Given the ongoing high temperatures, we decided to spend one more day at le Maroc. One of the advantages of being here over the weekend is that the construction work has stopped, so it is quieter and the water being pumped out of the coffer dam is much clearer.

While checking emails this morning, I saw that Stephen Taberner, head guy with the Spooky Mens Chorale, was hosting a special Concert for Ukraine in Sydney today and that it would be live-streamed free on YouTube. So I signed up and watched it in our late morning. It was quite inspirational, especially for all the Ukraine community in Sydney who attended and participated in the concert.

As the end of the financial year was approaching in Australia, I needed to make sure that I paid the rent for the land on which our tree farm is growing in Kanumbra (the town). That land is owned by our self-managed Superannuation Fund, but the trees are grown and owned by our private company TUTI (The Urban Transport Institute). Over the years when TUTI was operating actively in the Travel Survey field, we borrowed money from it for various expenditures (like the barge and the house in Moissac). So now, at the end of each financial year, we have the SuperFund pay me a pension amount, which I then transfer to TUTI as part of a loan repayment, and TUTI then uses this money to pay the rent to the SuperFund for the tree farm land. A nice three-way transaction that serves several purposes without imposing any cashflow strains on any of the participants.

As I sat on board this morning, I saw another big blue boat approaching from the north, and this time it was Daniele. So presumably the two boats run a shuttle cruise service between (possibly) St Jean de Losne and (probably) Besançon; I guess we might find out when we get to Besançon. Both of the boats seemed to have a full complement of passengers, even at this early stage of the season, so they must be doing OK financially. Just checking them on the internet, I see that they are operated by ChoisiEurope, a big river cruising company operating all over Europe. These boats operate between Dijon and Besançon, and normally charge about 2500euro per person for 7 days cruising. But at the moment they are charging half-price, so maybe that is why they are so full.

As the day wore on and the sun got higher, I decided to join Rita in the shade by the river, and found it most pleasant. Soon, Frances and John had joined us as well.

As we were preparing to leave the river to return to the boat, I sniffed something in the air and immediately thought "bushfire". But since we were in France, I thought my mind was playing tricks on me and maybe it was someone down the river who was having a campfire or similar. But as we got back to the boat and looked south, we could see smoke rising from behind the town of Abbans-Dessous, high on a ridgeline. It wasn't a big fire, but it was definitely a fire in the bush. Soon however it was under control and gone.

That evening John brought his portable BBQ to the rear of the quai near Kanumbra, and we had our third joint dinner together.