Wintering in Auxonne

Our final destination for the year is Port Royal, on the River Saone at Auxonne, where we will leave Kanumbra over the winter. One of the reasons for choosing Auxonne is that it is close to where some good friends Sarah and Albon live near Poligny, and is also reasonably close to Switzerland, so hopefully we can give Rita’s mum some time on the barge in 2019. It will also provide a useful starting point for exploring some of the northern canals and rivers in 2019.

One of the interesting things about Port Royal is that their website features a viewer-controlable webcam, which shows the port from many different angles, so that even though we are on the other side of the world, we will be able to check on the condition of Kanumbra after we leave her there next winter. Already, the webcam has proven useful during the French floods of January 2018 to see how the flooded Saone affected the port. At left below is the port at the height of the flood when the Saone had broken its banks, and at right is a few days later after the water had subsided. It can be seen that the floating pontoons in the port behind the embankment seem to handle the high waters very well. Very reassuring!

After travelling up the Rhone, we arrived in Auxonne on 26 October as described here.