Today started out warm and was forecast to be HOT, with a maximum temperature of 37deg C! So the priority for the day was to find some shady places, and hence we were very grateful for the willow trees at the Mantoche mooring. Rita also made the most of the clear river water at Mantoche to go for several swims over the course the day. During the day, the 3rd Ashes Test at Leeds was decided with England winning a close game by 3 wickets, and the series now 2-1 in Australia's favour.

The River Saone is generally well populated by swans, but during the afternoon I was reminded that Mantoche is dominated by ducks, when an armada of ducks swam by the boat. Luckily, like the Spanish Armada, they were unsuccessful in taking control of the boat.

Sun 9 July - HOT, find shade, swims, 3rd Test, ducks, fisherboy, reflections

During the afternoon, a young boy from a neighbouring boat cast his fishing line into the water between our boat and the one in front of us. Within seconds, he had a fish on the line, and was struggling to bring it ashore. His excitement and shouts soon brought his family and many others to the edge of the water to see what was happening. After his dad had helped him land the fish and get it off the hook, all and sundry took photos of the event. It was hard to beat the joyous look on his face.

As the afternoon wore on, he seemed to enjoy the hero status that his fishing exploits brought to him, as he regailed all the kids on the boat in front with stories of his adventures.

Later in the afternoon, one of the girls on the boat head of us, slipped on the boat decking (smooth plastic on these hire boats) and fell overboard. It was potentially very dangerous as she slipped between the side of the boat and the stone quai. Luckily the boat was not moving sideways and the father was very quick to grab her under the arms and lift her clear of the water.

As the day drew to a close, some clouds arrived to signal some possible relief from the heat. But there was absolutely no breeze to accompany the clouds. Thus it was almost improssible to decide which of the photos below is the right way up (apart from the lilypad floating in the sky in the photo at left below!).

Unfortunately, the arrival of the clouds heralded a false dawn, as the weather continued to be very hot into the night, and when we retired to bed it was with fans going str=ogly in the bedroom.