metres to spare in the 200m lock.

After this monster had departed, another half size (110m) container barge arrived going our way. Since we would now share the lock with him, I didn’t feel quite so bad using the 52,800t of water in the lock just to raise our 25t of boat, although the container barge itself was only 3700t! Once they had entered and secured themselves, we followed in. It was a tight squeeze (width-wise) for them, but there was plenty of room behind for us. It was helpful (psychologically) having the container barge in with us, since it reduced the feeling of being overwhelmed by the height of the lock, if we had been in it by ourselves. But despite the size of the lock, it was a smooth and gentle ride to the top.

After we left the lock, we followed the container barge, and at one stage we were actually catching it. So I pulled to the side in case we had to overtake (how cool would that have been). But they were only playing with us, and this is as close as we got, before they steamed away into the distance. Perhaps the skipper had to go to the toilet and told his 2nd Mate to proceed slowly for a while!

After we left the canalised section and rejoined the river proper at PK170, we went through the Donzère Gap, an impressive section with limestone cliffs. Luckily we had bright sunshine at this stage, which made the limestone cliffs even more impressive.

Once we left the Donzère Gap and went under the Pont de Viviers, we turned left and entered the Port de Viviers. It was very empty, and we soon learned that this was because today was the last day of season for the port (having been moved forward a week from 15th October). So we were very lucky to have got a mooring, and had the port virtually all to ourselves.

The view of the town from the Port looked impressive, so we decided to go for a town walk.

And we were so glad we did, because the town was beautiful but quaint. I particularly liked the many archways across the narrow streets. Not quite sure of the purpose, but they looked like they were just keeping the buildings upright and away from each other. At every corner, there were interesting vistas in all directions.

We went inside the Cathedral, and were impressed by the chandeliers and the golden chair.

Traditionally, when we find ourselves in such situations, Rita brings out her little flute, which she carries with her all the time, just for such an opportunity, and plays a tune to suit the surroundings.

After leaving the Cathedral (luckily we heard the caretaker starting to lock the doors), we wandered over to the open grassed terrace and saw some nice Rhone Valley panoramas (Kanumbra is moored at the end of the ploughed field in the centre of the photo below, and at the far left of the following photo).

Looking in the other direction from the Terrace, were some fabulous rooftop scenes, which I always like photographing.

As we were walking down from the hill, we met two ladies out for an evening promenade. Rita got chatting, and when they found we were from Australia, they were very excited and (as always) they told us about their relatives who live in Australia. I think we made their evening, and it certainly was a highlight for us.

We returned to the barge and had dinner, and then later in the night we heard and saw the Viking Heimdal tourist barge approaching and then mooring just outside the port. It was spectacular sight at night up close.

It was also fun watching, through binoculars, how the rich live on the various floors of the ship.

Clearly, there are two very different ways of enjoying the river, and we know which one we prefer!

I look forward to getting some better photos in the morning.