At this time of year, misty, foggy mornings are par for the course, and this morning did not disappoint, with two swans exploring the river.

Since Sarah had left her car back at Pontailler, our plan today was to ride our bikes back to Pontailler with her, then have her drive us back to Mantoche with the bikes on her bike rack.So we headed off south along the river and canal until we got to the turnoff to the village of La Moulon Rouge at PK269. There we had to decide whether to stay on the river track or take the bitumen road through the village. Since Google Maps said that the river track was shorrter, we went that way. But little did we realise that the track would turn into a path, and then into a field and then into a plantation access road, which had recently been used for the extraction of trees (as shown below). We had second thoughts several times, but comforted ourselves by telling each other how much we would remember this bike ride!

Eventually we left the forests and returned to some paved roads just to the north-east of Talmay. Shortly after leaving the woods, we came across a tiny chapel in a wooded setting. We took a break and had a cool drink as we explored the area and took the obligatory selfie to prove we had actually been there.

We then rode on through the town of Talmay and crossed the Canal entre Champagne et Bourgogne at Maxilly. Then down the canal and past the blue bridge, before rejoining the path along the Saone and arriving at Pontailler., where we had a well-deserved cold drink at the cafe and then lunch on the stone steps near the mooring.

As we were having our lunch, I got an email from Singapore Airlines, saying that I had been checked-in for my flight to Melbourne. This was despite the fact that I had cancelled my flight last week, and had the cancellaion confirmed by Singapore Airlines. But now I didn't know if I was on the flight or not, and it was now too late for me to get back to Auxonne with the boat and then get to Paris in time for the flight. So, in a mildly-panicked state I emailed them to ask them to confirm that my booking had actually been cancelled. We then strapped the three bikes onto the bike rack attached to the rear of Sarah's car (attached to the fifth door, rather than on a tow bar) and she drove (carefully) back to Mantoche.

After Sarah left, we thought we would take the opportunity to do a short autumn evening cruise. And so we cast off and headed south on the Saone. The autumn colours were wonderful in the late afternoon sun. We found that looking where we'd come from was just as rewarding as looking where we might be going!

We thought we might moor for the night at Port St Pierre since it was empty when we came up yesterday, but when we got there we found two boats moored, so that plan was scuppered. But we were still hopeful that our "little mooring" at Heuilley would still be available. And we were indeed lucky that it was. And we were doubly-lucky when we turned into the section of canal containing the mooring, to see a beautiful sunset developing at the western end of that canal as we moored. I took several photos as the sunset progressed, and this one best captured the moment.

As the sunset progressed, we took the opportunity to explore the campground nestled between the canal and the River Saone. It was deserted at this time of year, but we could imagine what it would be like in the warmer months. We wandered at leisure around the campground as sunset transitioned into darkness, and then we shuffled back to the boat. As we approached the boat in the fading light, we realised how cosy the boat looked with the lights behind the curtains. Time to go back inside our "cubby house".